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'But, American Muslims aren't real Muslims'
The ends of the floral scarf around her shoulders fluttered behind her. Despite the wind, her black hijab was securely wrapped around her head, with just the slightest bit of hair peeking out. Her...
View ArticleOnce upon a 'free education' bill
The primary objective of the Sindh Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Bill, 2013 is “to provide for free and compulsory education to all children of the age of five to 16 years”.The...
View ArticleWhen society blamed me for my miscarriage
On the eve of July 23 2013, I lost my first pregnancy.I had been married for three months and 19 days on that day, and only nine weeks on with a baby that was never meant to be. I stayed at the...
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Light and heavy things in Zeeshan Sahil’s Karachi
Book cover.‘The cage was empty, And the vase in your window overflowed with white flowers. In the Bookstore, a new book Of poems had arrived.’Released in the summer of 2013, Light and Heavy Things...
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Food Stories: Karhi
We all have our own unique love affair with karhi. Ammi, Naani/Daadi or Khala/Phuppi; at least one of the five knows how to make the best karhi in every desi family, either side of the Wagah Border. In...
View ArticleSania Mirza: The forehand that brought Indian tennis back to life
In this week’s Women’s Tennis Association rankings, Sania Mirza is the World’s No. 1 doubles player. India went the whole of the 20th century (and the first decade of the 21st) without a female No. 1...
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8 to 1: Karachi's shrinking Hindu Gymkhana
Akhtar Balouch, also known as the Kiranchi Wala, ventures out to bring back to Dawn.com’s readers the long forgotten heritage of Karachi. Stay tuned to this space for his weekly fascinating...
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Angels of the fall …
The unforgiven‘A real genius,’ is how famous author and playwright, Ashfaq Ahmed, once described Pakistan’s TV and film actress, Roohi Bano.Bano was the most sought-after TV actress in Pakistan in the...
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Liaquat National Library: A prison of books
Where do you go to find an old book in Karachi? The question was thrown at me by a friend who had already scoured the shops of Urdu Bazaar, the web of book stalls near Hassan Square and all the popular...
View ArticleGreen and saffron: The colours of division in India
As per the report from Ahmedabad (12th April 2015), the uniform at the Shahpur School – where most of the students are Hindus – is saffron and the color of uniform in Dani Limda school – where almost...
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What does the attack on Debra Lobo mean?
Debra Lobo.It is not known yet for sure if they were responsible. On Thursday evening, Debra Lobo, the Vice Principal for Student Affairs at Karachi Medical and Dental College and a Professor of...
View ArticleFeeding daughters lesser than sons
Despite the rapid economic development in India in the 1990s, Indian children are shorter than those in Sub-Saharan Africa. However, the first-born children in India, especially sons, are taller than...
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Why Pakistan's cybercrime bill is a dangerous farce
The past few months have been a struggle for those fighting for digital rights in Pakistan. While they are a small minority in the grand pool of activists in the country, they have had their hands full...
View ArticleLooking for a cure: A nation reliant on 'totkas'
It was exactly ten years ago that my aunt passed away after an eight-month long battle with liver cancer. When we first heard that she had stage III cancer, it was an indescribable shock to the whole...
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Cheering the new Azhar, missing the old Ajmal
In A Song of Ice and Fire series of books, the iron throne is far more menacing than the version blunted by budgetary constraints in the Game of Thrones TV show. Standing at 40 feet, the seat can only...
View ArticleIn memoriam ‘Mere Dost’ Masood Hamid
What can you say when a friend of 30 years, a lifetime really, is snatched from you in the killing fields of Karachi?What can you say when the friend is taken away in the prime of his life; when, in...
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Will Pakistan rejoin the emerging markets?
Last week, I attended the Emerging Markets Summit in Chicago which had simultaneous sessions dedicated to four different parts of the world: Latin America, Africa, India and China/Asia Pacific. But,...
View ArticleWhy is good news not good enough for Pakistanis?
Recently, I came across a few reports from the South Asia Terrorism Portal which offered an account of all the terrorist activities in South Asia this year. My focus was Pakistan, of course.The thing...
View ArticleWill this blog be the last time I get to express myself?
“It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.” This is the opening sentence of George Orwell’s 1984 and reading this again, I can’t help but smirk. When I first read about...
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Food stories: Banoffee pie
I sat at my dearest friend’s house in Dubai insisting that I was too stuffed to even consider a sip of water let alone dessert. Despite my protests, out came Banoffee and my resolve went down the...
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