Posted on August 31, 2017 by beenasarwar
“Defend Moslems. Stop Trump.”
He’s not shouting or holding up placards. Just sitting atop a green box by the Park Street Station at Boston Common, hands clasped around knees drawn up to his body. Wearing a bicycle helmet, purple rimmed reflector sunglasses, black t-shirt and shorts, sneakers.
“Stop racism,” he says to no one in particular.
I turn back to talk to him, and later notice the posters on the wall a few feet away from where he’s sitting. Fight for Socialism. Rent Control. Fight Fascism. Continue reading →
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Filed under: Progressive politics, Resistance | Tagged: boston, feminism, Howard Zinn, Malala, racism, Socialism, trucker, Trumpism, white supremacy, workers rights | 3 Comments »
Posted on December 16, 2014 by beenasarwar
Devastated at the news from Peshawar. Unless and until Pakistan doesn’t get out of this confusion of ‘good Taliban’ and ‘bad Taliban’ and treat every single criminal act as a criminal act and move to punish those who perpetuate it, whether in the name of religion or for whatever justification, we will not begin to move out of this morass. Sharing a statement from Malala Yousafzai that was just released: “I am heartbroken by this senseless and cold blooded act of terror in Peshawar that is unfolding before us. Innocent children in their school have no place in horror such as this. I condemn these atrocious and cowardly acts and stand united with the government and armed forces of Pakistan whose efforts so far to address this horrific event are commendable. I, along with millions of others around the world, mourn these children, my brothers and sisters – but we will never be defeated.”
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Filed under: Pakistan | Tagged: fasadis, Malala, Pakistan, Peshawar attack, Taiban | 4 Comments »
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 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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Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: APPNE, Dr Khatri, Malala, Malik Siraj Akbar, OPEN, PAGB, Pakhtoon Association | Leave a comment »
Posted on October 17, 2014 by beenasarwar
Pakistan has a million Malalas: My interview in Times of India, Oct 15, 2014
Beena Sarwar is a Pakistani journalist and documentary filmmaker. As an Indian and Pakistani together win 2014’s Nobel peace prize, Sarwar spoke with Anahita Mukherji about the joint award, tension at the LoC – and how Pakistan has a million Malalas:
Will Malala Yousafzai winning the Nobel inspire more Pakistanis now — and enable her to return to Pakistan? Continue reading →
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Filed under: Pakistan-India | Tagged: democracy, democratic political process, dharna, India, LoC firing, Malala, Modi, Pakistan, Sharif | Leave a comment »
Posted on October 11, 2014 by beenasarwar
My article for Scroll.in today about how “Takfiri” thinking drove physicist Abdus Salam out of the country, and keeps Malala Yusufzai away from her home.
Malala: “I decided that I would speak up. Through my story I want to tell other children all around the world they should stand up for their rights”
There is no escaping the irony that the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize for 2014 has gone jointly to two child rights advocates from Pakistan and India – 17-year old Malala Yousafzai and 60-year old Kailash Satyarthi — while the armies of their countries trade bullets and kill innocents across the Line of Control in Kashmir. Continue reading →
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Filed under: Blasphemy Laws, Education, Pakistan-India | Tagged: Abdus Salam, ahmadi, Dr Salam gravestone, eqbal ahmad, Jibran Nasir, Kailash, Malala, mujahideen, Nobel, Pakistan, Takfiri, Taliban, Terrorism theirs and ours | Leave a comment »
Posted on February 12, 2014 by beenasarwar
Lahore, Feb 12, 1983: Police lathi charge demonstrators. Photo: Rahat Ali Dar
The News published a slightly toned down version of my article, The Feb 12 pledge. Un-edited text below, followed by a postscript linking this struggle to Malala. More photos at this link.
Renewing the Feb 12 pledge
By Beena Sarwar
Every February 12 we commemorate Pakistan Women’s Day in honour of those who gathered at Lahore’s Regal Chowk on that day in 1983, defying the military order against public gatherings, to protest Gen. Zia’s ‘Law of Evidence’ that upheld the testimony of a male as equal to that of two females in a court of law. The police attacked the demonstrators with batons and arrested several, including the venerated poet Habib Jalib whom Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif is fond of quoting. Continue reading →
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Filed under: 'War on terror', Gender | Tagged: eqbal ahmad, Feb 12, Habib Jalib, Malala, Pakistan Women's Day, TTP | 3 Comments »
Posted on October 31, 2013 by beenasarwar
Sad to see the polarisation and vitriol that passes for journalism in Pakistan. It may be so elsewhere too, but the manipulation and attempted humiliation of Dr Pervez Hoodbhoy in the name of religion and patriotism — for his defense of Malala Yusufzai — is low by any standards. Scroll down for his account about how the TV host withheld from him the identities of the other guests, the theme of the show and in the end, turned off his audio.
Regardless of Dr Hoodbhoy’s terming the Dunya TV anchor Kamran Shahid and his guest as liars, what’s clear is that Shahid smirkingly ‘allowed’ a guest on his show to shout down and abuse Dr Hoodbhoy, clearly enjoying the situation. In the end he announced (falsely) that Dr Hoodbhoy had ‘left’ the show. Not surprising. Shahid has a history of untruths as well as encouraging such abusive exchanges (it’s all about ratings, innit?). Here’s something about his show on Express TV last year, that was (like this one) not only unbefitting to any respectable current affairs programme, but also fanning the flames of conflict in already-burning Balochistan. Continue reading →
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Filed under: Media | Tagged: Balochistan, Dr Pervez Hoodbhoy, Dunya TV, Express TV, kamran shahid, Malala, Media, media ethics | 6 Comments »
Posted on October 11, 2013 by beenasarwar
Malala Yousufzai’s conviction and sincerity shines as she speaks, even as the after-effects of the attack on her are still evident in the slight disfigurement of her facial muscles. And the youngest ever Nobel Peace Prize nominee recently speechless even the satirical TV host Jon Stewart when she talked about her thoughts about the Taliban. Asked when she first learnt she was a target of the Taliban, she says it was through a visitor who told her to put her name in Google search.
“I just could not believe it, I said no, it’s not true,” she said. “We thought the Taliban were not that much cruel that they would kill a child – I was 14 at the time.” She was initially more afraid for her father but when she began thinking about it, she thought that if attacked she would hit the Talib with her shoe – a comment that raised a laugh. Continue reading →
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Filed under: Education | Tagged: Daily Show, Education, Jon Stewart, Malala, Nobel, Pakistan, Taliban, women | Leave a comment »
Posted on October 9, 2013 by beenasarwar
My two bits on the muddied narrative in Pakistan on Malala Yousafzai, a favourite for the Nobel Peace Prize being announced on Oct 11: Those who so easily buy conspiracy theories about Malala being a “US agent” or who go against Malala are usually the same people you will find justifying the murderous, criminal acts of the Taliban (who are fasadis not jihadis, in my mind) in some way, absolving them of responsibility by terming it a response to the US invasion of Afghanistan or the drone attacks. These people conveniently forget that the mindset that attacked Malala is the same as the one that was attacking women NGO workers and teachers and girls’ schools in the western border areas BEFORE 9/11. It’s the same mindset that was target killing Ahmadis and Shias since the 1990s. It was not just the Taliban’s bullets that targeted Malala and all that she stands for – it is this mindset that the United States, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia cultivated and developed in the 1980s in order to counter the Soviets in Afghanistan. Continue reading →
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Filed under: Human rights | Tagged: Bhooro Bheel, church attacked, forum for secular pakistan, Javed Qazi, Laal, Malala, Nobel, Pakistan, Saif Samejo | 7 Comments »
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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Filed under: Education, Gender | Tagged: Malala, Malala Day, Nahid Kabiri, Pankaj Nigam, poem for Malala, Pratap Somvanshi | 5 Comments »
Journeys to democracy 