UN-appointed independent human rights experts have called for urgent action in India’s Jammu and Kashmir, amid concerns of ongoing abuses against civilians there.

Leila Slimani on sex and ethics of women’s liberation in Morocco   By Leïla Slimani   When, in the summer of 2014, I published my first novel, Adèle, some French journalists expressed surprise that a Moroccan woman could write such a book. What they meant by that was an “unconstrained book,” a “sexy book,” a straight-talking, popular book, the story of a woman …

Beware splashy corporate gestures when they leave existing power structures intact. by Helen Lewis Tumbrels are rattling through the streets of the internet. Over the past few years, online-led social movements have deposed gropers, exposed bullies—and, sometimes, ruined the lives of the innocent. Commentators warn of “mob justice,” while activists exult in their newfound power to change the world. Both groups …

‘Most parts of the world are safer than ever before. But a few are probably the most violent that human history has ever seen, says a study. Modern tribes are more violent, and categorize people into four types: bands, tribes, chiefdoms, and states, writes Charlie Sorrel in the Fast Company online magazine. In prehistoric times, bands and tribes were no more violent …

By Aasim Sajjad Akhtar THERE are many in our land that falls into the category of what anti-colonial freedom fighter Frantz Fanon called “the wretched of the earth”, such as the cauldron of injustice and tyranny that is contemporary Pakistan. The almost daily tribulations faced by the diverse group of confessional groups officially known as ‘religious minorities’ are second to …

Pakistan needs a radical strategic shift on multiple fronts – ranging from improving outreach to the quality of learning outcomes Amir Hussain Primary education is the first stage of free and compulsory education in Pakistan that entails the initial five grades of formal education for children of 5 to 9 years of age. There are four types of primary schools …

blob:https://www.rferl.org/f0105167-7ca9-4487-9108-c8abda861a2b Afghanistan lost $1 million in international funding this year making the drive to halt heroin production in Badakhshan even more challenging Herald Report Afghanistan’s security forces have stepped up their crackdown on heroin labs and poppy farms in Taliban-controlled regions of the country’s northeastern Badakhshan province. Its long border with Tajikistan makes the province one of the main heroin production …

Fayes T Kantawala on the link between crushing dissent and producing subpar leaders for policy-making   It’s perversely comforting to know that in the middle of a global pandemic, the largest financial crash in history and a worldwide cultural tipping point, Pakistan still thinks thinkers are its biggest problem. Professor Dr Pervez Hoodbhoy taught physics at Forman Christian College (FCC) …

Ruhollah Zam, an Iranian journalist and activist whose online work helped inspire nationwide economic protests in 2017, has been sentenced to death for his actions following what Reporters Without Borders (RSF) called a “grossly unfair” trial. A Revolutionary Court “considered that the 13 charges [against Zam] were the equivalent of the charge of spreading ‘corruption on earth’ and therefore passed the death …

Feminism is not adequately perceived in Central Asian societies, writes Lolisanam Ulugova in the online magazine ‘The Voices on Central Asia’. Some consider it as a threat to the existing traditions of the patriarchal foundation, when a woman (responsible for too many things in the family) can get out of control, damaging the nation in its demographic development. Some believe …