Maira Khwaja

she/her

writer / journalist

Maira Khwaja is a Pakistani-American writer, organizer, educator, and human rights reporter based on the South Side of Chicago, where for nine years she has co-led the Invisible Institute, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalism organization focused on investigating police misconduct. Central to her work is immersive engagement with youth, co-producing multimedia as a pedagogical tool. Her forthcoming book with Haymarket Books documents a decade of young people's experience with policing on the South Side.

While associate producing the film We Grown Now (Sony Pictures Classics), Maira worked closely with youth actors and public housing residents to ensure realistic depiction of Chicago history. An avid fan of visual art history, Maira is currently directing a documentary on textile craft history in Pakistan.

Her work editing the Chicago Police Torture Archive was recognized with the 2021 Leaders for a New Chicago award by the Field Foundation and MacArthur Foundation.