Living Portrait of Courage: Sharmeen Obaid

Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy seeks to push people to have difficult conversations about inequality and injustice.

A storyteller who grew up in Pakistan, she is the only female director to have been awarded two Academy Awards by the age of 37. Since 2001, she has made over three dozen multi award films in over 16 countries around the world. Her films include Fundamental: Gender Justice. No Exceptions, Sitara: Let Girls Dream, Student Athlete, A Girl in the river, Song of Lahore, Saving Face, and Peacekeepers.

She has traveled around the world shining a light on marginalized communities, refugees, and women whose resilience in the face of adversity has inspired her to amplify their stories. Realizing that film can change the way people see issues, Sharmeen has spent the better part of the last decade advocating for legislative changes

In 2012, Time Magazine included Sharmeen in their annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world. That same year the Pakistan Government awarded her with highest civil honor “Hilal -e–Imtiaz ”.

In 2013, the Canadian government awarded her a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for her work in the field of documentary films and the World Economic Forum honored her with a Crystal Award at their annual summit in Davos. In 2017 the International Center for Journalists awarded her the Knight International Journalism Award for her work that led to legislative change.

In 2017, Sharmeen was the first artist to co-chair the “World Economic Forum” at Davos. Sharmeen holds a Bachelors degree from Smith college and two masters degrees from Stanford University.

See Sharmeen's latest work here.