Zainah Anwar is the Executive Director of Sisters in Islam (SIS), a non-governmental organisation dedicated to strengthening the rights of Muslim women within the framework of Islam.

She is also a former member of the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia. Ms. Anwar is the public face of SIS and gives regular public talks on Islam and women's rights, politics and civil liberties both domestically and internationally. Her other work experience includes: Chief Programme Officer, Political Affairs Division, Commonwealth Secretariat, London; Freelance Writer; Senior Analyst, Institute of Strategic and International Studies, Kuala Lumpur; and Political and Diplomatic Writer, New Straits Times, Kuala Lumpur.

Ms. Anwar's book, Islamic Revivalism in Malaysia: Dakwah Among the Students, has become a standard reference text in the study of Islam in Malaysia. Zainah was educated at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, Boston University and the MARA Institute of Technology, Malaysia, in the fields of international relations and journalism