Reham Khan was born in Libya in the 1970s to an educated, affluent Pakistani-origin family. Her eventful life took her from Gaddafi's Libya to the Zia years in Pakistan and thence to England as a teenage bride before she returned to Pakistan in her 40s. It’s a life of extraordinary contrasts: both a brutal marriage and domestic abuse, but also the rebuilding of a life, the raising of three children and subsequent media success. And in recent years the contrasts have continued: Reham has built a successful career as a broadcast journalist and anchor, and has established herself as a powerful media force in the UK and Pakistan - but also, after years of struggle, she now finds herself in the midst of a complex web of politics, deceit and intrigue.
This story touches on sensitive issues, both political and social, and the author has had to resist extreme bullying, harassment and life-threatening situations to bring it to you. There are powerful people who do not want you to hear it – because it shows all too clearly that there are those in political office in Pakistan, and all over the world, who are not driven by a desire to serve the public but rather by venal ambition.
The miracle of Reham’s story is that, throughout it all, this housewife-turned-journalist-turned-social-activist has managed to balance her work with her primary role of being a mother. She shows us the challenges that a woman can overcome when she wants more from life than tradition expects of her.
This is a story of survival with a smile.