No homosexuality in Pakistan, and other lies
While visiting Karachi University a few months back for a fieldwork assignment, I had a rather peculiar run-in with a group of clinical psychologists. All of them were involved in clinical and rehabilitative projects and had recently banded together to start a small forum to teach people aspiring to enter mental health and also to disseminate specialised information among professionals. They felt that such knowledge was largely disaggregated in Pakistan. This meeting was atypical for me since it was one of my first encounters with a group of well educated and professionally active psychologists who wanted to inject some vigour into the ...
Read Full Post
Some generalisations about the French just aren’t true
Before I left for Paris this January, a horde of advice was thrown at me from aunts, uncles, cousins, friends – almost everyone had an opinion on how I should handle living in France. I got all sorts of cautionary remarks such as: “Un se ziada dosti mat kerna, boht racist hain.” (Don’t be too friendly with them – they are very racist) I was repeatedly warned about the language barrier, and how the French are very arrogant about their language. A lot of friends advised me to learn some basic French before I left. “The French are very unfriendly and they won’t ...
Read Full Post
Fresh Off the Boat: Why shouldn’t I like curry?
Brown:the colour I was assigned once in Canada. Never in a million years had I imagined that I would be considered a colour just like the black, yellow, white, peach and pink people around me. If we get deep down into it though, just to set the facts straight, I am not brown. I am a darker variation of ochre. No, I did not come here on a boat nor do I ride camels as a means of transportation in Pakistan unless it’s a family outing at Sea View beach, where camel rides are forms of entertainment. Yet, they insist on ...
Read Full Post
Profiling and personal fatwas
We, Pakistanis, are an opinionated lot -that much is certain. But, when criticism turns in to censure then soon enough we see personal fatwa machines, depicting yet another poor prognostic sign for Pakistan. Muslim-Americans fume at being profiled and singled out for scrutiny at airports, but happily join the melee of labeling people based on appearances – a hijabi is purity incarnate and only the morally corrupt wear shorts, don’t you know? Prejudices are transmitted and bolstered by parents and families, and a good number of unfortunate people go through life not examining the outlandish mindset, let alone the fact that they ...
Read Full Post
For us to dig deeper
Recently while in the US I had an unusual exchange with someone. I was in a meeting with a financial analyst, Eric, and in the middle of a conversation about tax returns and the IRS he paused and said: “So, the kids in Pakistan are like the kids here, right?” I was taken aback. I didn’t quite know what to make of his comment/question. I asked him to elaborate. He hesitated and said: “I mean kids are kids everywhere, right?” I told him that the Pakistani youth came in all shapes, sizes, political affiliations and bad musical tastes. He mulled that over ...
Read Full Post
Yank-bashing over a cup of tea
Our pancakes had just arrived when we heard a loud: “Who do you think you are, you bloody CIA agent?” This was followed by a chuckle in a male voice and an accented: “What makes you think I am CIA? How can you even be sure I’m an American?” What followed was a ten-minute long loud rant, in the first hoarse female voice, complete with expletive ridden language and name calling. My mother instantly guessed it was Dr Shireen Mazari. “Who the f*** do you think you are? How can you treat a Pakistani this way? Get this man out of this restaurant or I ...
Read Full Post
Musings of a ‘Westernised’ Pakistani
We often blame “the West” for constructing and perpetuating unjust stereotypes about Muslims and Pakistanis, while not realising that we’re constantly returning the favour without even knowing it! So, on behalf of the “burger-society,” I’d like to speak a little in defense of “the West.” Ready your rotten eggs if you must. Let me start by saying that “the West” does not exist. If it does, could someone please delineate it for me? Is Japan included in your definition of the West, despite being a Far-Eastern nation? What about Russia, industrialised China or Romania? When radicals make blunt statements like, “the West is waging a ...
Read Full Post
The defence of a “burger baby revolutionary”
I do a fair share of reading on the internet, and it both humours and angers me in equal proportions to read what the so called intellectuals have to say about the ‘urban youth’ as they like to call us. Authors seem to have used supernatural knowledge to conclude that due to our appearance and way of life, our opinions can be overlooked and that we are simply not in the same intelligence bracket as them. Stop stereotyping Our lifestyles, upbringing and appearances are ludicrously stereotyped, and our abilities to understand the world and the philosophy underlying politics in regard to the ...
Read Full Post
After recovery: Who wants a woman like you?
This week I visited the Punjab Institute of Mental Health (PIMH) in the Shadman area of Lahore with my class. We noticed a stark difference between the men’s ward and the women’s ward. It was a heartbreaking experience. I came to realize that the stigma of being a “mental patient” can mean loneliness and isolation for all psychiatric patients, especially women. The men’s ward When we entered the men’s ward we saw a group of men clad in bright blue shalwar kameez and mismatched sweaters. They were seated on rough carpets on the floor, basking in the warmth of the winter sun. These were the stable ...
Read Full Post
Why being hot really sucks
Are good looks a blessing or a curse? Studies have shown that good looking people succeed faster professionally – if two people have the exact same experience and qualifications, everything but different looks (average looking vs beautiful) – more often than not, the better looking one is selected. In all professional recruitment training, we are taught to dress formally and professionally for interviews. Appearance matters, looks matter even more. Good looking people succeed faster. Better looking girls are always sought after for marriage. Everywhere, there seems to be a certain bias in favour of good looks. The eye of the beholder It all ...
Read Full Post
