The burqa debate: “The right to wear a burqa” -by Meera Ghani: I must start by stating that I’m not pro-burqa but my argument is simple. No one has a right to tell a person how to dress- not their family nor the State. I oppose the law banning the burqa

The burqa debate: “Just so you do not have thoughts…” – by Shazia Nawaz: Related articles: The burqa debate: “To ban or not to ban?” – by Imaan Hazir Mazari The burqa debate: “Burqa got a befitting French kiss” – by Marvi Sirmed We all know that burqa does not have its roots

The burqa debate: “Burqa got a befitting French kiss” – by Marvi Sirmed: Related articles: The burqa debate: “Just so you do not have thoughts…” – by Shazia Nawaz The burqa debate: “To ban or not to ban?” – by Imaan Hazir Mazari Before reading this argument on recent Burqa-ban by France,

The burqa debate: “To ban or not to ban?” – by Imaan Hazir Mazari: Related articles: The burqa debate: “Just so you do not have thoughts…” – by Shazia Nawaz The burqa debate: “Burqa got a befitting French kiss” – by Marvi Sirmed How do we know when a state oversteps its bounds?

Keeping the faith – by Shehrbano Taseer: The cases are on the rise. In the first three months of this year alone, at least 17 have been registered against 23 people under Pakistan’s anti-blasphemy laws. The accused include a mentally challenged shopkeeper, and a 17-year-old schoolboy

Necessity Pushes Pakistani Women Into Jobs and Peril – by Adam B. Ellick: Cross Posted from: New York Times Her conservative brother berated Ms. Sultana for damaging the family’s honor by taking a job in which she interacts with men — and especially one that requires her to shed her burqa in favor

Fashioning Moral Outrage – by XYZ: Oh wow. We’ve all become so used to the hyperbole of the Western and local language English press around Pakistan Fashion Weeks, that it is sometimes easy to forget how a significant section of society in Pakistan views them.

Daughters of Al Huda: A Farhat Hasmi enteprise – by Khaled Ahmed: We are wrong to look for terrorist tracts in the madrassa. The suicide bomber is not made through syllabi but through isolation from society. When we wish to produce a normal citizen we begin by socialising the child. Anyone

Syria’s niqab ban is part of a clash within Islam itself: with thanks : Guardian Far from the heated debates of Europe, Syria has banned the niqab in classrooms, adding another layer to this complex story. Quietly, away from the fanfare that accompanied the French vote on banning the niqab in public, and

Would you permit me – by Nizar Kabbani: (this poem was originally shared on our forum by our esteemed contributor Javed Sheikh. You can join the discussion about it here) Would You Permit Me? نزار قباني Nizar Kabbani في بلاد يغتال فيها المفكرون، ويكفر الكاتب وتحرق الكتب،

Patriarchy the hijacker — by Dr Mahjabeen Islam: Testosterone-infused patriarchs have knowingly and unconsciously vilified Islam and misinterpreted it to satisfy their virginity-obsessed lusts. Either we accept promiscuity in our wives, daughters and daughters-in-law or work toward the simple standard of gender equity, spiritual and physical modesty

Aqsa Pervez : Who will speak for the Daughter of Pakistan?: The report by Natasha Fatah of the CBC is an eye opener for Canadians, Pakistanis and for everyone in general. It highlights the deleterous effects of excessive poliitcal correctness to the point where few, if any, are questioning the

Ban on Ajoka’s Burkavaganza: Unveiling freedoms – by Afiya Shehrbano: Unveiling freedoms I believe Samia R Qazi of the Jamaat-e-Islami was right to campaign for a ban on Ajoka’s Burkavaganza– but for very different reasons. If Samia Qazi had just sat through one showing, she would’ve realised that the

‘Burka’ and intellectual terrorism – by Awais Masood: In an article published in the January 2009 edition of Newsline, prominent Pakistani academic, scientist and social activist Pervez Hoodbhoy outlined the root causes of religious extremism in Pakistan and while doing so pointed out towards deliberate attempts of

Taliban militants disguised in burqa to attack an anti-Taliban mayor: Perhaps inspired by their terrorist leader Mulla Abdul Aziz of the Lal Masjid of Islamabad, Taliban terrorist have started disguising themselves in Burqa in order to attack ordinary citizens of