On returning to Pakistan in 1984, Bukhari observed that there were no services for victims of violence and resolved to fill the void.
She founded the Progressive Women's Association (PWA) the following year, an organization to help female victims of social and domestic violence.
[3] The same year, the PWA successfully lobbied Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto to have all-female police stations established.
[5] In 2001, Bukhari was arrested for "abetting an attempt to commit adultery" after sheltering a woman from an abusive husband at AASSRA.
[3] Bukhari won the Civil Courage Prize of the US-based Train Foundation in 2003, awarded for "steadfast resistance to evil at great personal risk — rather than military valor.