“The Pink Taxi service… launched in March 2017 in Karachi and is already seeing an overwhelmingly positive response.” Ifra Asad reports on Paxi.
“But what was wanting in the coverage was an understanding of the problem… — patriarchal society itself.” Sana Ullah writes on honour killing from the point of view of a lawyer who works with the men who commit it.
“Both Verkaaik and Ring look at ethnic violence from around the political lens, rather than directly through it.” Nabeeha Chaudhary looks at two academic texts on the subtleties of ethnic conflict in Pakistan.
“…but that is a poem I cannot write./ that is a cartoon we cannot draw.” Poem of the Week (January 27), by Amna Y. Khan.
At a time where “femininity” is weighed by the proclivity of procreation, the author ponders what place “the white picket fence” fantasy merits in Pakistan today.
Welcome to the Poetry World Cup final!
How do you choose what team to support when your national team never qualifies? Hammad Ali talks about the experience of being a Pakistani fan ahead of the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
“I see cracked brown hands/ pick a pair of amrood/ on two stems kissing like cherries.”
Weekend poem (May 11), by Yusra Amjad.
In this week’s edition of Letters to Strangers, Maria Amir muses about the prisons we build for ourselves, listening to opera, and learning to befriend other women.
Guest writer Zubair Torwali reminisces about his home, the Swat Valley, a paradise lost to the tragedy and violence of conflict.