I feel the same way about Pakistani society failing its women as I feel about land mines – someone is bound to get maimed, pretty regularly. When Qandeel Balooch was drugged and strangled by her brother, I was abroad. What is worse than Pakistan failing...
Everyday sexism is much tougher to decipher. It’s difficult to call it out because it is cloaked under cultural subtext of humor, satire or plain smart-Alec talk. When women world over are trying to be nuanced about how to put an end to it, here...
Of all the reasons why women should be included at all levels of policy-making, the fact that 800,000 children die in a year in Pakistan is the most critical one. This country thrives on knee-jerk reactions but has glacial speed when responding to catastrophes. Our family...
A teacher was honor killed for refusing a suitor. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4p7xEOCp8GA...
When transgener rights activist Alesha was gunned down in KP and she died because of negligence at the hospital - they couldn't treat her at neither the male nor the female ward. http://aaj.tv/2016/05/spot-light-28th-may-2016/...
Extortionists and haters alike harass the trans-gender community in Pakistan. Mafias try to exploit them for sex, porn or panhandling. Not only do they go through life with an identity crisis, they are continuously segregated by mainstream society and find themselves out of jobs and...
It used to be that only a limited number of things would get you honor killed. Like dressing provocatively; having sex outside marriage, being gay, getting raped or renouncing your religion. Now you can get honor killed for helping a friend escape a village to...
Pakistanis turn vicious when forced to conform to the diktat of the US. They call any such attempt to alter Pakistan’s foreign or domestic policy imperialist and hegemonic. Yet strangely, replace the US with Saudi Arabia and it almost reads like it is supremely ordained...
Imran Khan has never has let a chance pass to flaunt religion, which he conveniently wore on his sleeve: the multiple prayer breaks from the dharna (sit-in) stage, the excessive call for religion in politics, the statement about the Taliban being our brothers, the same...
Pakistan’s foreign office has reacted to the hit US televison show Homeland rather negatively for calling the country a “hellhole”. It has also reacted to the atrocious killing of 100 and more of its children in Peshawar by asking the national media to show more...