Child marriage and our challenges on October 24, 2018Child marriage is not only an important social problem in Pakistan but it exists in many other countries as serious social issue. Pakistan ranks number six with the highest number of absolute child marriages numbering around 1090900 in the year 2017 with India on number one with 15 509 000. The list provided in UNICEF’s […]
Inclusion or exclusion on September 18, 2018The level of jubilation over Sadiq Khans appointment as mayor of London is still fresh in our minds. We were all proud that a Pakistani origin Muslim became the mayor of a major metropolitan city. Now let us remember the resentment some members of our society felt when Dr. Atif Mian was asked to give […]
Women aren’t just victims on September 5, 2018Women constitute over 50 percent of the total population of Pakistan. However, despite various initiatives and much legislation, we still have a long way to go. Thus far, the state and society have failed to define the role of women in the social, economic, and political spheres. Women have been breaking stereotypes in Pakistan. Maria […]
The youth needs civic engagement on August 22, 2018According to the World Population Data Sheet, the world’s population is currently 7.5 billion and is expected to reach 9.8 billion by 2050. Pakistan is ranked the fourth most populous country in the world, and has a projected population of 111.2 billion. According to recent statistics, close to sixty percent of the country’s population comprises […]
We need to start talking to our children on August 13, 2018Imran Ali, who was found guilty of the rape and murder of seven-year old Zainab Ansari was awarded 12 counts of the death penalty on August 4, 2018. Yet, contrary to what the proponents of the death penalty for sex offenders have argued, sexual assaults on children continued since the sentencing. Just now, I came […]
Freedom with responsibility? on July 17, 2018Gone are the days when we relied on just one state run TV channel, waiting for the 9 o’clock news .The invasion of local news channels, more options in print media and — most consequential of all — social media have changed the whole scenario .Non-stop breaking news bulletins, along with the trends on Facebook […]
Empathy and the curriculum on July 4, 2018While reading the introduction of a book by KK Aziz titled The murder of history (published in 1993), I was shocked at how historical facts have been transformed and misinterpreted in the text books taught across Pakistan. After the 18th Amendment, school curriculums and textbooks were delegated to the respective text boards of the provinces. […]
Pakistan — a nation taught by untrained teachers on June 24, 2018Pakistan, at the time of its inception, not only inherited the government of India act but also the system of education introduced by the British along with a parallel system of Madaris like Dar-ul-Uloom Deoband, Nadwatul Ulema, then the institutions under Aligarh movement where the system of education was a blend of both religious and […]
Let’s learn to tolerate on May 30, 2018The recent Sialkot incident has brought the topic of religious intolerance to the fore once more. Another one of the Ahmadi community’s places of worship has been attacked. Later videos of the people who had led the mob attack emerged online, in which they proudly proclaimed that they had done what they did in the […]
Changing perception of gender equality on May 16, 2018“The rights of men are being violated as women are accessing opportunities that would have otherwise been available to them, and as per Islam, women must stay at home. Furthermore, we are there to provide them with money anyway!” This was the argument presented by a university student while he was defending the rights of […]