Articles with tag: Society
What's In a Name?
Aziz Akhmad Jul 16, 2008 interacts: 8The name, Blue Area, has for some reason stuck in the collective memory of people of Islamabad, but not Jinnah Avenue. I never understood why?
Aamir - A Film Review
Dost Mittar Jul 4, 2008 interacts: 148Most of the film is shot in the rough, mean streets of Mumbai and captures the cold, indifferent character of the city and its people.
Local Liberal Dribble
Nadeem F Paracha Jun 23, 2008 interacts: 87I think it's time we start addressing irrationally-charged matters like religious fanaticism as a psychological issue rather than an intellectual or an ideological one.
The Lucifer Effect
Yasir Abbasi May 16, 2008 interacts: 12The only things that can truly slow the decay of our society, is to make sure the rule of law is implemented ‘equally and across the board’ to everyone.
Hitched Hikers Guide
Ibrahim M Khalil May 18, 2008 interacts: 2I never aspired for such superficial goals. Being mature beyond my age, I always dreamt of being a Groom (Dulha).
Life Long Commitment vs. Singledom
Kiran Farooque May 19, 2008 interacts: 34Marriage, I think, is highly overrated. Marriage being the perfect happily ever after and the solution to life’s problems is ‘just a myth we’ve been fed since childhood’
Persecution of Religious Minorities In Islamic Countries
Feroz Qutabshahi May 9, 2008 interacts: 470Meaningless protests over stupid cartoons do not achieve anything. Speaking up against injustices in their own countries does.
Happy Mother's Day
ammara ahmad May 11, 2008 interacts: 15Today, 11th May is Mother’s Day. It is almost absurdly romantic that a country like Pakistan would celebrate a day like to honor mothers!
Mind the Gap, The Generation Gap That Is
Bhaskar Dasgupta Apr 21, 2008 interacts: 8Between 9/11, Afghanistan, Bush and Iraq, a new generation is forming which will define America for the next thirty years at the least. I call it the angry generation.
Color-Blind Love
Feroz Qutabshahi Apr 3, 2008 interacts: 353Worldwide, interracial marriages are on the rise. However, 20 years ago, because of my religion, a German priest would not officiate our marriage nor would a Greek Orthodox priest.
Mass Difference: The Bhuttos and Civil Society
Nadeem F Paracha Jan 6, 2008 interacts: 22Populist, mass-oriented politics can effectively cancel out the two most prominent anti-populist strains in Pakistan i.e. the politico-religious and the elite-bourgeois.
The Landlady
Tahera Sajid Jan 2, 2008 interacts: 12Why do we exercise our right to hate so much more often than the right to love, anyway?
The Sufi Tarot Card Reader
Rakshanda Khan Jan 1, 2008 interacts: 12‘Hello! Would you like a reading?’ he asked, shuffling the cards with a flourish, his round, bald head settling into his broad shoulders with a friendly shrug.
Where is Ibn-Sina of the 21st Century?
Feroz Qutabshahi Nov 27, 2007 interacts: 178The 800-pound gorilla in the Islamic room is not ignorance or violence but “Blind” faith in Quran and the Hadith.
The Good Monster: Musharraf's Cultural Legacy
Nadeem F Paracha Dec 8, 2007 interacts: 133A leader’s true legacy tends to be more accurately deciphered when studied through the effects his ideas and policies have had on the cultural mindset of the people.
Resist, resist, resist: ‘The gift of a crisis’
Beena Sarwar Nov 24, 2007 interacts: 197General Musharraf’s announcement of an ‘emergency’ on Nov 3 stunned many among this otherwise complacent generation -- enough to finally act upon their convictions.
Pressures Mount on Pervez Musharraf
Beena Sarwar Nov 15, 2007 interacts: 11"The judges by not taking oath, the lawyers and civil society by resisting have shown the way. The media is standing by them. This is one battle the General is sure to lose"
Cholesterol Say Paak
Nadeem F Paracha Nov 8, 2007 interacts: 129I usually get my news by driving around the city. I see a look of uncertainty on the faces of the people, but no great movement.
Thorn Tree Gossip
Lokhi Menon Nov 1, 2007 interacts: 4They fall on the new gossip-meat
Like a ravening hyena pack,
tearing their “close” friend
To rotten pieces behind her back.
Calling Chanda
Anum Ali Nov 2, 2007 interacts: 3In her early twenties Haryalee, like Chanda, was a eunuch or more commonly known as the hirja or the third sex member of another hijra community residing in Nagin Chowk.
The Other Woman
Tahera Sajid Oct 30, 2007 interacts: 19She was a friend who just happened to be a woman...or, was she?
Curse of Arranged or Forced Marriages
Moiz Ansari Oct 14, 2007 interacts: 89He is from a “good” family or biradri! The girl might be given a chance to look at her future groom once if the parents are “Progressive”
Of No Importance
kashkin dabruski Oct 21, 2007 interacts: 4I need to move,
To some other place
Away from all this mayhem
Superseded
Anand Mahajan Oct 12, 2007A divorced woman, suspects misfortunes to rob her again in a new turn in her life; this time it didn’t end up tragic.
Suicide Note of a HIV Patient
Ali Kamran Sep 17, 2007 interacts: 27This was the first time I ever saw a HIV infected person. Before that I was ignorant to the extent that I thought of AIDS as an African Disease.
The Ladies Club
Tahera Sajid Aug 19, 2007 interacts: 4The atmosphere was charged up. Colour and glamour defined the mood in the large room occupied by women of all shapes and sizes.
Confessions of Webaholics
Zainub Razvi Sep 23, 2007 interacts: 1Has it been five hours since you’ve been watching movie clip after movie clip on You Tube? Or may be you were just randomly searching people’s profiles on Facebook.
Chunari vs. Topi
L Z Aug 17, 2007 interacts: 5When will we learn that the 'Daag' isn't imported and not on the 'Chunari' at all.
No longer Hydera-GOOD, its Hydera-BAD
Deepak Sapra Sep 12, 2007 interacts: 9The fly-over under construction at Panjagutta, supposed to relieve the city of its traffic woes in the most crowded stretch of the city, gave way.
An Unconditional Commitment to Pluralism
Rohit Chopra Sep 7, 2007 interacts: 22It means accepting a Hindu as a Hindu, a Muslim as a Muslim, a Jew as a Jew, an atheist as an atheist, an unbeliever as an unbeliever and it means respecting that choice.
Sex Education For the Next Generation
Khalid Sohail Sep 7, 2007 interacts: 369Sex education based on science, medicine and human psychology rather than cultural and religious superstitions help make rational and responsible choices in life.
Cellular Cancer
Javaria Farooqui Aug 25, 2007 interacts: 8Cell phones have erased distances and brought people closer. But each step in the cellular direction is bringing us closer to physical and mental problems.
This Is For The Men Who'll Roll Their Eyes
Sidra Omer Jul 20, 2007 interacts: 154I’m waiting for the day when the word feminism will not be a synonym for extremism.
Mobile Phone Ideas
Jay Prakash Aug 21, 2007 interacts: 16Philip Koetler, the marketing guru wrote that products that succeed are the ones that meet human needs, definitely not true for mobile phones.
The Quest
Astral U Aug 9, 2007 interacts: 7“Amman can you tell me who my real mother was?” Nazish asked gazing at the wall in front of her.
My Life Story
fariha ansari Aug 1, 2007 interacts: 10When I close my eyes in solitude and think about the goings-on in my life during the past 17 years, I realize that a big part of my life is gone, withered away, wasted...
24 Hours in Dubai - Dunes and Dinars
Naeem Randhawa Jun 18, 2007 interacts: 37Half the women I see are dressed in full burqas, and the other half look like Britney Spear rejects - this place is so full of opposites, it’s a yin yang of cultures.
Talibanization of Pakistan
Rafi Aamer Apr 17, 2007 interacts: 196By declaring that no law in Pakistan would be made against Islamic beliefs, the constituent assembly gave religious establishment the monopoly over legislative discourse thru which they could influence every part of the society.
Of horses, and garbage
mustafa islamabadi Apr 15, 2007 interacts: 4Its about how we as a society dispose off “our garbage”, and at a deeper level, how we deal with our problems. The fact is that we don’t! We leave them for other people to deal with.
Women’s Day 2007
Zainub Razvi Mar 8, 2007 interacts: 7The modern woman’s struggle isn’t simply or solely about securing absolute equality... This struggle, and its an on-going one, is one of identifying our changing roles within society and our homes, it’s about understanding and accepting
Soul Atrophy
Nasruminallah Mian Feb 21, 2007 interacts: 8Teams in any sport can be as good or as bad as the countries, societies and institutions they represent.
Muharram 10: ’Ashura: Commemorating Imam Hussain- The Prince of Martyrs
Asif Naqshbandi Jan 29, 2007 interacts: 199A translation of a section from Jami’s Shawhid al Nabuwwah
Get over the Victim Syndrome
Ahmer Muzammil Jan 26, 2007 interacts: 236The real issues that affect our daily lives are never addressed by opposition or the government, instead we are enamored with non-issues like huddod ordinance, attire of mushy, Kashmir, women’s face on hoardings, music in public buses and other crap
An Untouchable Apology
Bhaskar Dasgupta Dec 20, 2006 interacts: 260The untouchables of Hinduism are a wretched lot. While it is not at the level of genocide, it is an institutionalised social discrimination over a very long period of time.
The Iftaar Party Scene
A Ali Oct 17, 2006 interacts: 11It felt as if in a jiffy, every second person was smoking out there and I am pretty sure I saw someone sipping a Jack Daniels!
Tough to be Disabled in India
Shantanu Dutta Oct 16, 2006 interacts: 12In a country like India the numbers of the disabled are so large, their problems so complex, available resources so scarce and social attitudes so damaging, it is only legislation which can eventually bring about a substantial change in a uniform manner.
Laddo Ki Shadi
ammara ahmad Dec 7, 2005 interacts: 11She would bluntly reply to the question, “ Will you keep me instead of my sister?” This was obscene when said to males, but not that she cared
Indians Do Not Like Each Other
partha roy Jun 11, 2005 interacts: 145India is an amalgamation of 29 different mini countries/states.
Q for Qachas
Hassan Nasir Apr 7, 2005 interacts: 9Meera & Co. in shorts, doing Zuhr work-out at Fortress and leading Maghrib aerobics at Minar-e-Pakistan would do PR wonders for Nachta - Koodta Modern Pakistan.
Cell Phone Blues
Ibrahim M Khalil Mar 25, 2005 interacts: 12Mark Twain once said, “Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society”. In today’s society, anyone without a cell phone is naked.
Why Fashion Matters
Khadija Hassan Feb 19, 2005 interacts: 15According to Frieha Altaf, “Fashion in Pakistan is and always has been for the elite. It has two effects: a trickle-up effect, when street fashion comes into the main-stream; and a trickle-down effect, when fashion moves from the elite to the masses
Avant-garde Pakistani Women
Zainab Mahmood Jan 24, 2005 interacts: 17She is the young, single, career woman in Pakistan today. Living at home, establishing her career, with no excess baggage. But it’s never that simple. After speaking to a wide array of women, from diverse backgrounds, I learnt about where they were
Ruzbihan and the Eunuch
Muhammad Farhan Jan 24, 2005 interacts: 8Being the smallest in his family, little Ruzbihan had a hard time trying to figure out ways to end his post-marriage misery. Sometimes he thought about divorce, but he knew his mother would kill herself if he did that. Sometimes he thought of committing s
Karma Camry
Jay Prakash Jan 14, 2005 interacts: 42Even a car can be trapped by the web of culture that we weave....
’NO’ to Ostentatious Displays and Wasteful Expenses
Salil Kader Dec 17, 2004 interacts: 43Supreme Court had banned serving of meals at hotels, clubs and marriage halls for marriage ceremonies. The Court, in its order, specified that ‘no meals or edibles other than hot and cold drinks could be served to guests.’
Caste and the City
Shivam Vij Dec 6, 2004 interacts: 171Caste discrimination operates via exclusivism. We won’t live with you, we won’t eat with you, and we won’t socialize with you. So it should not be surprising that such marginalisation extends to the job market.
The Price of Love
Beena Sarwar Sep 15, 2004 interacts: 17Hameed may not find it so easy to dispose of his daughter, who has refused to accept her fate lying down; before being locked up, she managed to contact some human rights activists.
The Story of Fatima
Mubashir Akram Sep 14, 2004 interacts: 26Are you lost somewhere? he asked her atop. No I am not, she lied and he kept busy. Both of them were spent. They slept. He had her twice and she got sleep of a little more than six hours. Ah - One of those rare nights!
Miracle on 35th Street
Zia Ahmed Aug 8, 2004 interacts: 5A certified post-menopausal woman had just given birth to a piece-of-the-moon baby. Hallelujah.
Pakistan and Civil Society
ijaz gul Jun 25, 2004 interacts: 42Pakistani civil society is distinct in its evolution. It took birth much before the geography of Pakistan was drawn.
Pink Flowers
Revathy Gopal Jun 14, 2004 interacts: 21The fat one has come back and my Didi’s face grows pale as ash. Why does she come again and again when she must know that she is not welcome, when all she can do is destroy the peace of our household...
The World Is BUT are We Ready for a New Pakistan?
Mubashir Butt Apr 15, 2004 interacts: 74When good comes calling, we Pakistanis tend to take the other path opposing sanity. Could we stop acting dwarfishly?
The Immoral Family
A Shiraz Mar 2, 2004 interacts: 48The most obedient youth form the more corrupt societies.
The Third Pasture
Nadeem F Paracha Feb 4, 2004 interacts: 43The play land today, nothing more than an apolitical wasteland of aimless youth. A youth that refuse. Refuse to understand. Understand the political and economic forces driving them. Driving them towards professional and social aspirations and goals. Goal
Thank you George
Shandana Minhas Jan 27, 2004 interacts: 17In the wake of September 11, the ‘Muslim world’ has fallen headfirst into an identity crisis. While falling on one’s head is generally quite painful, the fall was buffered by the fact that the ‘Muslim world’ doesn’t rea
Bravo!
Nadeem F Paracha Jan 25, 2004 interacts: 83The nazim barging into Ali Haider's flat... is this a trailer for a Ziaist future? We've had enough of trailers highlighting assorted Ziaist tendencies and Taliban whip-lash in the MMA ruled NWFP. So why should we in Karachi feel so 'liberal' and safe?
A-Okay
Soniah Kamal Jan 9, 2004 interacts: 21Unmarried mothers are maligned but a married mother using abortion as birth control society deems A-okay.
A Pocket Full of Faux Pas’
Khadija Hassan Dec 22, 2003 interacts: 20That’s the problem with money. It stifles creativity – instead of discovering one’s own style and sense, instead of honing one’s own eye by being forced to invent, to innovate one can just go and acquire another’s. Whether i
On Self Reference and the Law
Rafay Alam Dec 15, 2003 interacts: 12This article is about itself ... does it or does it not assert that 'the systems (some would say paradigms) in which society and law operate are constantly evolving; and with each shift (some would say revolution), society is placed outside its previous p
Blank Fate
JB Nov 7, 2003 interacts: 18Painfully she lifted her gaze, staring at the emptiness on her mother’s face. She knew then, she had lost everyone whom she was once proud to call hers
Toronto Talks in Whispers
Farzana Versey Oct 26, 2003 interacts: 46Canadian culture is open but reserved; there is a glass wall which lets you look in and look out, but not walk through.
How to waste a day
Sabeen Idris Oct 11, 2003 interacts: 12After breakfast the day is peppered with many sub-meals like breakfast reinterpreted, brunch, lunch, lunch in close collaboration with tea-time.
Azra
Batool Ali Oct 8, 2003 interacts: 10I feel like I’m stuck at a perpetual yellow light. As if all this is temporary...I want to be freed. From myself and from meaningless encounters with relatives and acquaintances who know nothing about me, who are more alien than the stranger sittin
Being a Girl...
Saroop Gul Sep 24, 2003 interacts: 35In our society gender seems to be a sky high barricade on the road to ambition.
Two Phases of Indian Secularism
Dost Mittar Sep 14, 2003 interacts: 185The second phase of Indian secularism started at Somnath (Gujarat) in a Toyota pick-up converted to look like a medieval Rath (chariot)
Bombs and Beards
Muhammad Farhan Sep 2, 2003 interacts: 24It traverses my face like a helmet strap, as if trying to keep my lower jaw from falling. What started as an urge to make something different out of myself has now maintained a debilitating and deceptive permanency, making others believe what I am not
Bari Imam’s Republic of Peeristan
Hala Malik Jul 2, 2003 interacts: 46Before, this disease was limited to the illiterate population of Pakistan, but now it’s becoming more of a fashion for literate and well-known people to be seeing some Pir or Sufi. It’s the latest new trend.
The Conversion Chiaroscuro
Farzana Versey Jun 30, 2003 interacts: 131Didi became a Hindu. Long before the RSS and the Pope got into a tiff about conversions. At that time it meant nothing to me.
For Better or Worse
Sheharyar Malhi Jun 7, 2003 interacts: 78Compromise is the key to a successful marriage but what happens when neither party is willing to do that?
Trembling Camera Flare on a Column Within a Column
Zeeshan Mahmud May 28, 2003 interacts: 71women who end up in this exclusive club-like section
Spare Us The Smoke, Please!
Madiha Waris May 26, 2003 interacts: 51non-smokers seriously need to start realizing their right to health and safety
Takht-e-Bahi
Saima Khan May 10, 2003 interacts: 15Takht-e-Bahi is famed for the quality of the kebabs available here.
Travels through America - Deep Thoughts
Nazar Khan Mar 5, 2003 interacts: 44Finally, it was one sight that took my heart and left a lasting impression on me of the beauty and simple innocence of a human being...
Why I Am Not A Muslim?
Ameer Afraid Dec 23, 2002 interacts: 61Life is spent in the fastidious guarding of a few empty possessions that sit around like a congregation of useless whores
What is Intelligence?
Akalpit Prabhune Dec 9, 2002 interacts: 10After lot of analysis and research, scientist came up with so-called systematic method called IQ
Towards a Ramzaan Sunset
Rozaiba Nov 25, 2002 interacts: 53The world is getting ready to open the fast.
Closet
N J Nov 18, 2002 interacts: 122obviously there are thousands of Khurram out there with their conflicting mind sitting in the darkness of the closet looking for the light
The Endangered Species
Bina Shah Nov 15, 2002 interacts: 146I’m just waiting for the day when South Asian women are added to the WWF’s endangered species list.
The Sad Reality of Arranged Marriages in South Asia
Aqdas Afzal Nov 2, 2002 interacts: 165Arranged Marriages are Racist and prevent Social Mobility
Perfect Women. Imperfect Men
Nafees Ghaznavi Oct 24, 2002 interacts: 68women should also be able to fulfill their responsibilities towards their homes
The Politics of Rape
Beena Sarwar Sep 28, 2002 interacts: 36Why the Meerwala Jatoi panchayat thought they would get away with it
ISNA 39th Annual Conference
Naeem Randhawa Sep 5, 2002 interacts: 37More than 32,000 attended the 39th ISNA conference in Washington.
Action To Support Displaced Community in Gujrat
Ajay Raina Aug 22, 2002 interacts: 190I grow more certain day by day that we must start in Gujarat, what we did not do in Kashmir
The Myth of Autonomy
Mahim Maher Jul 25, 2002 interacts: 83The bomb blast had blown off many leaves from roadside trees.
The Riverbank
Hamid Mahmood Jul 22, 2002 interacts: 63Mahmood felt as if he was choking. Choking in the polluted environment of our society.
After Pearl, Which Journalist is Next?
Anwar Iqbal Mar 1, 2002 interacts: 24So the press in Pakistan is free
A New Year Eve In Kabul’s Ruins
Anwar Iqbal Jan 4, 2002 interacts: 16for what should have been a joyous occasion, the songs were surprisingly sad
Shadows of Hate
Taimoor Husain Sep 15, 2001 interacts: 21those who survive, will never be the same anymore
A Predilection for Grand Burglary
Gomathy Venkateswar Aug 14, 2001 interacts: 10Daughters also inherit from their mothers an affinity for burglaries!
In Memory of R.K. Narayan
Dost Mittar May 24, 2001 interacts: 66There are few people dead or alive who could tell stories the way Narayan did
This Visit To Pakistan
Hassan Gardezi Feb 21, 2001 interacts: 412one notices some interesting adaptations in the life styles of upper classes
An Obituary
Shandana Minhas Nov 20, 2000 interacts: 17Whatever you did to the least of my children, you did it for Me
Women in India: Are We Better Off?
Radhika Chandar Sep 8, 2000 interacts: 156What should the wife do if her husband beats her and troubles her?
Family Laws in Bangladesh
Esam Sohail Jun 15, 2000family law codes are inconsistent with the Constituion on three counts
Tower of Babel
Shehlah Zahiruddin May 31, 2000 interacts: 12My language was peppered with baithtta hoon and khata hoon along with the elongation of almost all Urdu words with aan such as ainak-aan...
Mecca or Mohenjodaro?
RMS Azam May 6, 2000 interacts: 162A living religion is more eloquent than a dead civilization
Goodbye, yellow brick road..
Shandana Minhas Feb 12, 2000 interacts: 23today is the first day of my last week as a teacher...
Of Boylove and Boylovers
Sabia Ahmed Aug 31, 1999 interacts: 223We (even in the oh-so-liberal West) live in a more conformist society that we are led to believe
Marriage from a Man’s Point of View
Arif Abrar Jun 27, 1999 interacts: 34I have three words for other men about to take the plunge, when in doubt, smile and nod
Eqbal Ahmed - As I Knew Him
Pervez Hoodbhoy May 27, 1999 interacts: 10I had not heard of Eqbal Ahmad until I heard him speak in 1971 at an anti-war demonstration at MIT
Accident
Shandana Minhas Mar 15, 1999 interacts: 61Who is going to pay the human cost of suffering?
Growing up an American Muslim
Zehra Rizvi Feb 8, 1999 interacts: 139You’re related to Saddam aren’t ya?
The Never-Ending Story
Kaneez Rehman Jan 23, 1999 interacts: 117A womans take on being a ’druggie’ in Pakistan
Religion and Current Social Practices - A dichotomy
Amin Saleh Dec 9, 1998 interacts: 10Do fatherless boys grow up into dangerous men?
Science, Delusion and the Appetite for Wonder
Richard Dawkins Nov 27, 1998 interacts: 49Is science a superior form of knowledge?
Miracle Workers at Shifa
Umair A Khan Nov 18, 1998 interacts: 13Battling disease and taboos: from male genitalia and female sexuality to kidney stones and hypertension.
The Lost Generation
Shandana Minhas Oct 8, 1998 interacts: 17You cannot throw a stone without hitting a cynic here
Recollections of my Grandfather
Asim Hayat May 21, 1998 interacts: 1They deserve their complete rest, after a simple, kind, and honourable life
Selective Islam in Pakistan
Imran Khan Jan 21, 1998 interacts: 50I feel there are certain western countries with far more Islamic traits than us, especially in the way they protect the rights of their citizens.
Love Means Never Having to Say You Are An Infidel!
Moe Chaudry Nov 26, 1997 interacts: 21Can you be a Muslim and marry a Jew? A closer look at inter-religious marriages.
