Journeys to democracy

Evolving news media landscapes in India and Pakistan: Implications for regional peace and stability, Watson Institute, Brown University, 22 Jan. 2021

Sectarianism in Pakistan: State, Society, and Regional Geopolitics, Project on Shi’ism and Global Affairs, Weatherhead Center, Harvard University, 5 Oct. 2020

Harvard South Asia Engagement Group, First South Asia Symposium: The South Asia Region: Challenges for the Leaders of Tomorrow, 13 April 2019

Harvard University Law School, ‘Speak no evil’ – Blasphemy Laws and the Supreme Court in Pakistan, 25 March 2019.

Tufts University, “Democracy and Human Rights in South Asia: Commemorating Asma Jahangir’s Life and Legacy”, 25 September 2018

Columbia University Soch Symposium: Imagining Kashmir: Finding “The Country Without a Post Office”, with the Dara Shikoh Fellowship, New York, March 31, 2018.

London School of Economics, April 29, 2017: South Asia Development Conference. Speaking at panel on LGBTQ. Keynote speaker Nobel Laureate Kailash Sathyarti.

Harvard Kennedy School, Belfer Center, April 25, 2017: Panel discussion – Closing the Gap: Women, Development and Security in Pakistan, with Amb. Cameron Munter.

Woodrow Wilson Center, Washington DC, Feb. 15, 2017: panel discussion and book launch – details and RSVP: Purifying the Land of the Pure: A History of Pakistan’s Religious Minorities, by Farahnaz Ispahani.

Princeton University, South Asia Studies, Oct 12, 2016: Journalism: When the Personal Is Political

Harvard University, Oct 17, 2015: panel on Media Insurgents: Margins, Histories & Activism, at ‘Love, War and Other Longings 2015‘, Pakistani Film Festival co-sponsored by Brown and Harvard universities

Symposium: “Pakistan, India and Kashmir Peace Talks: Why War Is Not An Option“ – ‎#ProjectPakistan, University of Texas at Dallas, Oct 10, 2015

Brown University, Oct. 6, 2015: Great Brown Nonfiction Writers’ Lecture Series – Journalism: When the Personal is Political

Panel: Masculinity and gender violence, at the Rahul Roy Film Festival at Harvard, Sep 24

Moderator at discussion following the screening of Out of Cordoba by Jacob Bender (Facebook event link), Cambridge MA, April 26, 2015

Introduced Mumbai Meri Jaan at Cities by Design film series screening, Harvard Graduate School of Design, Cambridge MA, April 2, 2015

‘Silencing India’s Daughter’ – panel discussion on the BBC documentary, Harvard Kennedy School, Cambridge MA, March 26, 2015.

(Pune, India: Lokmat Women’s Summit, Dec 2, 2014 –Scratch that. Didn’t get visa in time)

Panel discussion on Aman ki Asha and the Cost of Conflict in South Asia, 6.30 pm, with  Dr Nyla Ali Khan and Dr Pritapal Singh, organised by Asia Center UT Dallas and South Asia Democracy Watch, Nov 20, 2014

“Putting the hate campaign against Malala in perspective” at Celebrate Nobel Laureate Malala Yousafzai, Boston, with Dr Fareena Sultan, Ethan Casey, and others, hosted by APPNE, PAGB, OPEN, New England Pakhtoon Association, Pakistani Association of New Hampshire, Boston, Nov 15, 2014

Possibilities of peace in the wake of Kailash/Malala Nobel win – moderator for event jointly hosted by Pakistani rights organisation Asian-American Network Against Abuse of Human Rights (ANAA) in collaboration with the Association for India’s Development (AID), Oct 25, 2015, New York

India Pakistan Peace Process, featured speaker with Indian Consul General Akhilesh Mishra, at South Asian Peoples Forum seminar, Sep 1, 2014, Toronto

South Asia 2060: Envisioning Regional Futures, panel discussion, Pardee Center, Boston University, Nov 22, 2013

Silenced Voices: When Conflict Journalists Go Missing, panel discussion on World Press Freedom Day, Global Post, Boston, May 3, 2013

Rising Above the Tide: Pakistan Conference at Harvard, moderator for panel on US-Pakistan relations, May 2012

Bridging the Divide: United States / Pakistan: With Ethan Casey, Mass Peace Action, March 17, 2012

Harvard Kennedy School, Carr Center for Human Rights Policy,  The Pakistan Conundrum  – human rights, democracy and relations with America, seminar with Ali Dayan Hasan, Pakistan director of Human Rights Watch, Oct 2011.

With Noam Chomsky, Days of Hope and Challenge: Understanding the Middle East and South/Central Asia,  Mass Peace Action and United with Justice and Peace forum, Boston University, April 11, 2011

Princeton University: Media role in India-Pakistan relations, ‘Reporting South Asia’ series, Sept 2011

With Arundhati Roy, panel: Is media jingoism fanning Indo-Pak tensions? Forum of Media Professionals seminar, New Delhi, April 15, 2009

Islam and Nation State: Threat or Solution? Background Paper on Pakistan, panelist at the Asia Calling Forum: Islam and Democracy in South Asia, organized by radio program Asia Calling, in cooperation with independent radio news KBR68H and the Indonesian Association for Media Development (PPMN), Jakarta, Indonesia, August 2008

The Consequences of the “War on Terror” – A Personal Political View from Pakistan, Lelio Basso Foundation International Section and the School of Journalism, Rome, Italy, April, 2008

Violence and Peace, presentation for school students, Children’s Museum for Peace and Human Rights & Human Rights Education Programme, Karachi, February 6, 2008

Setting the context: Overview of Regional and National Media, at media panel, Human Development Foundation, Chicago, May 2007

60 Years Later: Reflections on the Kashmiri Conflict, co-speaker at Center for South Asia at Stanford University, with Sanskriti, Friends of South Asia and Pakistanis at Stanford University, May 8, 2007

Women in Pakistan: Voices for Change, presentation for The Pluralism Fund and The Global Philanthropy Forum, Menlo Park, CA, May 8, 2007

Contested Spaces: Media, Gender and Human Rights in Pakistan– A Personal Political View, Featured Speaker, Spring 2007 South Asia Seminar Series, South Asia Institute, University of Texas at Austin, April 12, 2007

Re-claiming Spaces: a Personal Political View of Media, Politics and the Women’s Movement in Pakistan, guest lecturer, undergraduate anthropology class, Boston University, April 3, 2007

Contested Spaces: Media, Gender and Human Rights in Pakistan – A Personal Political View, featured speaker, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, February 2007

The Fragile Future of Afghanistan: Human Rights, Justice, and Security, Moderator, 2006 Scholar’s Lecture by Dr Sima Samar, Global Health Initiative, Boston University, October, 2006

Eqbal Ahmad’s Significance – a Pakistani Perspective, panelist with Noam Chomsky and others at launch of Selected Writings of Eqbal Ahmad (Columbia University Press, 2006), Harvard Law School, September 28, 2006

Media, Gender and Human Rights in Pakistan: A Personal Political View, guest speaker at Brown University, R.I., May 2006

‘State & Politics’, panelist, Pak Millenium Conference, Boston, April 22, 2006

Media and Gender in Pakistan, panelist at ‘Women, Action & the Media (WAM) conference, MIT, Cambridge, MA, March 30-April 1, 2006

Human Rights Issues in Pakistan in a Global Context, guest lecturer at University of Massachusetts, Boston, March 2006

State, Democracy and Citizenship: Women’s Activism  and Media in Pakistan, guest lecturer, Women and Global Activism, at MIT, Cambridge, MA, March 2006

Gender, Politics and Human rights in Pakistan: A Personal Political View, guest speaker for World Affairs Council of New Hampshire & the Institute of Politics, St. Anselm College, New Hampshire, March 2006

New Challenges for Women’s Movements in South Asia, panelist at seminar organised by the Alliance for a Secular and Democratic South Asia, MIT, Cambridge, MA, September 8, 2005

Building a More Secure Future for Women Reporters: A Pakistani Perspective, Gender Equality Beyond 2005, UNESCO roundtable series, Paris, March 7, 2005

Women in Media: Problems and Prospects, panelist at Seventh Sustainable Development Conference ‘Troubled Times: Sustainable Development and Governance in the Age of Extremes’, SDPI, Islamabad, December 8-10, 2004

Women’s Role in Building Peace between India and Pakistan, Keynote Speaker, McGill University, Montreal, July 30-Aug 1, 2004

Democracy and Freedom of Information, Consumer Rights Commission of Pakistan, Centre for Civic Education and Shehri, Karachi, Feb 12, 2004

Role of Media in Human Rights Education and Awareness, seminar for participants of Advanced Course in Public Sector Management, Government of Pakistan National Institute of Public Administration (NIPA), Karachi, October 29, 2003

The Dilemma of Free Expression: Media in Pakistan Today, presentation at Open Society Institute, New York, USA, October 14-15, 2003

Media Crossing Borders, at Mapping Borders: Inside-Out Perspectives seminar, South Asia Forum for Human Rights, Kathmandu, Aug 31-Sept 1, 2003

Peace activism in India and Pakistan, guest speaker & panelist, Global Women’s History Project conference on Women of Pakistan and India: Rights, Ecology, Economy and Nuclear Disarmament, Westfield State College, MA, April 2002

September 11 and its Consequences, book reading, Global Village Society, London, Feb 28, 2002

Wanted: Public television in the South Asian footprint, at symposium on Public Television, Kathmandu, October 6, 2001

Media and peace activism, presentation to The Women’s Group, Houston, Texas, December 2000

We’ve Made the Bomb, Now Let’s Make Peace, paper for regional peace conference organized by Safdar Hashmi Memorial Trust, New Delhi, December 1999

Human Rights in Pakistan: Challenges of Orthodoxy and Autocracy, keynote speaker at North American Conference on Peace and Human Rights in Pakistan and India, Montreal Alternatives-Ceras (South Asia Research and Resource Centre), Sept 1999

Peace activism in Pakistan, guest speaker, World Conference Against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs, Hiroshima and Nagasaki, organised by Gensuikyo, the Japan Council Against A & H Bombs, August 1998

Women and Violence in Pakistan, keynote speaker, Gender, Culture and Human Rights seminar UNDP Nordic Liaison Office, Copenhagen, March 1998

Strengthening democracy in South Asia: The role of human rights and rule of law, South Asia Dialogue, regional Track II diplomacy initiative, Kathmandu, November 1994

Media and Violence Against Women, Women’s Action Forum seminar, Islamabad, Jan 1992

Youth and Politics in Pakistan, speaker at seminar ‘Pakistan: For Whom?’ at the University of Engineering & Technology, Lahore, Dec 1991

Shariat Bill and its Implications for Women, speaker at seminar organized by Christian Conference of Asia, Hong Kong, May 1990

Conference convenor/curator:

Looking back to look forward: DSF and its legacy, commemorating the 1950s Democratic Students Federation-led nation-wide movement for students’ rights in Pakistan, public event at the Arts Council Karachi, Jan 9, 2010

The Green Dream: A Tribute to Saneeya Hussain, Ameneh Azam Ali and Zulekha Ali, commemorative meeting and roundtable discussion on environmental journalism in Pakistan Karachi, Aug 17, 2008

Contested Spaces, Competing Narratives in Pakistan: A Gendered View, curated panel featuring Shahnaz Rouse (Sarah Lawrence College), Saadia Toor (New York University) and Sehba Sarwar (Voices Breaking Boundaries), Annual Conference on South Asia, University of Madison, Wisconsin, Oct, 2007

Contested Spaces, Competing Narratives: Towards Human Rights and Democracy in Pakistan, conference at Harvard University (Carr Center for Human Rights, South Asia Initiative and others) and Tufts University (Center for South Asian and Indian Studies), April 6-7, 2007.

Pakistan: State Aggression and its Repercussions on Human Rights, conference, Carr Center for Human Rights, Kennedy School, December 05, 2006

Sectarian Killing in Pakistan, Joint Action Committee all-parties seminar, Karachi, Feb 2003

Presentations at training workshops and seminars

A Review of Available Methodology and Tools in the Media to further gender and peace issues, Women and Violent Conflict in South Asia: Strategies for Peace and Security, South Asia Partnership & International Alert, Colombo, Sri Lanka, June 16-18, 2004

Improving Coverage of Women’s Issues in Media, National Advance Training for Journalists in Human Rights, Network for Consumer Protection & The British Council, Murree, Pakistan, Aug 7-9, 2003

Women and Violence: Repression, Censorship and Stereotypes, speaker at ASR Women’s Studies Conference, Lahore, March 1994

Other seminars and workshops

Assessing People to People Initiative, workshop, South Asia Partnership, Lahore, May 2005‘

Gender-sensitive Conflict Reporting, regional conference, UNESCO & Nepal Press Institute, Kathmandu, April 7-9, 2004

Member of the IPS-UNDP Asia-Pacific Media and Development Committee, seminars interfacing between media and NGOs, 1994-96

Journalism and Democracy, study tour of newspapers and radio stations in Stockholm and workshops in Kalmar, Organisation for Training Journalists (FOJO), Kalmar, Sweden, May 1995