She still lies unconscious and heavily bandaged at the Intensive Care Unit at JPMC, writhing with pain and agony she slips in and out of consciousness, oblivious to her surroundings but still managing to appeal for help.
She is a 22-year-old trainee nurse who found unconscious in the lawn of a mess in the JPMC residential area on July 13. Upon examination, it was discovered that she was gang-raped and had allegedly jumped out of the window of an apartment in an attempt to escape. Keep reading →
Lahore is often known as the heart of Pakistan; the hub of culture and arts, the centre of education, the city of gardens, with the prominent aspect of the city being its ancient history and its deep-rooted connection to Sufism. Living in a city steeped in heritage and culture, Lahoris are known for their fun-loving spirit. This very spirit was attacked on July 1, when two suicide bombers attacked Data Darbar, shrine of the patron saint of Lahore.
The attack killed 45 people and left more than 175 injured.
This is not the first time a shrine has been attacked, previously the shrines of Rahman Baba and Mian Umer Baba in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have also been attacked.
Attacking Data Darbar on a Thursday night was an obvious target – that is the night when the shrine is teeming with worshippers as well as those seeking shelter and food from all walks of life. There is no question that the attack was well-planned – CCTV footage showed scenes of carnage and the bombers just moments before they blew themselves up. The footage showed a security guard chasing after one of the bombers shortly before the bomb went off – body parts and blood splattered everywhere as the survivors fled in all directions.
Special Thanks to alqamar.info for republishing my piece and translating it in Urdu!
پچھلے دو تین ہفتوں کے دوران پاکستان میں پیش آنے والے واقعات صحیح معنوں میں آنکھیں کھولنے والے ہیں۔ فیس بک پر پابندی لگانے کا واقعہ ہو یا لاہور میں احمدیوں کا قتل، مجھے ایسا لگتا ہے جیسے اس طرح کے واقعات پر ردعمل نے مجھے نارواداری کو سمجھنے کے بارے میں بہت کچھ سکھایا ہے۔
جب میں نے فیس بک کے تنازعہ کے بارے میں لکھا جس میں حکومتِ پاکستان نے فیس بک تک رسائی حاصل کرنے پر پابندی لگا دی تھی کیونکہ سوشل نیٹ ورکنگ کی اس سایٹ پر ایک گروپ نے حضرت محمد ۖ کے خاکے بنانے پر اکسایا تھا، تو مجھے بالکل اندازہ نہیں تھا کہ اس کا کیا اثر ہوگا۔ درحقیقت میں نے پابندی سے پہلے کی نارواداری کے بارے میں لکھا تھا اور پابندی عائد کیے جانے کے بعد انٹرنیٹ سنسرشِپ کے حوالے سے بھی میں نے کافی سخت مقف اپنایا تھا۔ میں نہیں جانتی تھی کہ اس مقف کی بنا پر مجھے “توہینِ رسالت کا مرتکب”، “آزاد خیال معذرت خواہ” اور ، میرا پسندیدہ خطاب، ” (ہیڈ سکارف پہنے ہوئے) سی آئی اے، را، موساد کی ایجنٹ” قرار دے دیا جائے گا۔ Keep reading →
Global Voices is an international community of bloggers who blog on social issues, current events and other topics from around the world. It was an overwhelming experience to be a part of a community of over two hundred and fifty citizen journalists from sixty countries. But more importantly, it was an honour to represent my country at a globally-recognised forum. The panel of speakers included also citizen journalists from Sri Lanka, Russia and China, and the topic of discussion was “The Rise of Citizen Media” in our respective countries.
When I received the invite to be one of the speakers at Global Voices, I decided to use the opportunity to highlight the positive aspects of my country and my people, some of whom have been doing great work through social media and by using Information and Communication Technology (ICT) tools.
The incidents that have unfolded in the past couple of weeks have been real eye-openers. Whether it was the issue of internet censorship or the Ahmedi killings, I feel the reactions to such incidents have taught me a lot about understanding intolerance.
I had no idea what was in store for me when I wrote about the Facebook controversy. In fact, I wrote about it before the actual ban and of course, took a strong stance against internet censorship after the ban was implemented. Little did I know, that it was because of my stance on the topic I was declared a ‘blasphemer,’ ‘liberal apologist’ and my personal favourite, ‘a hijabi CIA, RAW, MOSSAD agent.’ Even worse was the fact that people, whom I would normally interact with on social media, joined the bandwagon and questioned my faith. It had come to a point where a stance against censorship was being put in the same league as being against the Prophet (PBUH).
More than once I was asked to clarify ‘whether I was with the Prophet (PBUH) or with Facebook.’ Such reactions highlight the extremist ideology that has been brewing inside many of us for years, the kind of ideology which otherwise remains dormant but resurfaces at the slightest of issues. Keep reading →
The Feminist Tech Exchange, also known as the FTX, was developed in response to calls from feminist and women’s rights movements for greater understanding of emerging technologies, their potential and impact on the rights and lives of women.
Through skills sharing, information exchange and discussions, the FTX explores feminist practices and politics of technology, and raises awareness on the critical role of communication rights in the struggle to advance women’s rights worldwide.
“It was around 8am when Mr Jafri parked his car and walked to enter the hospital. Two men riding motorbikes came close to him. One of them pulled out a 9mm pistol and fired multiple shots at him. He received three bullets and died on the spot.”
Naseer Hussain Jafri, 34, was a Shia Muslim, married and a medical technician who had just reached the hospital to begin his routine work.
Jafri’s body was left in a pool of blood as the attackers immediately left, quite possibly for another victim. Almost an hour later, Rizwan Qadri, 25, was killed. Two men on a motorcycle shot Qadri as he was standing at a paan shop with his friends in New Karachi. He died on his way to the hospital. Qadri was a Sunni Muslim and an activist for the Sunni Tehrik.
Incomprehensible. That is the only word I can use to express my feelings about the indifference of people, the authorities, and the media towards the attacks against theAhmadi community in Lahore on Friday. Attacks that were carried out in broad daylight, killing over 90 people and injuring many others. Attacks that turned into a hostage situation with over 1500 people at risk of being killed or fatally injured.
I am disappointed that there is no one to protest and lament the killings, especially since the Ahmadi community seems to have been silenced by years of discrimination and persecution. I was six years old and attending a Quran class when the maulvisahibblatantly refused to teach two of my friends, Maham and Rija. I remember his words, his eyes flaming with hate as he refused to let them sit in his class, or even touch ‘their’ Quran. I did not understand why no one protested, why they had chosen to leave the room silently, as if the hate and discrimination was expected. I found myself in the same dilemma on Friday, when after one of the largest attacks against them in the history of Pakistan, this was the only Keep reading →
Apart from being on a Shameless self marketing spree the author is a Feature Editor (South Asia) at BEE magazine. BEE is a quarterly journal published in Britain, focusing on Asian Women. The author identified the need for a magazine that brings out the intellectual side of Asian women and accepted read *grabbed* the opportunity. A very proud member of Amnesty International Online Community where she helps gain focus for the humanitarian Crisis at hand. This is her personal space where she plans to store all her published and unpublished rants.She is also known to be very lucky with her readers which explains her presence on several other Blogs Pro-Pakistan,Global Voices
and World Focus.
The blog aims to paint a much more realistic image of her home country. Pakistan which has a lot more to be highlighted than the constant bloodshed.
Contact: admin@sanasaleem.com
Apart from being on a Shameless self marketing spree the author is a Feature Editor (South Asia) at BEE magazine. BEE is a quarterly journal published in Britain, focusing on Asian Women. The author identified the need for a magazine that brings out the intellectual side of Asian women and accepted read *grabbed* the opportunity. A very proud member of Amnesty International Online Community where she helps gain focus for the humanitarian Crisis at hand. This is her personal space where she plans to store all her published and unpublished rants.She is also known to be very lucky with her readers which explains her presence on several other Blogs Pro-Pakistan,Global Voices
