The invocation of women’s rights by the apologists for war helps obscurantist criminals like the TTP elevate misogyny to anti-imperial expression. For advocacy to be successful, it has to come from a place of empathy rather than superiority. Many of the most vocal advocates of women’s rights in Pakistan today are also known for...
Read More »
The question posed by the NYT erases the role played by the U.S. and the Pakistani army in creating the Taliban. The dastardly attempt by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan to assassinate the young firebrand schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai, has once again resurrected the tired arguments about the U.S.A.’s alleged responsibility to protect women’s rights in “Af-Pak.”...
Read More »
We must ask complex questions and be willing to handle equally complicated answers. As sad and horrific as it is, when the media exploits the tragic shooting of a child to rally support for an overly simplified political position, you know something is wrong. Reality is always more complex—and loathing the Taliban is fast...
Read More »
The struggle against patriarchy and other oppressive structures has been sacrificed to the imperatives of a propaganda war. It is easy to forget now that through much of the 20th century it was not the “Taliban” or “al-Qaeda” that imperiled “civilization” and “freedom.” Until only two decades ago, communism rather than terrorism constituted an...
Read More »
Read an English translation of Malala’s diary entries here. For the original BBC Urdu series, click on the links below: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 In 2009, Malala Yousafzai began writing a 10 part series, “Diary of a Pakistani Schoolgirl” at the BBC Urdu. Published pseudonymously under...
Read More »
