Blue Line Re: # 7

Correct me if I`m wrong Maryam. The narrator mentions there is no ring on her third finger, which I believe is a hint that she`s unmarried. Therein lies the conflict. It could be more complicated than that. Perhaps she`s divorced.

Blue Line Maryam,

You have a beautiful way with words. It`s not easy to capture emotions with words elegantly.
Please keep writing.

Chowk staff,

Now this is the kind of writing we need more of.

Just a Woman Despite the spelling mistakes, this was a nice essay. Good for you, for taking a stand. Eve teasing exists everywhere, in some form or another. In new york, I once witnessed a desi hot dog stand vendor teasing a white woman walking by. The funny thing is, she smiled and teased him back while going along her way. The guy stood there speechless. Guess he didn`t see that one coming.

The Anatomy of a Smile ``her rotten and caries ridden dentures notwithstanding. ``


How do dentures get cavities?

Female Image in the NWFP heroin?

chowk staff, did you fire your spell checker?

The Importance of a Dictator’s Failure My prediction is, Inshallah, President Hillary Clinton will bring democracy back to Pakistan in the year 2009. My other, more tentative prediction is that if Hillary wins, Benazir wins.

Fauzia’s Rejection These are two more of my amateur attempts at story writing based on a conglomeration of true life characters.


http://www.chowk.com/show_article.cgi?aid=00001391&channel=chaathouse

http://www.chowk.com/show_article.cgi?aid=00001077&channel=gulberg

Fauzia’s Rejection dear readers,

Thank you for your comments and criticisms. I take them all in good faith. What is important is not how the story is written or it`s literary merit, but what it stands for. Fauzia`s character is based the ugly truths of our soceity. I have extracted bits and pieces of Fauzia`s experience from my own life and the lives of women that I know. This story is just a fragment of these experiences. I`m working on the next chapter. It may offend some readers and their sensibilities but I have to get the stories and experiences of these women out in the open, in my own way, however amateurish and blase it may seem.

The Burden of Virginity If anyone`s still interested I`d like to pose the following question to the ladies:

If your ``blushing`` groom confessed he wasn`t a virgin on your wedding night would you?

a) Spit on his face and go home to momma.

b) Feel insecure and ask lots of questions

about ``her,`` or ``them.``

c) Tell him to wait, and go have sex with someone

so that you both are even.

d) Cry

e) Confess your own sins

f) Feel distrustful and wonder if he has Herpes.

g) Pull out a gun and kill him

h) Pull out a gun and kill yourself

The Burden of Virginity After reading all the interacts, I`d like to clarify some points.

1) The gist of my message was that women should NOT base decisions about their body upon cultural standards, but to use their own common sense.

My personal common sense is to abstain until I find the right person. If that means waiting, so be it. I`d rather have it mean something other than just a thrill seeking adventure. We have bunjee jumping for that.

2) Some interactors believe that my message seems too contrived. WEll, the fact of the matter is, I said what I felt. Maybe I am simple minded. I`ve used my personal experiences and values to make the decision.

You all have raised very interesting points. I wish I could reply individually, but there are only 24 hours in one day, and too much work to do.

The Burden of Virginity Thank you all for interacting to my article.

Judging from the interacts, the men seem to have reached a general concensus as to the importance of de-virginization. But then, they are speaking from a male sexually driven perspective. I`m sure the thought of their bride having been with another man would eat at them, even though they might not admit it. Desi male egos are hard to surpress despite the ``modernization and western intellectualism.``

I`d like to hear from the ladies as well. If you are a virgin, I`d like to hear about how you came to the decision. And if you are not a virgin, (before marriage of course), what made you decide to have sex, and do you regret it and why?

Since this is a very sensitive matter, feel free to change your normal usernames in order to answer these personal questions.