The Bell Jar “How was the fur show?” Esther Greenwood, a young woman from the suburbs of Boston, Massachusetts is not interested in the fur show. But that doesn’t stop her from going though the routine of asking an acquaintance about the event. The story of this...
Published in The Daily Times on November 10th 2010 Being elected to the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) has made Asma Jahangir the bearer of great expectations for all progressives and liberals in the country who, until now, were holding their breath, looking at events unfold...
Published in the Daily Times on November 24th 2010 An estimated 17 percent of all families in Pakistan are associated with polygamy in their primary relationships. This means that as many as one-fifth of our population lives in an arrangement of compromise, most likely to take...
Published on August 5th 2010 Pakistan is looked at as a country on edge, a country where a fanatic is a breath away from detonating a nuclear device. The potential for that is not the debate here. What really indicates the direction the country is taking...
Published on Chowk.com on March 8th 2010 The topography of women’s empowerment in Pakistan is a treacherous terrain, harsh on the eyes. It is often marked by subjugation, lack of education and basic literacy, utter neglect of health; for instance, Pakistan has among the highest occurrence...
Published on Chowk.com on May 29th 2007 “No nation can rise to the height of glory unless your women are side by side with you.”-Mohammad Ali Jinnah “This is why I am not in favor of working women.” Said the Colonel and security incharge of one of Lahore’s largest office blocks. “Excuse...
I am buried in an Ahmedi graveyard. My tombstone doesn’t have the first pillar of Islam engraved on it, because the Pakistani government doesn’t think I am Muslim. I know I am, but there is absolutely no point fighting the state for it now. When I...
Published on Chowk.com on May 9th 2008 What are the odds that I move into a house in the elite F/11 sector of Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad and our land lord turns out to be a wife-beater – I in 4, according to the United Nations report...
Published on Chowk.com on October 4th 2005 He is known to the world as a leader of the independence movement of India. He’s known as a frail man who led thousands to fight the British using the original method of non-violence. He’s a great story, but...
Published on December 11, 2005 by Dawn Books and Authors There were two types of Pakistani women that Americans got to see last month. One was empowered and educated, Asma Jehangir; the other was an illiterate victim who wanted due justice, Mukhtaran Mai. The stronger woman...