Nov 10: Malala Day – and poems for Malala (and her father)

Posted on November 10, 2012 by beenasarwar

“I am Malala” – see UN Education Envoy website for details on this campaign and how you can get involved – http://educationenvoy.org/

With the world commemorating November 10 as ‘Malala Day’ (see the inspiring video at this link) in honour of Pakistani child activist Malala Yousafzai, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon extended his support to the young girl and her fight for education, describing her as the “global symbol” of every girl’s right to an education. This is a good occasion to share three poems (Persian and Hindi) I received recently: 1. ‘The Street of the Teenager of Fourteen”, by Nahid Kabiri, 2. “Who is this Ziauddin Yusufzai” by Pratap Somvanshi, 3. “Nanhe Haath Malala” by Pankaj Nigam, with translations,  in addition to the Urdu poem earlier shared on this blog, Malala’s Response: Dekh Zinda HooN Mein. Continue reading →

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One Billion Rising: Global campaign against violence against women

Posted on October 30, 2012 by beenasarwar

Eve Ensler, founder of the One Billion Rising movement. Photograph: Martin Argles for the Guardian.

The well known feminist activist, playwright and actor Eve Ensler has given a call for One Billion Rising campaign that aims to mobilise and bring out one billion people on streets across the world on February 14th, 2013 against violence against women, and in celebration of women’s power (One Billion Rising on Facebook).

Noted women activists from all over South Asia, including Kamla Bhasin of Sangat, OBR’s South Asian coordinator, were at the launch in Nepal. (Photo: WFS)

This, writes Ensler, “is a call to the billion women who have been violated and the men who love them, to the women who have been beaten and raped and mutilated and burned and sold and who know the destruction of the female species heralds the end of human kind. A call to walk out of your homes, your jobs, your schools and find your friends, your group, your place and music and dance” (‘One Billion Rising: Together we can end violence against women’, op-ed in The Guardian). Continue reading →

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Dekh zinda hoon mein – Malala’s response – A poem

Posted on October 30, 2012 by beenasarwar

malalah-ka-jawab-e1515555118701.pngA poem for Malala by Shariq Ali, received via email, transliterated below, with English translation, by S. Ali Jafari, son of the well known satirical poet S. M. Jafari.

TRANSLITERATION OF THE URDU SCRIPT

Dekh zinda hoon main
Humla awar mere
Dekh zinda hoon main!
Meray Rab ki raza
waqt ka faisla
Dekh zinda hooan main!

Ik teri soch hai
teergi ki makeen
Korh main mubtila
Haath main aslaha
Munh chhupaaey huay
Begunaahon pay tu
chhup kay hamla karay
Ye tera hausla!

Continue reading →

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Malala Yousufzai – Some updates

Posted on October 18, 2012 by beenasarwar

Demo for Malala in Mumbai earlier this week

Adapted from the post I sent to my Yahoogroup a little while ago:

No point repeating what happened a week ago in Swat, when Taliban shot Malala Yusufzai, the 14-year old school girl who has been speaking out courageously for the right of girls to be educated, supported by her equally brave father, Ziauddin Yusufzai, principal of the school she was studying at.

Malala was already a hero to many. Now she has become a worldwide symbol of the right of girls to education, as well as of resistance to the Taliban. In this, she represents millions of Pakistanis – and world citizens. Her friend Kainat who was also injured, told CNN from her hospital bed that she hoped to continue her education and that Malala would come back and join her schoolmates soon. “I want to tell all the girls to continue their mission to get an education,” she said. Continue reading →

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IN SOLIDARITY: Charlestown families honour Malala Yusufzai at Bunker Hill, Boston

Posted on October 15, 2012 by beenasarwar

Joanne Samuelson lights a candle for Malala

“Families in Charlestown are gathering on Bunker Hill monument on Sunday October 14 at 5:30 pm to hold a vigil for Malala Yousafzai. Please try to attend and spread the word, all welcome,” read the email circulated by the Pakistani Association of Greater Boston on behalf of Joanne Samuelson, a Boston resident who works at M.I.T.

The drizzly weather cleared away allowing the sun to come out in time to endorse the gathering at this historic spot in Charlestown, Boston, the site of a major battle between the revolutionaries and the British colonists. Continue reading →

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R.I.P. Cass. You fought the good fight.

Posted on July 13, 2012 by beenasarwar

My photo of Cass, London, March 2012

An email from our mutual friend Gita Sahgal informs me that Cassandra Balchin passed away peacefully this morning in London, barely a few months after being diagnosed with cancer, too late for cure.  I am so grateful for our friendship and our time together. Saw her in London just before the diagnosis, but I had no idea she was so ill until just a week ago. She leaves behind her mother, her sons Dani and Raul, brother Charles and a host of friends around the world, especially in Pakistan where she lived and worked for 17 years, based in Lahore as a journalist and activist, focusing on gender, religion and human rights issues. The funeral will be held around July 22nd or 23rd. Those wanting to send messages may email Cass.Friends@gmail.com. Continue reading →

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Soft power, woman power: Forging a new security paradigm

Posted on May 9, 2012 by beenasarwar

My article on the Amn-o-Nisa delegation’s visit to the USA, for Global Post, published  May 7, 2012: Soft power, woman power: Forging a new security paradigm in Pakistan

Women work to combat extremism by closing rift between Americans and Pakistanis.

Beena Sarwar

Peshawar, Dec 2011: Madrassah students and US embassy staff pose with one of the cards made by the students. Photo courtesy: PEAD

It was a unique Christmas party. Eight madrassah students in Peshawar, Pakistan took giant homemade cards, cake and flowers over to the US Consulate last year. The students and diplomats sat and talked for four hours, facilitated by teachers who provide English language and computer skills to the Islamic schools.

“This is the first time that these boys are connecting to and being exposed to a world outside the madrassah,” said Sameena Imtiaz, executive director of Peace Education and Development (PEAD), a non-profit foundation in Pakistan that has been working with madrassahs since 2005. “It wasn’t easy to build this relationship. It has taken a long time for them to trust us.” Continue reading →

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Peace. Action. Karachi. Lessons from Liberian women

Posted on April 13, 2012 by beenasarwar

Liberian women demonstrate at the American Embassy in Monrovia at the height of the the civil war in July 2003. Photo: Pewee Flomoku

Poster: Pray the Devil Back to Hell. Original Artwork: Olaf Hajek

Originally published in The News blog,  What Karachi can learn from Liberian women, April 6, 2012

Beena Sarwar

Watching “Pray the Devil Back to Hell”, an hour-long documentary film about how a small band of women came together to bring an end to the bloody civil war in Liberia, it struck me that their approach may well work in Karachi.

Although Liberia, with a population of barely three million is just a fraction of Karachi’s over 16 million, both have been gripped by ongoing turf and gang wars. As in Liberia, the underlying motives are to gain power over resources and employment.

The intense scale of violence in Liberia brought on by violent warlords and the corrupt Charles Taylor regime claimed over 200,000 lives before the women won peace in 2003. Their sustained movement of about two-and-a-half years was built upon earlier struggles waged by women, journalists and political activists. Continue reading →

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Acid survivors fight back: a story of hope amidst despair

Posted on March 11, 2012 by beenasarwar

'Saving Face' co-directors, Daniel Junge and Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy: American-Pakistani cooperation wins

My report for IPS, featuring an interview with Dr Mohammad Jawad, published before ‘Saving Face’ premiered on HBO on March 8, International Womens Day

Acid survivors fight back: a story of hope amidst despair

Beena Sarwar

BOSTON, March 8:  When the Oscar-nominated film ‘Saving Face’ won an Academy Award in Hollywood Best Documentary (Short Subject), it was the triumph of several ‘firsts’: the first time ever that a Pakistani filmmaker had won an Oscar; Pakistan’s first Oscar winner was a woman; and it was the first time that an American and a Pakistani had co-directed an Oscar-winning film. Continue reading →

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Pakistan’s first ever Oscar: saving face – or losing it?

Posted on March 10, 2012 by beenasarwar

“To all the women in Pakistan who are working for change, don't give up on your dreams. This is for you” - Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy accepting her Oscar. Reuters photo

A slightly edited version of this article was published by Common Ground News on March 6, 2012

Pakistan’s first ever Oscar: saving face – or losing it?

by Beena Sarwar

BOSTON – Pakistan’s online community erupted in virtual cheers as Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy received an Academy Award for co-directing the Best Documentary (Short Subject), recently at the Hollywood broadcast live by television stations worldwide. A tweet by Pakistani blogger Anthony Permal summed up the feelings of many of his compatriots: “A woman from #Pakistan, who made a film about women, won an Oscar. In your face, world.” Continue reading →

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