Zamard Zahid

Zamard is a second generation British Pakistani Muslim woman. Born in Coventry in the late sixties she moved to Glasgow at the age of nine where she now resides. Her love of writing and literature lead her to do a joint honours Masters degree in English and Scottish literature at Glasgow University. At twenty one she married and lived in a traditional extended household for ten years with three other families. It was after this period, three children later, that she went back to university to do a postgraduate in Teaching. This is where she developed her interest in race, ethnicity, inequality and power. Her awareness and knowledge in this area informed her twenty three years as a teacher using her role as a black teacher to instigate change in policy and practice in schools. She is part of “Pass The Mic” a panel of twenty women of colour writers who challenge exclusionary cultures within Scottish media. She left teaching in 2021 to pursue her passion for writing and spend more time with her granddaughter.
It is her belief that British Pakistani Muslim women do not have an authentic voice and continue to lack visibility in the mainstream. She finally feels comfortable to speak her truth about themes that are suppressed, misunderstood or diluted by the media. She hopes that subsequent generations of Muslim women can draw hope and courage from the story she wishes to tell and hope it will inspire women to speak their truth.
 Her writing explores themes of identity, race, culture and belonging. The context of her writing is drawn from her own experiences as well as many conversations with other Muslim women. The journey from childhood, adolescence through to adulthood examines central issues in Muslim women’s lives such as identity, marriage, cultural oppression to liberation and hope. She also shed’s light on taboo subjects such as sexual abuse, marital affairs and abortion.