Rights of the child
On Nov 20, 1989, the world agreed that rights of children needed to be protected. The resulting Convention on the Rights of the Child is ratified by a record 191…
First-cousin marriages
Last year I wrote on the topic of thalassaemia, to which I received many positive reactions. Because of the importance of this disease and its relationship to first-cousin marriages, I…
Pakistan’s missing stories
The World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Gender Parity Report places Pakistan at the very bottom – 148th out of 148 countries – with a gender parity score of 56.75 per cent.…
No drama queen
EVERY so often my father and I watch a Pakistani drama together. It’s a good way for us to bond and also spend time away from news channels selling us…
Elegant justice
HARDLY a week goes by when the inequities of life and the law that women suffer do not receive press attention. A recent reading of an old judgement took me…
Our invisible backbone
Shabana’s day begins long before sunrise in Thatta. By four in the morning she is walking to fetch water. She cooks for her children, cleans for her in-laws, tends to…
Climate risk
In the Climate Risk Index 2025, Pakistan moved from eighth to first place as the most affected country by climate related events. But are these climate risk effects experienced equally…
Where’s her voice?
As Pakistan marks its independence, we celebrate the resilience of a nation that has endured immense challenges. However, for women, that independence remains incomplete. Their voices are still missing from…
Climate-resilient Pakistan
The Germanwatch Global Climate Risk Index 2025 ranks Pakistan as the top country among the ten most affected countries by extreme weather events in 2022. Pakistan’s approach to disaster risk…
The deadly cost of choice
She cried out, “Nikkah kiya tha, zina nahi” (“We got married, we did not sin”) just moments before she and her husband were brutally murdered by her own family. Their…
