Anyone who is familiar with the field of Urdu poetry will readily recognise and acknowledge that it is extremely gendered. The gendering works at two levels. First most of the poets are men; virtuosity in verse is still considered to be a male purview and women poets, even well-known ones, continue to be marginalised. Second, the […]
A designed non-starter
Historical tragedies do not arise from encounters in which the right clashes with the wrong. Rather, they occur when the right clashes with the right. This is the heart of the conflict between Israel and the Arabs in Palestine. A large number of Jews, responding to the horror of Hitler’s systematic extermination of the Jews […]
Caught between the rapist and the honour killer
In a bid to restore the honour of their tribe, two men in the Bhong area of Rahim Yar Khan murdered two sisters after they had been abducted and subjected to rape by some influential landlords. According to local police, the deceased sisters were first abducted and raped by a group of men and later […]
The myth of the US-Iran hostility
Iran’s embattled regime was shaken by a wave of international condemnation and domestic criticism on Saturday night after it admitted that its forces had shot down a Ukrainian passenger plane with 176 passengers on board. Ukraine’s top military official told BBC that his country’s investigators already had evidence that a missile had brought down the […]
Patriotism and racism
Violence at international football matches is now commonplace in Europe and other parts of the world. The scenario is sickeningly familiar: Supporters of the visiting team have made the long journey because they are patriotic and want to cheer their team to victory. However, if their team loses, the supporters then pour out of the […]
Citizenship Amendment Acts (CAAs) of India and Pakistan
Ideology on which an Islamic state is desired to be founded in Pakistan must have certain consequences for the Muslims who are living in countries under non Muslim sovereigns. This reminds one of a rare look into the orthodox mentality through famous Justice Munir Report. His report is an eye opener. It shows that our […]
Crime sans punishment
“The laws of morality are the same everywhere and…there is no action which would pass for an act of extortion, of peculation, of bribery, and of oppression in England, that is not an act of extortion, of peculation, of bribery and oppression in Europe, Asia, Africa and all the world.” (Edmund Burke, in his opening […]
Disparate people and swaying armies
Today, being in the modern era, we Pakistanis face a deluge of questions from across the world regarding our personal, economic, ideological and human rights issues. We mostly rebuff these queries by confidently replying, “I am proud to be a Pakistani.” While our conviction and patriotism is highly appreciated, at the same time, it is […]
Reinventing Love
On Sat 9 November , we watched from Lahore and New Delhi , two events unfolding with a radically different set of eyes i.e. the inauguration of Kartarpur corridor and the Indian SC decision to build a temple on disputed Ayodhya site while an alternative land provided for a mosque. Not a greater and yawning […]
A dimidiated society
Tahrir Square was the focal point of the 2011 Egyptian revolution against the then president Hosni Mubarak. During the protests, the detained female protestors were subjected to forced ‘virginity tests’. The tests were intended to degrade the protestors. “They tortured me, labelled me a prostitute and humiliated me by forcing on me a virginity test […]