For Insha Afsar… Ski is the limit

Posted on May 26, 2015 by beenasarwar
Ski is the limit

Insha Afsar: A champion skier from Muzaffarabad.

Thanks to the Association of Pakistani Physicians of New England (APPNE) for the opportunity to meet an inspiring young lady, 14-year old Insha Afsar of Muzaffarabad who lost a leg in the earthquake of 2005 but has risen to become a champion one-legged skier, enabled by her supportive host parents in the USA. My piece in The News on Sunday

Some weeks ago, I happened to sit at the same table as a bright-eyed, long-haired young girl with a wide smile. The only non-desis in the room were the white couple with her. I assumed they were doctors or medical representatives in that hall full of physicians and their families.

But a pair of crutches resting on the table indicated that the girl was Insha Afsar, the 14-year old from Muzaffarabad who lost a leg in the 2005 Kashmir earthquake but has become a skiing sensation as she dominates the slopes — on one leg. Continue reading →

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The importance of celebrating Malala

Posted on November 19, 2014 by beenasarwar
Propagandists floated this falsely captioned photo, trying to link Malala with Salman Rushdie (it's actually EU President Martin Scholl) and Taslima Nasreen (who wasn't even granted a meeting with Malala)

Propagandists floated this falsely captioned photo, trying to link Malala with Salman Rushdie (it’s actually EU President Martin Schulz) and Taslima Nasreen (who complained later in her blog about how religious Malala is, and how Taslima was not being granted a meeting with her)

I was invited to speak at an event in the Boston area recently titled “Celebrating Malala”. I talked about the hostile propaganda against her in her home country Pakistan, and the need to support her regardless of misgivings about how ‘the west’ or others are ‘using’ her. Scroll down to see the slides I shared with my presentation. Below, the report I sent to The News, reproduced below with additional links:

BOSTON: Several Pakistani professional and community organisations based in New England hosted an event on Saturday night titled “Celebrate Nobel Laureate Malala Yousafzai”.

It was thanks to Malala that these organisations joined hands for the first time to organise an event, noted Dr Khalil Khatri, a Sindh Medical College graduate and Rotarian who conducted the event wearing a natty ajrak bow-tie. Continue reading →

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