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 →

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

Petition for Peace and De-weaponisation of Karachi sent to CJP

Posted on November 1, 2012 by beenasarwar

Photo: AFP/Getty Images

Just received this via email today – the text of a petition for Peace and  De-weaponisation of Karachi that has been sent to the Chief Justice of Pakistan. Naeem Sadiq who sent the email says that anyone who agrees with its contents and wants to be a co-petitioner, is welcome to copy/amend the petition text (minus the petitioners) and add their own name and signature (there can be more than one signatory), designation or profession, postal address and phone number (NIC optional), and  mail the petition directly to the SC at the address provided. Interestingly, the MQM last year introduced a bill seeking this aim as well. See Dilawar Asghar’s article critiquing the move at this link, pointing out that the long term solution lies in ensuring the “supremacy of the law. If the law is implemented, without any distinction and applicable to everyone, regardless of their status or affiliation that would be the first step.” Here’s the citizen’s petition: Continue reading →

Filed under: Pakistan | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments »

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 →

Filed under: Gender | Tagged: , | 4 Comments »

Malala’s plight is “related to the potential for world peace”

Posted on October 25, 2012 by beenasarwar

Vigil for Malala, Charlestown, Boston

My report on the vigil for Malala Yousufzai in Charlestown, Boston, last Sunday, an event that local families are holding on a weekly basis to show their support for her and for the right of children, especially girls, worldwide to get an education. Please also see the I am Malala campaign initiated by the Office of the UN Special Envoy for Global Education, aiming to get every child in the world to school. Continue reading →

Filed under: Education | Tagged: , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Malala’s injuries and treatment: some details and updates

Posted on October 20, 2012 by beenasarwar
MalalaYousafzai2

Photo released by QEHB on Oct 19, 2012. Malala, the world is praying for you.

For official updates on Malala Yousufzai’s condition, see this website set up by Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham, where she is being treated. An additional update posted on Friday 19 October 2012, at 13:50 hours (reproduced below), lists details of her injuries and what’s being done to treat them. The latest update is that she is stable, comfortable and responding well. She is communicating through writing notes, and thanks all well-wishers for their support and the doctors and nurses who are treating her. She will need a significant period of rest and recuperation before undergoing reconstructive surgery. Continue reading →

Filed under: Education | Tagged: , , , | 2 Comments »

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 →

Filed under: Education, Gender, Human rights | Tagged: , , , | 1 Comment »

‘We are sorry,” say Pakistanis; clean up for peace, fundraise for burnt church

Posted on September 27, 2012 by beenasarwar

This blog post is not about the violence and mayhem let loose in Pakistan to protest the anti-Islam film made by some fanatics. The destruction caused by the protestors in the name of love for the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) last Friday was televised for the world to see. This post is about what some people, mostly youth, are doing to counter such madness.

Horrified at the destruction and violence, some youngsters decided to actually DO something beyond sitting around and complaining about the protestors and their criminal activities: “The idea is simple, just get out on the streets and roads, use whatever resources you can to clean up the mess created by these riots. This is a national thing, and it would be great if people in every city of Pakistan join in!” Continue reading →

Filed under: Blasphemy Laws, Peace | Tagged: , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Pakistan artists – challenging dictators and contemporary thought

Posted on September 20, 2012 by beenasarwar
Largest exhibition of Pakistani contemporary art on display Sept. 24 at National Art Gallery, Islamabad at 5 p.m. to celebrate 30 years of Rohtas Gallery. Sixty five artists will exhibit more than 165 works in a testimony to Pakistan’s contemporary artists and an amazing journey through their growth and contribution to art over three decades. Rohtas Gallery opened in 1981 when a repressive military dictator ruled Pakistan. Rohtas Gallery defied constraints and offered space and inspiration to Pakistan’s artists who wanted to challenge contemporary thought and encourage others to do the same through their work. This exhibition on Sept. 24 celebrates Rohtas Gallery and Pakistan’s artists and their amazing journey together.

Filed under: Human rights, Pakistan, Peace | Tagged: , , , , | Leave a comment »

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