World Affairs And Beyond

The Jung Media Group - recently came up with a new adventure, The power 50, News Women. People were asked to nominate women who have made some difference through their work in the lives of others in Pakistan. I came to know about it only two days ago, when a friend of mine sent me a link of the page where he nominated me. Being a bit shy, I do not prefer being put on display for people to click on the vote button and judge me, so I requested my friends not to tag me in those posts. For fun, some of them did cast their votes for me.  Now looking at the number of votes received by the women who actually made a lot of difference through their work and contributed in a positive way to making Pakistan a better place, and the world at large, I was greatly disappointed and felt like The News Media probably should have used a better method to pay a tribute to these women. I came across Haseena Moin's page and found only twelve votes, similarly the twenty-seven year old Air Force F...

I have come across people who enter into marriages, particularly love marriages, with the hope that they will transform their lives magically. They think love marriages are like magic, and work miracles; the way they see on television. If you are not happy being single, you can never be happy being married. Happiness comes from within. Marriage, be it arranged or love, needs a lot of work. Building homes takes energy, time, compromises and patience. It does not need "love" alone. Homes break when you listen to the judgements of other people about the people you live with. First of all, when entering into a love marriage, if you expect all your wishes and desires to be met by your loyal slave only at the wave of your magic wand, then you are an idiot. That is not how marriages work. If you enter into marriage with the aim of controlling your in-laws, you are being an idiot once again, driven by Adrenalin and ambition, or maybe by Star Plus. You probably could not find...

Chapter Eight "Priest, Magic and Charms Ltd." from The Pathan by Khan Abdul Ghani Khan

My bitter experiences have taught me, that being a woman in itself is a curse. Women seem to have no place they can call their own. A woman is either in her father's home, or her husband's home or later in her son's home. It's not alone the material place I'm talking about, it's the sense of belongingness, the fact that she has to be dominated, and nothing is to belong to her, but she has to belong somewhere, only to be treated like a commodity, property or a thing. She can belong only when certain "conditions" (more or less similar to slavery) are met. I don't know about the west, but that's how it is in the east. It's a sin to be born a woman. Women are neither respected nor loved unconditionally. Give me one example of a son who loves his mother unconditionally, or a brother who would do anything for his sister unconditionally, or a father or husband who loves his wife or daughters unconditionally? (We do find exceptions at times) I have...