I’ll wait for you
The look of anguish on your face, As you ran away from my embrace, My mind and heart cannot forget, And yearns for the affection I deserve to get. The way you left; the car drove away, My days became dark and grey. My eyes desperately searched and followed you, And the desire for a loving look grew. My whispered goodbye; you did not hear? Nor the way my heart began to tear? Hot tears burning in my eyes, you did not see? Nor the desperation I held in my plea? Your smile, I yearned to receive, But watched, helplessly and reluctantly, leave, Their argument ripped us apart, The painful moment piercing me like ...
Read Full PostIsraeli persecution: History’s ironic repetition
A young man – a Palestinian national footballer – lay on a bed in hospital. His weak face partially hidden with an oxygen mask while the machine continues to beep every second, matching the thumping of this heart beat; zigzag lines on the screen drawing each second of life left within him. He is critically ill and fighting for his life. His diagnosis? A serious illness caused due to a prolonged hunger strike. Why was this hunger strike more important than his own health, you ask. The hunger strike was carried out as a form of protest against his detention at the brutal ...
Read Full PostHow much killing is too much?
The Pakistani flag is an emblem of freedom and independence for all Pakistanis. The star and the crescent symbolise light and progress respectively. The dark green represents Pakistan’s Muslim population, and since this is a majority, the green covers the greater amount of the flag. The white strip on the side represents the country’s minority groups. For a moment, dear reader, just imagine the green side overlapping and taking over the white until the entire flag is green. Bold and unimaginable isn’t it? However, this image isn’t far from the truth. It depicts what is happening right now in Pakistan, where every minority ...
Read Full PostKilled twice: Marrying the man who raped her
A young girl lay dead across the bedroom floor, and a small open bottle lay just mere inches from her hand with the words ‘rat poison’ printed across the label. She had just committed suicide - an act forbidden by the laws of God and nature. Her reason? She was ordered by a judge to marry the very man who had raped her. Amina Filali was just 16 when she ended her life. Only last year, Amina’s parents filed charges against their daughter’s rapist who was 10 years older than the teenager. The judge, in the Moroccan city of Tangier, concluded that rather than punishing him, the ...
Read Full PostWhy porn is popular in Pakistan
It’s late at night and the hands of the clock signal that it is just past midnight. The whole family is sound asleep with the sole exception of a young man sitting on the bed, with the laptop right in front of him. To anyone, including his family, it seems as if he’s studying, or working on an important project, or checking out the latest headlines online or watching innocent, comical clips on YouTube. All it takes is a peek over the shoulder and all is not what it seems. This scenario is part of an average, everyday lifestyle for ...
Read Full PostHow is ‘marital rape’ not rape?
“He abuses me but I cannot refuse him. My family told me that it was my religious duty to do as he demanded and if I refuse, the angels will curse me all night.” These are the words of a young Pakistani woman who contracted a Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) when her husband, who had been engaged in several extramarital affairs, forced himself on her. When it comes to marital rape, women are often confused whether they have been raped or not. The scenario of a stranger raping a woman on the street is immediately identified as rape, where as forceful acts ...
Read Full PostA female baby, a waste of space
It’s pitch dark outside, and not a sound can be heard anywhere. He hears the soft ruffling of his new-born daughter stir and he sneers at her in disgust. “Waste of my money and a waste of space,” he mutters angrily. As if sensing her father’s displeasure, the baby starts wailing softly. That’s it – he grabs her roughly, and before her mother can react, the baby is murdered. The only crime she had committed was that of being a girl. Unfortunately, manly female infants meet the same end in Pakistan. According to The Edhi Foundation, it was estimated that more than a thousand infants were ...
Read Full PostProstitution in the land of the pure
Whenever I hear the word ‘prostitute’ the first image that comes to mind is an inappropriately dressed woman standing in filthy streets waiting for a client. The discussion on the issue how cruel the profession is to women – their empty, hungry stomachs forcing them to sell their bodies in order to buy bread for the family. But let’s think for a moment; what about all the men, the children, and the teenagers that engage in such acts? In Pakistan, the topic of prostitution is taboo – one that is hardly ever discussed. It is difficult to describe or understand the ...
Read Full PostFemale genital mutilation in Pakistan, and beyond
Warning: The following article contains information that readers may find uncomfortable or disturbing to read “Female genital mutilation is a torture, not a culture.” Alice Walker According to the World Health Organisation, female genital mutilation (FGM) is defined as all “procedures involving partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons.” The process is carried out for a wide number of reasons, none of which have positive health implications. As a social cause, young girls and their families are pressurized to surrender to the tradition of FGM that has been carried out ...
Read Full PostDepression: Shamed into silence
In the dictionary, the term depression is defined as a ‘severe despondency and dejection, accompanied by feelings of hopelessness and inadequacy’ or as a ‘condition of mental disturbance, typically with lack of energy and difficulty in maintaining concentration or interest in life’. However, nowhere in the above definitions, have we come across the words ‘weakness’ or ‘illness’. So, why do our people of South Asian origin consider depression as something disgraceful? Studies have shown that women are more likely to suffer from depression than men are and, from the list of ethnic identities, South Asian women – whether they are Pakistani, ...
Read Full Post1-10 of 10
