“Art for art’s sake is fine, but with a social consciousness it’s even better” – Nandita Das

Posted on March 24, 2014 by beenasarwar

IMG_5338-Nandita I met Nandita Das for the first time at the World Social Forum in Mumbai, 2004,  introduced by our mutual friend, the activist Shabnam Hashmi, sister of the late Safdar Hashmi. Since then I have caught up with Nandita several times, most recently at Brown University in Providence where she talked about her life and work. Here’s my article about her for The News on Sunday – it includes bits they had to delete due to space constraints. Also published in Times of India blogs.
Continue reading →

Filed under: Pakistan-India | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Afridi’s googly and CII’s no ball

Posted on March 14, 2014 by beenasarwar

Afridi kitchenUpdated version of my PERSONAL POLITICAL column published in The News op-ed and TOI blogs on Friday

Beena Sarwar

Shahid Afridi’s googly lobbed at women’s cricket in Pakistan in an interview, dismissing women as just good cooks, went viral on social media over the past few days.

And recently, the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) decreed that Pakistani laws that prohibit under-age marriage and place conditions on a married man’s attempts to take another wife are ‘un-Islamic’.

Ostensibly very different, both stem from the same patriarchal mind-set that sees women as inferior to men, justifying itself by invoking religion or cultural traditions. Continue reading →

Filed under: Gender | Tagged: , , , , , , | 3 Comments »

Pakistani Women Hit Hurdles in Medical Profession

Posted on March 9, 2014 by beenasarwar
Left to right, medical student Saima Firdous, Dr Jamila Khalil, Sarah Peck, Dr Khalil Khatri Credit: Beena Sarwar

Left to right, medical student Saima Firdous, Dr Jamila Khalil, Sarah Peck, Dr Khalil Khatri. Photos: Beena Sarwar

My report for Inter Press Service, March 8, 2014. Picked up by newspapers around the world – I like the headline Asia Times gave it: Women doctors say what ails Pakistan

BOSTON, United States, Mar 8 2014 (IPS) – On one of her many visits to Pakistan recently, Sarah Peck, director of the US-Pakistan Women’s Council, spent some time talking to young women medical students in Pakistan. She was struck by their passion and commitment — and by the hurdles they face.

The US-Pakistan Women’s Council is working with expatriate Pakistani doctors to find ways to encourage women qualifying as doctors in Pakistan to practice medicine.

Women outnumber male students in medical colleges across Pakistan, forming up to 85 percent of the student body in private universities and 65 percent in the public sector. Continue reading →

Filed under: Education, Gender | 2 Comments »

South Asian University response to question re: students from Pakistan

Posted on March 6, 2014 by beenasarwar

Thanks South Asian University for the prompt response to my question about Pakistani students raised in my last blog post. See tweets: Continue reading →

Filed under: Pakistan-India | Tagged: , , | Leave a comment »

Pakistan/India: One history, two narratives

Posted on March 6, 2014 by beenasarwar

HistoryProjectPersonal Political. My recent piece for The News, Pakistan and  Hard News, India

One history, two narratives

Beena Sarwar

How does a math student turned tech entrepreneur get involved in putting together a history book for children in India and Pakistan – a book that juxtaposes and highlights two conflicting narratives with a view to creating greater understanding?

The seeds were planted, if you’ll pardon the pun, some 13 years ago Continue reading →

Filed under: Education | Tagged: , , , , , | 5 Comments »

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