South Asia attracted international attention once again during this week but unfortunately once again it was for the wrong reasons. The news was not about double-digit economic growth, impressive social indicators or ground breaking technological innovation. The news was about ...
Read More »Why is a Pakistani woman’s citizenship still dependent on the verification of a ‘male guardian’?
Policymakers continue to uphold their colonial legacy entrenched in the patriarchal position that a woman’s legal status is acquired through her relationship with a man—first her father and then her husband Pakistan is an all-male state, which reflects in its ...
Read More »Of Arab and Ajam
Apparently the current row between the conservative Sunni-Saudi monarchy and the Shi’a theocracy of Iran is called a Haj-spate as the war of words between the world’s two most oppressive regimes has emanated from their dispute about the annual pilgrimage ...
Read More »I didn’t realize how often Muslims get kicked off planes, until it happened to me
A recent news report documented the removal of two Muslim women working for the federal government from an American Airline flight. On its surface the airline staff appeared to be upholding safety regulations, but in reality they were engaging in discriminatory ...
Read More »Narratives, counter narratives and social media
Of late, there has been considerable amount of discussion in various circles of Pakistan on the need of counter extremist narratives for all good reasons. Appreciating the good intentions of all those involved in the process, one would like to ...
Read More »Challenges to the State
Since its inception; Pakistan is on wobbly ground. The heebie-jeebies state is multifactorial. Some goes back to its genesis followed by political, economic, ethnic, sectarian and social convolutions. It is pointless to go into the genesis but one fails to ...
Read More »Border Management- A Serious Business for Nation States
Under normal circumstances border management is a serious business for nation states and no one can have any problem with it as every state is supposed to do it as a matter of duty. As a long term measure, no ...
Read More »Afghan Refugee Repatriation and Unattained Dreams
When our parents were whispering to each other with frightened faces, their faces signified terror. When you got out of the house, you could see every new place hit by a rocket. An air of fear and uncertainty had taken ...
Read More »The FATA status quo
Yet another report on FATA reform has appeared and religiously repeating the past practice once more, the state has “delayed” it’s implementation for “further discussions” on the report. This decision was taken by a high level meeting convened by the ...
Read More »Preservation of Male Honour: A Paradoxical Situation
In many Muslim societies, women are strictly monitored, hidden, kept under surveillance, controlled and treated as the property of husbands and men in general, furthermore forced to adhere to stringent codes in order to preserve the honour of their men, ...
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