Cassandra Balchin


Cassandra Marlin Balchin was an English freelance journalist, women's rights campaigner and human rights advocacy trainer. She was a leader and consultant for organisations including Women Living Under Muslim Laws and the Association for [Women's Rights in Development].

Early life and education

Balchin was born in England on 24 May 1962. Her mother Yovanka Balchin, Tomich, was a Yugoslavian refugee and a journalist. Her father was psychologist and writer Nigel Balchin. She spent some of her childhood with her mother's family in Yugoslavia, and also spent time in Glemsford, Suffolk.
Balchin graduated from the London School of Economics in 1983 with a B.Sc. in government, having studied Russian government and history.

Career

After graduating, Balchin moved to Pakistan to work as a journalist, and lived there for 17 years. During this time she became involved in women's rights, and wrote on the conflict between Pakistani and Bangladeshi law and domestic legislation, with particular focus on human rights violations. She published Women, law and society: an action manual for NGOs and edited A handbook on family law in Pakistan. Balchin later reflected on this time as "the beginning of a love affair with the topic of Muslim family laws."
Balchin returned to the UK in 2000, and helped to establish the UK office of Women Living Under Muslim Laws and the Muslim Women's Network UK, of which she was chair. She raised awareness of how Muslim women in Bolton who were wed bylocal Imams may not be legally married in civil law. She was also critical of the British application of Sharia law, writing that:
Balchin was also co-founder of Musawah, the "Sisters in Islam" in Malaysia was involved with Women Against Fundamentalism, and was a senior research consultant with the Association for Women's Rights in Development on their "Resisting and Challenging Religious Fundamentalism" project from 2007 until her death. She was a co-founder of openDemocracy 50.50.

Death

Balchin died from cancer on 12 July 2012, aged 50. She was survived by her two adult sons and her mother.

Selected publications

  • Balchin, Cassandra. The Network ‘Women Living Under Muslim Laws’: Strengthening local struggles through cross-boundary networking. Development 45, pp. 126–131.