Salmaan Taseer’s sacrifice was in vain
One year on from the assassination of Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer, and all debate on amending the blasphemy laws has essentially come to a close. I do not blame individual citizens for this. Given the prevailing extremist temperament in the country, it is next to impossible to effectively stand up to what is, at the end of the day, a case of bullying in the name of religion. Given the kind of organisation and capabilities the extremists/militants have, it is very difficult for the average man or woman, appalled at the rapid rise of violent radicalism in the country, to speak out. It is not just ...
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Shot over a game of volleyball
In January 1998, my family received a slightly incoherent call from an uncle. He didn’t make any sense when he said: “Bring all the cash you have.” An hour or two later, those words made sense. My cousin had been shot in Islamabad by one of his peers and his family needed money urgently to take care of matters. We did not tell his mother what happened but informed her that he had been in a fight and was injured. He was nineteen-years-old. The boy who shot him was 20. A court case, countless days of mourning, and many unanswered questions. Now, 13 years later ...
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A long wait for Aasia Bibi
She has already suffered a lot but it looks like a longer, more painful and tiresome journey lies ahead for her. Aasia Bibi, a Christian woman sent to the gallows by a district court in central Punjab last year for committing blasphemy, will have to wait for several years before the Lahore High Court (LHC) takes up her application, seeking review of the lower judiciary’s verdict. Lawyers associated with the case have indicated that it is unlikely that the LHC would take up any time soon the review petition in arguably the most ‘controversial’ case in the country’s recent legal ...
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Samina is waiting for a miracle
Samina, my maid’s daughter, is being forced to get engaged to a boy, who she has never seen or spoken to. When she asked her mother about him, she found out that the boy was a 12-year-old child. Frustrated, Samina tried to cut her wrist with a blade, but all in vain – she will be engaged on the coming weekend. I could sense the remorse in her voice, when she told me about this, as she was not prepared to face such a responsibility. Samina’s dreams were to go to school, read the Holy Quran and learn English – all ...
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No dowry, no bride, no wedding
My 21-year-old maid Noor Jahan recently told me about her unwillingness to get married so as to avoid putting her parents through any kind of pressure. The ‘pressure’ she spoke of was the high demand for dowry by her would-be in-laws. Culturally, we are accustomed to hearing about the 10 tolas of gold given to the groom’s family along with a bungalow, car, washing machine, furniture, bed sheets, shower curtains, needles, and so on, to feed the desire of greedy in-laws. Sure, when one can afford it, parents give their daughters these ‘presents’ generously. However, Noor Jahan comes from the working ...
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Thousands of Pakistanis missing: Is anyone listening?
As I write this blog, I sit in my living room miles away from Pakistan. I miss my loved ones; my parents, my siblings and acquaintances a lot. But thank God, despite being away from them, I am in constant touch with them and they know about my life and the freedom I have. But as I write all this, I think of those unfortunate people whose loved ones are lost – or rather haver been snatched away. I thank God and feel blessed. Since the time I wrote my last piece on missing persons, which was nearly three months ago, I ...
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