Saving Face: An Oscar for mediocrity?
In February, when Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy’s Film, Saving Face, on acid burn victims won an Oscar, I was sceptical. Accolade seemed to focus on how great it was for Pakistan to have this honour – and whenever people get jingoistic, you know that the core may be hollow. Frankly, there are two reasons why the film won the Oscar: excellent public relations work, and choice of topic that fits the western narrative of acceptable ways to talk about Muslim women – as victims of patriarchal religious violence without any emphasis on the larger socio-economic context in which this violence ensues and whether there are ...
Read Full PostJaved Chaudhry’s misogynistic excuse for violence against women
In a column published on April 1 in the Urdu newspaper Daily Express, Javed Chaudhry expresses his disapproval for a man who had paid another Rs100,000 to attack his estranged wife by throwing acid on her face. Even in his attempted condemnation, the language he uses to describe her injuries is detailed, graphic and inappropriate. “Hadiyan nangi ho gain. Aankh ubal kar bahir aa gai” (Bones were bare. The eye was singed and protruding) But then, these descriptions become downright pornographic as his ultimate thesis becomes apparent; perhaps, women incite violence because of their own insubordination, give or take a few innocent victims. The narrative focuses ...
Read Full PostThe terrible appeal of Humsafar
The appeal of Humsafar is obvious. You could cut through the weird chemistry between Khirad and Ashar, the hero authors of romance novels would be envious of. Eye candy, nakedly sexual, he stares arduously at his love interest with desire that would give the Grammarian and the Aisha Bawany schoolgirl goose bumps. He is clean cut. He smiles infrequently and when he does, it seems as if it were a gift. Physical contact is at a minimum. Sex is implied, and there is a chastity reminiscent of Zia-era dramas that drives people insane with tension. Khirad on the other hand, played by the cherubic ...
Read Full PostTeacher, don’t stand so close to me
We’ve all done it when we were awkward and fourteen. The teacher was probably not even young or good looking. But we did it for approval, for love, for a better grade, to be admired. A student of mine alerted me to an interested phenomenon recently. There was this girl who was most sober in my class, did her work, took copious notes, wrote at college level, her glasses high on her nose, she looked like she had just stepped out of Hajj. My student told me in reference to her: “You should see her in the Eco teacher’s class. ...
Read Full PostShut down Wall Street
In the mid 90s I found myself in a wall street job because of a lack of really knowing what to do. It had its perks; it allowed me to live in Manhattan and Brooklyn, Par0k slope area for two years of my life, dine on sushi, and later take only the bare minimum loans for law school. So much in the world has changed since then. I remember a chilly October lunch date with a girl who worked at Lehman. She was in a black suit and we both had a lunch of steamed rolls. She wanted to ...
Read Full PostLet Mumtaz Qadri live
I consider what Mumtaz Qadri did to be a heinous crime and one of the most serious – murder, and that too motivated by ideological reasons. The victim was the governor of Punjab who in furtherance of his public duty had met a woman convicted under the state’s discriminatory blasphemy laws. Nevertheless, Qadri should not be executed as the death penalty must be opposed on all accounts. There should be a special onus on us to resist the temptation to punish someone for their ideology, however repugnant we may find that ideology. People must unequivocally reject the death penalty, especially as applied in Pakistan. Liberals who say they are against the penalty, ...
Read Full PostWhat I learnt about life in Karachi
When you first come to live in Karachi, you are a bit anxious about how things are, and often get frustrated easily. Slowly, however, you learn how to work the city. Here are some small lessons I have learned: Never talk to society women about where to buy lace; they’ll never shut up. In fact they’ll talk so much about tailors and boutiques, if you could tap all that energy through some scientific magic, you’d have several gallons of petrol. If you see a woman who gets unusually animated when talking about her tailor, run for your life. Never get upset with a waiter who brings you your samosa with his fingers underneath ...
Read Full PostWorking from home: Basic rights denied
Contrary to popular perception, most women work in Pakistan, and often inside the home in the informal economy. Sixty-five per cent of the female workforce works at home, and a 2009 survey estimated their number to be 8.52 million, although activists suggest it may be as high as 12 million. These workers are not protected by formal labour laws and suffer the legal and social disabilities that are typically associated with this form of work – no rights to minimum wage, no social security benefits, inability to organise in unions and lawfully challenge violations of occupational health and safety (OSH) ...
Read Full PostMukhtaran Mai verdict: Where the court went wrong
Human rights activists are rightfully outraged that the Supreme Court (SC) has upheld the acquittals of five of the accused in Muktar Mai’s case, except Abdul Khaliq. (The State v. Abdul Khaliq, Criminal Appeals No.163 to 171 and S.M. Case No.5/2005, hereinafter “Judgment”) The case offers an opportunity to reignite the struggle and frame ethical principles that balance the right of the criminal defendant with the rights of victims of crimes. On August 31, 2002, the Anti-terrorism Court (ATC) found the six defendants guilty of several offences under the Hudood Ordinance and the Pakistan Penal Code. These included rape and aiding ...
Read Full PostSesame Street: Can puppets change Pakistan?
A BBC news report stated that USAID has made a grant of $20 million to Rafi Peer Theater group to create a local version of Sesame Street. The setting is a rural village and the protagonist a spirited little girl named Rani. This report should be in the Onion or get a rotten tomato. It quotes Imraan Peerzada, a writer for the new series: She (Rani) will represent what little girls have to go through in this gender-biased society…her journey would inevitably touch on Pakistan’s ongoing fight with militancy, but would not directly refer to religion. What’s next? Fluoride in our drinking water to make us more docile, compliant and less flammable in ...
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