Chronicling the Ascent of Mohammad Jibran Nasir
Imagine receiving the following call from the Taliban one day: “If you don’t take your actions back, and if you don’t stop harassing the imam of the Red Mosque, then you are putting yourself, your family and your people at risk”. How would you react? Many would go into hiding; most would […]
Homeless: Please Help
home·less adjective (of a person) without a home, and therefore typically living on the streets. I have a house. Not a home; a house. You see, one resides in a house. One lives in a home. One feels “at home” in a home. My house is in New York. But I’ve yet to find […]
Mitts Off My Muff; Anti-FGM Activist Raises Her Voice
Sometimes it takes a tragic event to inspire someone to ensure no one else faces similar pain as him/her. These people are the heroes and heroines of society. The people who encourage members of society that just because they lost a battle, doesn’t mean they can’t stop others from losing the same battle. FGM, female […]
The Societal Seesaw: Back and Forth Between Oppression and Freedom
As one of the youngest girls in my family, I’ve always been encouraged to spread my wings and change the idea of what a woman is in society. Of course, on the road towards fulfilling my dreams, whatever they were at that specific moment since as children we go through many phases, namely wanting to […]
Pakistan’s Struggle with Pediatric Heart Care
Pakistan is a nation of more than 200 million people. One of the problems associated with this number is the lack of attention given by the government to public healthcare; specifically focusing on the issue of pediatric heart care. According to BBC news, Pakistan has unfortunately one of the highest rates of children born […]
Has Peshawar Changed Pakistan’s Approach to Tackle Terrorism?
The Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan’s (TTP) terrorist attack on the Army Public School, Peshawar, on December 16, 2014, killing 132 children and several teachers, many from Army background, was traumatic; its intensity and cruelty shocking civil society in Pakistan, much in the same way as the public flogging of a woman by the Taliban in Swat did […]
On Corruption
You all may have heard of the phrase, “the rich just get richer and the poor just get poorer.” This is more than just a saying in the case of Pakistan. The situation in Pakistan and endless list of problems do not originate from the people at the lower part of the pyramid, but rather, […]
Wanted:Fiscal Change
If you’re reading this, you probably have a frame of reference when it comes to social issues. You bask in the glory of your culture, Pakistani or not. You can name the prime minister of your country, list some of the problems its government faces and you might even be passionate about using a justice-oriented […]
Drug Abuse in Pakistan
One of the largest yet often overlooked issues in the country of Pakistan is its drug abuse. The booming drug trade within the country has left areas that were once a comfortable marketplace for citizens to a violence-ridden wasteland. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) reported in 2013 that 6.7 million Pakistanis […]
Kya Dekh Rahe Ho?
The history concerning the treatment of women in India is appalling, but it is no better today. It was clear to me, after living in New York for 16 years, that visiting India would be full of obstacles: the biggest one being sexism. Watching my two brothers and father fight with men on the street […]