There is a need for creating awareness about the rights of women and persons with disability, and struggle for an end to objectification, discrimination, harassment, and exploitation of women and the demolition of patriarchal structures to establish an egalitarian and pluralistic society

Activists of the Leftwing AWP, WDF, PrSF, PSC and media persons condemn the complicity of Muslim states, imperialist powers in killings of Palestinians, including children; demand international community's intervention to stop the continued attacks and genocide of Palestinians by Israel.

By Noor Akbar A month ago, I was making a PowerPoint presentation on the latest population statistics of Pakistan and its administered regions — Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan — as part of my lesson plan for an online session. I sifted through the related books, visited websites, and other reliable sources including the official website of the Pakistan Bureau of …

HRCP’s flagship annual report State of Human Rights in 2020 documents widespread human rights violations by HAH Special Correspondent Islamabad: The novel Coronavirus that swept the globe last year infected and killed millions. The pandemic battered economies and social fabric. Pakistan and Gilgit-Baltistan were no exceptions. The beginning of the pandemic and consequent lockdowns widened social inequalities, increased poverty, domestic …

The uneven development and flawed policies in Pakistan have widened the social and digital inequalities between the urban and rural areas. The current Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated the inequalities affecting the poor and the low-paid jobs the most.

News Desk UNESCO Director Azoulay stressed that this fundamental human right must be protected every day, especially in the face of new forms of digital exclusion. The United Nations Organization for Education, Science, and Culture (UNESCO) on Friday urged all countries to ratify the Convention Against Discrimination in Education, a multilateral instrument that turns 60 next Monday. The international agency …

In an open letter, writers, academics, artists, journalists, lawyers, political and social workers have urged PM Imran Khan to take notice of a smear campaign and court orders asking police to file cases against women rights activists and organisers of the Aurat Azadi March. The smear campaign used deliberately doctored footage and misrepresented images to insinuate that the organisers and participants of the march raised slogans and displayed banners purportedly with ‘blasphemous’ content.

High Asia Herald Report Journalists, politicians, academics, intellectuals and rights activists have expressed solidarity with the organisers of Aurat Azadi March (AAM) and have condemned the smear campaign by obscurantist rightwing groups and trolls. The Aurat March was held in several cities of Pakistan to commemorate International Women’s Day on 8th March. A joint statement signed by over 1,000 leading …

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 …

Political parties and lawyers have expressed their resolve to fight for the freedom of the press, expression guaranteed in the Constitution. They called for an end to muffling of the freedom of media and expression, repressive censorship, press advice, retrenchments of journalists and media workers, payment of salaries, the abolition of the unjust and discriminatory advertisement policy of the federal government and implementation of the 8th Wage Board Award.

Senator Raza Rabbani says, dictatorships of Ayub Khan and Ziaul Haq had deliberately isolated key ingredients of the democratic struggle, including students, labour and intellectuals. Although Benazir Bhutto had attempted to restore student unions in 1988, ‘the overarching state structure to which all political governments were, and continue to be, held hostage’ had prevented these efforts from materialising.

News Desk Lahore: Rights activists have showered tributes on Asma Jehangir, co-founder and iconic human rights defender and courageous person. At a reference at the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) office on Thursday, veteran journalist and former secretary-general IA Rehman said that Ms Jahangir ‘defined courage.’ “She did not shy away from the possible consequences of a principled action …

News Desk Islamabad: Majority of women face restrictions from their families when using the internet, a new study finds. Six out of 10 women internet users face some kind of restrictions from their families, finds the survey titled “Women Disconnected: Feminist Case Studies on the Gender Digital Divide Amidst COVID-19”, conducted by Media Matters for Democracy (MMfD). The study examines …

By Asim Sajjad Akhtar BALOCHISTAN bleeds again. Yet another episode of gruesome brutality against Hazaras — coal miners no less — has brought yet another protest movement into existence. Yesterday it was the death of a Baloch daughter of the soil on foreign shores, tomorrow it will be a Pashtun man falling prey to the Taliban or their makers. Khurram …

 by Naveed Toshi The handsome and smart woke up late in the evening to meet the producer of Diriliş: Ertuğrul, the popular Turkish television series on the glory of the Ottoman Empire. IK was reportedly full of praise for the drama because it has depicted how Turkish Muslims made history by creating an empire fighting Mongols, Christian Byzantines and the …