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...
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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...
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I post this for two reasons: 1) A study in beautiful, seductive storytelling. 2) A study in how western media occludes America’s role in Afghanistan prior to 9.11. Based on 14 trips to Afghanistan between 1994 and 2010, A Darkness Visible: Afghanistan is the work of photojournalist Seamus Murphy. His work chronicles a people...
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Congratulations to Jamil Ahmad, Musharraf Ali Farooqi and Mohammad Hanif for making it to the longlist of the 2013 DSC Prize for South Asian Literature! The books (with summaries from DSC): Jamil Ahmad: TheWandering Falcon(Hamish Hamilton/Penguin India) The Wandering Falcon begins with a young couple, refugees from their tribe, who have traveled to the middle of nowhere to escape...
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It’s heartening to see Pakistanis take an eager interest in the fate of Malala Yousafzai, the 14-year-old shot in the head and neck by the TTP. Our capacity for collective horror at this insensible act is a marker of our ability to be moved by the tragic and to be shocked by the cruel....
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Here’s an image:
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