Maria Toor Pakay vs. the World

In a 2010 television interview, quoted in a more recent article (I was not able to find an original recording of the interview), Pakistan’s highest-ranking female squash player, Maria Toor Pakay, spoke on the rights of women in Pakistan:

“Girls don’t get any rights. They cannot go out of the house. They cannot do whatever they want to do. They get married when they are 12, 14; they are not allowed to get an education. They are not allowed to play sports. They have to stay covered; if they don’t, they are killed. All the time I wish that I could make a change.” [Read more...]

Imran Khan on Women

With general elections expected in May 2013, Imran Khan’s political party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) or Pakistan Movement for Justice is said to be gaining momentum, if its massive October 2011 political rally is any indicator.  Buoyed by popular support from an empowered youth demographic (36 million people in Pakistan are between 15-24 years old) and women from varying cross sections of society, many Pakistanis are excited about the impending political change that Khan and PTI represent.  Khan falls into the centre right on the political spectrum with a strong emphasis on anti-corruption, judicial reforms, rights for religious and ethnic minorities, women’s empowerment and education. [Read more...]

What Men Want

Love  Marriage and Fairytales” is a somewhat misleading title to a popular Muslim Youtube video, trending in various social media circles, having gone “Muslim-viral,” as my fellow MMW contributor Sana Saeed calls it.  This video (according to information discerned from the Youtube account) is an attempt to highlight the most frequent and problematic issues facing marriages today while also pointing towards Allah as the ultimate healer, redeemer and restorer of every marriage.   Unfortunately, however, despite the positive message it conveys, the video comes across in part as a thinly veiled attempt to advocate women’s modesty (i.e. adorning the hijab) and the gender segregation as the primary solutions to many of the social problems facing Islamic communities today. [Read more...]