By Rozina Ahmed Marriage is a social contract between an adult man and woman with their free will to live a life together. The success of this relationship depends on shared ideals, mutual respect, dignity and equal distribution of economic and social responsibilities. However, historically, women have always been disadvantaged and exploited in the name of customs and traditions associated …

Muhammad Ali Sadpara, his son Sajid Ali and Icelander John Snorri return back to Base Camp High Asia Herald Report Bad weather has forced the K2 winter expedition team to abort their final push to the top of the second highest mountain of the world. The trio climbers – John Snorri Sigurjonsson from Iceland, Muhammad Ali Sadpara and his son …

By Ramish Khan You can never think of the hefty weighs I am bearing with a weak shoulder. I hide my panic scars of brutal attacks because I’ve extreme fear of being judged or being treated wrong after all I am a woman right? Surrounded by filthy, sullied and ill-starred mindsets, I am unable to do whatever I want to …

By Sana Basim These both are the most famous slogans of our times but connotations and perceptions behind both slogans are completely different. Our religious leaders always have a dominant role to endorse this mindset, despite most of the child abuse cases are reported by Mudrassa teachers, still influential religious leaders normally blame women’s dressing on national TV as one …

High Asia Herald Report The gang-rape of a woman in front of her children after dragging her from her car on a motorway in Punjab prompted outrage and protests across Pakistan and Gilgit-Baltistan with anger further fuelled by Lahore police chief remarks, blaming the victim for travelling alone. Protest against motorway gang rape incident at National Press Club Islamabad on …

A woman was raped on the motorway. The police blamed her. Twitter was enraged. This is a dangerous country for women. And anyone who says otherwise is probably living in a parallel universe with no connection to ground realities. But what makes everything worse is when officers who are hired and paid to protect the public — we believe that …

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 …

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 …

HRCP, PAC, WDF and WAF call for the immediate release of Professor Sajid Soomro and an end to the vicious campaign against Dr Arfana Mallah Herald Report Academia, human rights activists, writers and lawyers have expressed concerns at the shrinking space for dissenting voices in Pakistan and abuse of draconian laws against intellectuals and teachers. Professor Sajid Soomro of Shah …

WDF, WAF, AAM and other feminist and women rights organisations condemn threats hurled by JUI to Dr Arfana Mallah; demand release of Dr Sajid Soomro and others   Herald Report Islamabad, June 12: Pakistan’s leading feminist organisations have condemned the harassment of a prominent academic and activist through a malicious campaign by religious zealots in Sindh. In a joint statement …

News Desk Disabled women in Afghanistan have complained of widespread discrimination they suffer in their country, which has one of the highest proportions of disabled people in the world. Their accounts come as Human Rights Watch reports that many also face sexual harassment from government officials. https://www.rferl.org/a/denied-treatment-education-and-jobs-afghanistan-s-disabled-women/30581580.html?ltflags=mailer Human Rights Watch (HRW) says Afghan women and girls with disabilities are being confronted …

When Kainat Naz joined a women-friendly technology boot camp a year ago, she had no idea it would completely change her life and her views on how women can work in conservative Pakistan. Naz, 22, had never ventured far from her home in Orangi Town in Karachi, one of the five largest slums of the world, but was feeling dissatisfied …

  There is a need to focus responses on women in Hindu Kush-Himalayan (HKH) regions, write Chanda Gurung Goodrich and Kosar Bano in an essay on gender inequalities during the pandemic published on the ICIMOD website    Disasters and public health emergencies often compound gender inequalities in developing societies. They do not have to, and in fact, rather could present opportunities …

  For some people, social distancing means being trapped indoors with an abuser. As more cities go under lockdown, activists are worried that attempts to curb coronavirus will inadvertently lead to an increase in domestic violence, writes Arwa Mahdawi in The Guardian, London   Home is supposed to be the safest place any of us could be right now. However, for people …

| By Shafqat Aziz | The students of history have the luxury of travelling back to eras and epochs ranging a few decades to millions of years. To observe the great struggles for human rights, gender equality and all the fundamental freedoms, travel to the 19th century would be more advisable for rapid developments around such evolutionary concepts. This epoch …