ABOUT THE AUTHOR

© Southwestern University

Farhana Qazi is an award-winning speaker and scholar on conflicts in the Muslim world. Born in northern Pakistan and raised in Texas, she straddles the East and West and brings multiple perspectives to her work. As a young analyst, she began her study of violent extremism in the US government, where she briefed senior policy makers and practitioners on the growing threat. Upon leaving government service, she continued her work as a researcher and traveled to countries in the Middle East and South Asia to further understand the drivers of radicalization. As a senior instructor for the US military, she trained hundreds of men and women in uniform on Islam, Pakistan, and global threats. Farhana is a recipient of the 21st Century Leader Award, presented by the National Committee on American Foreign Policy in New York, for her training and service to the US military, and she received the Distinguished Humanitarian Award from Southwestern University, her alma mater in Texas, for her research on women in war.

Her first book, Secrets of the Kashmir Valley, is the story of women’s survival, struggle, and sacrifice in the age-old conflict in Kashmir, a bowl-shaped valley situated between nuclear rivals India and Pakistan. She is the founder of Global Insights, LLC, where she conducts independent research on violent extremism, provides training on Islam and conflicts in the Muslim world, and works with clients to resolve complex problems in conflict-prone countries. As an expert, Farhana has appeared in mainstream media: CNN, the BBC, PBS, National Public Radio, Fox News, C-Span, Bloomberg, ABC News, MSNBC, Canadian national television, Voice of America, Al Jazeera, The Daily Ledger, and more. She is a graduate of the National Security Studies Program at the George Washington University and holds a bachelor of arts with a major in political science and a minor in French from Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas. She lives in Virginia.