Voices | 10 Years of Change-making by ANANKEMAG

W e suffer from an incurable malady:

Mahmud Darwish

A b o u t W E D N E S D A Y

Founded by distinguished author and journalist, Nilanajana Bhowmick, Wednesday is a newsletter that aims to continue the conversation around gender equality It is a space to inform, educate, and reflect? celebrating progress while addressing persisting barriers. Sharp, long-form, and worth your inbox (and head) space for around 10 minutes every other week Subscribe and share (https://mailchi.mp/3199006e53db/wednesday).

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IGHTS

Annie Zaidi

A gainst The

Calculus of Skin

Skin The largest and most vulnerable organ in the body It protects us with no protection of its own "

Ar chna Shar ma H O PE

Nil

anj

ana Bhowmick

Reclaiming A nger

For centuries, most women have followed this script, expressing their rage only in private, masking their fury with smiles and silence. "

Combat ing Chil d Abuse: Inside A Chil d Rescue Cent er

Perhaps the power of literature lies in its permanence Governments change, regimes rise and fall, and crises eventually resolve, but literature endures "

111

The Need f or gender equal it y in t imes of cr isis

Ar pit a Das In Search of Voice 37 90

Dr eaming A Day When No Woman Dies Fet ching Wat er ! 125

Saba Kar imKhan W orking M others: The M yth of H aving It A ll

The processing load has peaked, with so many micro-moments where decisions that induce guilt and anger and sorrow surface "

Speaking is seen as a way to active self-transformation, as a gesture of resistance, of affirmation and of struggle. "

Sascha A Ak ht ar

W ords

I feel inspired and encouraged to carry on in every way - to carry on believing in the power of women and more generally, other people for whom the decolonial struggle is equally important as it is to me.

Saf inah Danish El ahi

O f M others A nd D aughters

Whatever feministic ideals the western world upholds, the Global South still suffers from deep patriarchal values "

Nida Usman Chaudhar y 117

Towards a Global Convergence of W omen in Law

The cause of lack of women?s visibility in leadership roles surely, could not only and soley be because of women?s lack of interest and commitment! "

Mar diya Siba Yahya N otes on Feminist Survival Practices

H ow D o I W rite This W ithout Rambling?

How do we live within the chaos? What privileges do I need to access to embody the perfect archetype of a writer?

namr at a W hy Social M edia Still Fails To Be A Safe Space for W omen A nd M inorities

Reporting on social media often feels like shouting into the void. "

Kir t hi Jayak umar

W eaving

A ccountability Into O ur Feminist W ork

The writing is on the wall and it is time we acknowledge and action it: Movement intersectionality is vital. "

Taiba Abbas (U ntitled)

24 "

We write the way we live, and we write the way we speak and don? t speak. Words gather up behind my tongue, a dark river, coiled, seeking a different outlet on my body

Sabyn Javer i

Beyond W ords: The Complexity of Silence

But what of those who want to speak yet find themselves unable? In a systemwhere survival depends on complicity. "

Amina Yaqin

?H urt, H eartache A nd Fear: The Treacherous Tale O f India?s Partition A s Told By Bapsi Sidhwa

Sidhwa?s novel is a stark reminder of the vicious cycles of history and the gendered trauma borne by women and men during conflict "

Naima Rashid

Keeping It Real

Social silencing becomes self-silencing over time, and when we silence ourselves, we cheat ourselves (and the world) out of our full potential. "

Aek t a Kapoor

The Gig Economy A nd W omen W orkers in South A sia

Unions led by women barely exist, even in industries like domestic work and beauty services, where most workers are women "

Mehr F Husain

Pakistani Women

Non-Fiction Writers

Re-imagining Culture, Politics And Gender Dynamics

With the advent of the craft revivalists consisting of women, new forms of non fiction began to emerge documenting cultural heritage.

Dr Tar ana Husain Khan

The

W omen A nd A

Forgotten Cuisine

Sabin Muzaf f ar

The A xis of Evil

While pockets of reason? advocacy and pools of subversion can be witnessed online and off, it is overshadowed by the likes of cancel culture, performative wokenessand organized diversions.

Resilience is O ver-rated, Let's Fix The System

Celebrating resilience diminishes the urgency to dismantle structural inequalities By focusing on individual success stories, we risk ignoring the broader systems that perpetuate inequities

MahumHamza

Design & Concept

Sabin Muzaffar

Ananke?s Archival (highlights) articles

Lovely Claire Dangalan

Melanie Bublyk

Liz Guantai

Edith Macharia

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Special Thanks To Zubaan Books

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Images Credits: Pixabay

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Sara Shoghi

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Keemiya Creatives

Nakiya Nava

It was a decade ago t hat t he idea of Ananke was born. The birt h of a new idea is al ways a moment of excit ement and f ear ? even as inf init e possibil it ies open up, t he seed of f ear, anxiet y, uncert aint y, perhaps even of fail ure, l urks somewhere in t he background. By cont rast , l ooking back on somet hing t en years down t he l ine, marks a dif f erent moment alt oget her ? ref l ect ive, t hought f ul and, if you?re l ucky, happy. I have no doubt t hat Sabin, who f ounded Ananke al l t hose years ago, and her t eam, must be f eel ing somet hing of t his happiness as t hey l ook back on t heir work.

Somet hing l ike t his is al so what , I t hink, t hose of us who have been l ucky enough t o be part of t he Ananke communit y in t hese past years, must be f eel ing

Who woul d have t hought a digit al pl at f orm, f ocusing on t hose very import ant but increasingl y buzz-wordy ideas of diversit y and incl usion, creat ing conversat ions by women, about women, t ranscending administ rat ive, pol it ical , ident it y barriers, woul d st il l be around, and t hriving, t en years l at er? The digit al , which in some st range ways we associat e wit h ?permanence? is act ual l y of t en t he opposit e, especial l y when t he f ocus in on areas not considered market abl e.

Ananke isn? t onl y st il l here, but in t hese years, it has cont inued t o grow, bringing in new issues, new writ ers, opening up conversat ions, of f ering t raining, bringing on board a range of writ ers, hel ping so many of us make connect ions across borders and organizing summit s f or young girl s, providing t ech t raining and even creat ing an onl ine f est ival t hat has at t endance f rom al l over t he worl d It ?s hard t o beat t hat

This t ent h anniversary issue, which I hope marks t he beginning of yet anot her wonderf ul decade f or Ananke, capt ures some of t hat diversit y and indeed some of t he j oy as writ ers ? principal l y women - t el l t heir st ories of success, of change, and of hope. There is so much here, much t hat has been spoken of earl ier, much t hat is new and t hat rel at es t o Ananke?s areas of f ocus ? gender, healt h, ent repreneurship, educat ion, cult ure, STEM, and more. Whil e al l of t his is visibl e because it ?s t here f or us t o see and read in t he back issues of t he j ournal and in ot her publ icat ions, what is l ess visibl e is t he hard work, t he sl og, t he sheer at t ent ion t o det ail , t he l abour, t hat goes int o t he making of al l successf ul pl at f orms general l y, and t his one specif ical l y.

So, even as we congrat ul at e Ananke f or it s t ent h year, and wish it several more decades of wonderf ul work t hat pushes us t o t hink and encourages us t o t al k, l et ?s al so recognize t he t eam t hat put s t his work t oget her and mark our grat it ude t o t hem f or t he space t hey have opened up f or us

And f inal l y, a personal not e of grat it ude. Every t ime I visit t he Ananke websit e, I?m immediat el y hooked because I want t o read everyt hing t here, and of t en, I have t o rat ion my t ime and l imit what I can read, wit h a promise t o mysel f t o come back l at er. I know I am not t he onl y visit or/reader who f eel s t his As you go f orward, Sabin and t eam, I hope more and more visit ors f eel t his and read more ? t he experiment you began t en years ago t o creat e t he communit y you now have, hol ds t he promise of widening, deepening, expanding and consol idat ing t his communit y. More power t o you.

Urvashi But al ia

A Padmashree recipient, Urvashi Butalia isa feminist publisher and writer She co-founded Kali for Women, India?sfirst feminist publishing house and is currently Director of Zubaan, an imprint of Kali She hasa long involvement in the women?smovement in India. Urvashi writesand is widely published on issues related to women and gender

The Axis of Evil

Sabin M uzaffar

Oppression and inflicting violence come in many forms. The most recognized, however, are through pleasure and? , through pain. The former is strategically designed to be virulently transmitted into communities to dull and desensitize into inaction Alternatively,violence and vitriol have been decisive playthings of modern-day oligarchies and the powers that be to suppress and subdue those who remain immune to the virus Combined, these create a potent weapon

Much talk revolves around the elimination of violence. Indeed, talk we must! Dialogue is essential to keep the conversation going. Collecting and documenting data ever so important. Certainly! But the narrative does need to evolve as has been the case with violence and oppression. These have not just grown multifold, but also evolved. Modern day violence is not just tangible, its potency lies in its intangibility It seeps through the very fabric of society,swamps and then terrorizes the collective and individual mindsets

On the one hand, overwhelmwith a barrage of news and information, both genuine and fake, polarizing comments and biased opinions. Juxtaposed are glossy images of celebrity and entertainment, dirty linen and tidbits of sordid gossip -ready-made distractions, doused with ?reflections?and incantationsreeking of dysfunctional libertarianismand privileged self-righteousness. Content isking. Indeed!

The agenda is ? always ? to create deafening noise or discredit voices and thereby supplanting truth and accountability What better tactic than to plant seeds of half truth, peppered with fear, in the conversation? Weave half-truths in society,encumber the masses with raucous information and the purpose is achieved: a society, communities subliminally, coercively stimulated to embrace narratives laid out for them, triggering polarization, dissension. The wheel of control, supremacy ? unbreakable!

W hile pockets of reason? advocacy and pools of subversion can be witnessed online and off, it is overshadowed by the likes of cancel culture, performative wokeness and organized diversions. A spoonful of entertainment with a dollop of devastation. Shock therapy on repeat

While pockets of reason? advocacy and pools of subversion can be witnessed online and off, it is overshadowed by the likes of cancel culture,performative wokenessand organized diversions A spoonful of entertainment with a dollop of devastation Shock therapy on

Time to spell it out? over and over again: man-made/inflicted food insecurity,water scarcity, defunding or shutting down multistakeholder organizations focusing relief, canceling or vilifying human rights advocates, murders and attacks on peaceful protestors, children, the vulnerable or not providing adequate care ? medical or otherwise ? to marginalized communities because of their gender, caste, ethnicity,religion or race ? all of it and more fall in the axisof violence? oppression? Evil! This needs no clarity? no explanation And yet, we move forth ? explaining, defending day after day,year after year

But most of all and as can now be witnessed complicitly or otherwise are the horrors of impunity. While it has been going on for centuries with the colonizers, capitalists masterfully maneuvering their pawns, kings and bishops, even modifying landscapes in the midst, capitalizing on geo-political polarization; never was it as insidiously overt as it is now From the signing of rockets, ear-piercing silence over genocide to proxy wars and goading gullible jubilation on the streets over a short-lived, so-called liberty; impunity is the star-spangled, newfound method of suppression? persecution!

No longer does the notion ?you are either with us or against us? stand! It has been replaced by an intolerable entitlement ? a licentious license to dispense horror for power. Melkor and Ungoliant! A pernicious performance played out by the master who feeds and the malevolent creature, ever hungry? undeterred that devours and lusts for more and more!

There has not been enough talk about one country?s entitled impunity,but rather decades of pre-emptive rhetoric on the unconvincing pretext of defense There have been too many conversations about what one or any country must have and must not have, based on its geo-political positionality or its susceptibility for plunder and pillage. News-creators are seen lamenting over the powerful having?no standardsat all?when it comes to impunity. Was there ever a standard and that too for the powerful? Are we still that? Naïve? Blind? Or both?

Life, law and governance, how these have been traditionally perceived, are gasping for their final breaths For worse? For better?

The last, tattered pieces of the

shroud of illusion are coming off ? finally! How oppression and impunity are encountered, faced and dealt with will determine and shape the trajectory of the world we live in ? the present and future included As voices grow stronger with faces unmasked and flimsy protections no longer digestible, is it time to realize that the slate needs to be wiped clean? Is it finally? finally time for reckoning?

Sabin Muzaffar isthe Founder & Executive Editor of Anankemag.com, a new media and development platform creating inclusive conversationsin the digital realm, launched in 2014

In 2021, she founded another initiative, Ananke?sWomen in Literature Foundation. Possessing more than 26 yearsof experience in print and digital media, her past roles, apart fromher long spanning international journalistic career,include being a UN Women?sEmpower Women Global Champion for Women?sEconomic Empowerment and a mentor. She has mentored and trained 100+ girlsfromthe Global South Under her guidance, Ananke hasbeen nominated twice by the World Summit on Information Society Prizes (2019 & 2020) & iscurrently a Commitment Maker for the ActionsCoalition, Generation Equality Sabin hashad the privilege of speaking at numerousprestigiousevents on variousplatforms, high profile conferencesand institutionsincluding STEP Conference, UN Women, JournalismAI Festival @London School of Economics, Cambridge University,NYU Abu DHabi, UCL and more

Against The Calculus of Skin

A nnie Zaidi

I amtired of skin I amtired of the way women?s skin seemto swallow up their kidneys, aortas, phalanges For all the space taken up by skin in public discourse, it is almost as if these other bits of us had nothing to do with us being women

Skin. The largest and most vulnerable organ in the body. It protects us with no protection of its own. At one time in history, humans began to cover up skin with more layers. Some scientists suggest it was during the first ice age, 180,000 years ago. Clothing brought us protection fromcold, but also sun and rain, frominsect bites and bruising gravel Men needed it as much as women did But ever since people began to read gendered meanings into clothing, it has begun to mess with our sense of justice We make assumptions about how others, especially women, deserve to be treated based on what part of her skin can be espied ? how low a saree hangs on her hips, how high the skirt, whether or not her ears and neck are covered ? at what time of day. And while I amtired of men who look at a woman?s knees and jump to the conclusion that she desires sexual congress, I am thoroughly sick of women who look at another woman in a bikini and call her a prostitute

concerned about how she?s viewed, they feel compelled to punish her Some punish with rape, others by perpetuating a moral binary whereby women are split into whore/saint And I amvery, very tired of women rationing out their allyship based on skin so that some of us are cast to the wolves of harassment and bigotry

Skin. The largest and most vulnerable organ in the body. It protects us with no protection of its own.

Reader, I say,?we? , although I want to exclude myself fromthis reckoning. Still, I say ?we?because so many women fall prey to one formof categorical splitting or the other. If it?s not the whore/saint binary,it?s the oppressed/liberated one. Can white women in France or Denmark possibly believe that a woman who refuses to show her face does not deserve to eat? Do Indian women across the spectrumof religious affiliation (or even atheists) truly think that a woman who keeps her neck and chest covered, cannot achieve financial autonomy? Are you that brown woman who refuses to accept that there might be a kind of freedomin not showing off your legs or your cleavage in a culture that demands it of you? Do you sit around calculating how much of an education, what jobs, how much of a political voice should be allowed to a woman based on what percentage of her skin is visible? Hands and arms, elbow down, okay? Ankles, okay? Shoulders, great? Waist, mandatory reveal?

Those who say such things surely know in their hearts that they?re wrong They say those things anyway because, if a woman is neither within grasp nor

I amsick of this calculus The expectation of majoritarian assimilation often masks a wilful blindness towards the human struggle to balance individual circumstance and choice against cultural norms, and nowhere is this

blindness more insistently inscribed than upon the skins of women Yet, the meanings we attach to women?s decisions to clothe themselves in particular ways almost always turn out to be wrong if only we would bother to look closer An image that brought me up short recently was a representation of St Hild of Whitby in the DurhamCathedral At first glance, I thought it was it a painting of an Iranian or South Asian woman in a chador. Indeed, but for the saint?s name written on the painting, anyone would have thought so. I found myself wondering how people might be impacted by the painting with or without the name. How does our response change, knowing that it is not a present-day Muslimwoman, but a medieval Christian saint who dressed that way? Would the average white woman looking at that painting think of St Hild as oppressed or subservient to any mortal man?

be a matter of some concern that girls go out in flimsy dresses with bare shoulders or semi-transparent stockings while their male colleagues and classmates are in suits that are entirely climate appropriate

Anyone who is familiar more than five contemporary Muslimwomen who cover their heads, is bound to know that they are not necessarily orthodox in their beliefs, nor are they easily controlled by the men in their lives. And we all also know women who dress in backless tops or shorts, who are controlled by men and by a culture that controls themto the detriment of their physical and mental health. The abortion laws in the USA are testament to this brute reality,and a similarly repressive discourse is building up in other more ?free? Western nations. In the UK, I often find myself marvelling at girls and women who expose their limbs in freezing weather and, wondering about their compulsions While I appreciate their freedomto dress as they please, it seems to me to

There is clear medical evidence that cold weather increases the risk of heart attacks and increases blood pressure Temperatures of 10 degrees C can impact the lungs, heart and brain When the journalist James Gallagher was invited by doctors to experience these impacts, he reported that, once temperatures fall below 18 degrees C, vasoconstriction sets in and this happens even more quickly for women Medical doctors also affirmed that in the cold, the blood becomes ?a bit like treacle? and that cold can be more deadly than heat. Women?s body temperatures are, by and large, lower than men?s. Women feel the cold more, and yet, so many women in cold climates continue to wear less. So, why do women go about in flimsy dresses in 10-degree weather? Have they swallowed whole the myth that they are their skins and that their hearts, brains, blood are not vital? Why do university students, subway workers, perhaps even those who work in medical professions go along with harmful cultural expectations? And how are women who do not subscribe to these cultural norms meant to

St H ild of W hitby in the D urham Cathedral.

interpret this scene? Is this progressive behaviour?

Since the Covid-19 pandemic, it has become painfully apparent that people would rather risk death than change entrenched cultural habits The Western world has now seen that it is possible to teach, to study,to sit exams and contribute vital services to society with faces not being visible. Perhaps it is precisely this realisation that has made them rush to undo masking rules so quickly. It appears to me that there is a bigger fear that people might lose dominant Western cultural assumptions about progressive Vs oppressive dressing, than there is about people losing their health Could it be that people are actually willing to go through their whole lives insisting upon cultural blindness ? a wilful refusal to see veiled/masked humans as just people who are doing their best to stay alive?

failed On the other hand, there have been times when women are forcibly stripped to show them their ?place?But whether it is through resisting exposure or using exposure as a tool of shame, women have risked their bodies Women?s collective history of scrapping and fighting defines themmuch better than individual choice of clothing Still, the global discourse continues to focus on their clothes and a dominant view prevails that we ought to gauge their power or disempowerment based on their willingness to show more of their skin

W hether it is through resisting exposure or using exposure as a tool of shame, women have risked their bodies.

W omen?s collective history of scrapping and fighting defines them much better than individual choice of clothing.

The most exhausting thing about all of this is that we already know how to think about this stuff We know that women and men use their skins to send out political messages. All over the world, people have shed clothes in aid of their principles, or to shame their governments The difference is, when men strip to their underwear in protest, they are not described as prostitutes Women in India too have stripped in protest, often as a last resort, when legal avenues for protection against rape or dowry harassment appear to have

For years now, photos of Afghan women in the 1970s have circulated on social media, as if to suggest that, because those few women were photographed in mini-skirts, things were great for women in general at the time The context of the image?s circulation is, of course, the decimation of women?s freedoms under the Taliban regime However, an invisible undercurrent of meaning running through such photos is that freedom equals Western clothing norms. There are no photos circulated of women who had led political rallies in the 1970s and 80s, many of whommight have been wearing Eastern outfits, or they might have been in black chadors. Lately,similar images of women in Syria have been circulating and, as writer Omar Doda wryly remarked on X, ?the best indicator if the USis going to bomb a place is when images circulate of its women in the 1970s?

Reader, I amspectacularly tired of judging the quality of a woman?s life based on whether

she wanted to pull on a pair of flared jeans in the 1970s I really don? t care whether they wear jeans in Damascus, or whether they wear burqas to the beach in Mangalore I do care that they don? t get sunstroke or chilblains I care that they have plentiful food and water, clean air and medicines I care that we control our own money and our wombs I care that we?re failing ourselves by buying into the dominant othering impulse within our own cultures I care about how to shut up those who want to snatch our freedoms, how to develop steely nerves to deal with the backlash. And I long for the day when our aortas and arteries, our eyes and ears will dominate the public discourse, rather than our skins.

Annie Zaidi isa bilingual writer and current doctoral scholar (Creative Writing) at Durham UniversityHer current doctoral research is focused on the embodiment of ?witches?in contemporary South Asian literatureShewon the international Nine DotsPrize (2019) for creative thinking that tacklescontemporary societal issues Her prize-winning essay about conceptionsof home and identity was developed intoBread, Cement, Cactus: A memoir of belonging and dislocation(CUP, 2020).She received the Tata Literature Live Award for fiction (2020) for Prelude to a Riot, which wasalso shortlisted for the JCBprize the same year

Her published novellasinclude The comeback (forthcoming, Aleph 2025),City of Incident (Aleph) andGulab(HarperCollins India).Gulabhasalso adapted into a film, directed by Sanjoy Nag (forthcoming) Other worksinclude a collection of short storiesLove Stories# 1to14, and a collection of essaysBantering with Banditsand Other True Tales(reissued with a new introduction in 2023).

She isthe editor ofUnbound: 2000 Yearsof Indian Women'sWriting, and hasco-authored (with Smriti Ravindra) the inter-genre collection The Good Indian Girl.She also won the The Hindu Playwright Award (2018) for her drama script Untitled 1 Her radio scriptJamwasnamed regional (South Asia) winner for the BBC?s International Playwriting Competition (2011).She haswritten and directed the documentary filmtracing the literary history of Indian women:In her words: The journey of Indian women,and hasalso written multiple short filmsincluding the story for the multi-award winning short,Two Way Street(directed by Asmit Pathare).

Her body of workthat spansmultiple genres including non-fiction, fiction, stage and film scripts, poetry and graphic storytelling, and hasappeared in several anthologiesand literary journalsincluding Wasafiri, MassachusettsReview,Portside Review,The CharlesRiver Journal (Boston), Anti Serious, The Aleph Review,The Missing Slate,Out of Print,andGriffith ReviewShe trained asa journalist and haspublished essaysand columnsin several magazinesand websites, includingCaravan, Republica (Italy), Griffith Review (Australia), Frontline, The Hindu, Scrollin, BBC Hindi, Outlook, Mint Lounge, First Post, DNA, Open, Elle, GQ India and Conde Nast Traveller.

New and forthcoming in 2025: Zaidi?sforthcoming novella (title to be finalised) isa light-hearted caper that navigatesfriendship and the perilsand pleasuresof a life devoted to making theatre in small town India

A new Marathi translation ofBread, Cement, Cactus: A memoir of belonging and dislocationhasrecently been published, and a Malayalamtranslation isalso on the anvil

(Untitled)

2 a m I close the window Shut out the night Look away from the dark. There?s more in this room. It?s hard to decide which terror is more beautiful, which beauty more frightful The night inside my mind or the one outside One is malleable, whatever exists there can fall, dissolve, subject to my will, and that?s alright because there?s no threat Nebulous, intangible, without a fraction of importance, a random conclave inside my head, who would care what happens there, what glory,what creation, what destruction. While there?s concrete in the standing strength we call real, certainty in the night where we lean our bodily weight outside these windows, quiet at this hour,these trees, these gardens This window itself, the buildings we build into the sky. Doesn? t matter how precarious, doesn? t matter that we?ve seen them crumble quicker than an atom of thought To live in a time when one half of the world is tilted, sliding into extinction, disappearance. To move in and out of this reality. Somewhere at this time, night is not a luxury. There is a place far away and not too far,where night is the only light there is A reddened black The mind implodes upon itself That?s how incomprehension works But only for a while When it wakes, it begins to move of its own accord, fired by a mechanism following instructions from a dream It?ll never sleep again

The night hangs still Stillness is my illusion I?m still here, the way I was last year,asking the same questions.Who will speak for them?Who speaks, who speaksat all?

We write the way we live, and we write the way we speak and don? t speak Words gather up behind my tongue, a dark river,coiled, seeking a different outlet on my body. Language, I?m not familiar with the way others do it. Their scrabble of words, wires meshed in their own grey static, accents clicked by teeth This, I won? t call this English This is not my language. I don? t have a language, the ones that could?ve been mine hang in thin air,strands wraithing

through my grasp. I come to this language loaded with landscape There will be air among sentences Trees standing between words Frequent silences because I?m looking around from side to side, testing the earth beneath this punctuation.

4 a m I?m not the only one awake Roads never rest But there?s no comfort in the thought I close my eyes to their ghostly company. Far away,the grey haze of cars rushing, scratching up and down the night. They never stop. Sleepless wayfarers The loneliness in that word, a cold white ache in my teeth Go home Please Let there be a home.

Positions don? t change. Still watching that construction site, still there, two streets ahead of me Work takes time Paused in construction Poised in creation If only building something didn? t take this long I wish those rooms would fill. I wish the gaping black would disappear I have a choice to look away,but I don? t Those looming rooms, those hollowed spaces, a home for the invisible Us, in process, gravity in context Gravity one day doing what it?s already doing, swinging back against the great backdrop. How many times do we remember the sky is behind us, how many times do we realize we?re standing while we?re falling Falling back into the sky Invariably falling. This is gravity too, my voice this strange wild organ, this strange tender organ moving out of me, my lungs, my heart being pulled, sending something out, a letter soft as flesh drifting on the night With water,so much water. All this emission. Writing is a form of dying too. There will be a time for poetry again. But not tonight Not tonight

Taiba Abbasisan author, publisher,and academic. Born in Pakistan, and raised in Italy, she holdsa Master?sdegree in Comparative Literature fromSOAS, University of London Her booksinclude The Night In Her Hair(2022), and Who Will SpeakFor The Men Of Gaza?(2024)This piece isan exclusive extract fromher upcoming work

Beyond Words: The Complexity of Silence

Sabyn Javeri

In my feminismclass at NYUAD, I teach an essay titled "Just Stop" by Egyptian photojournalist Eman Hilal Each semester, it elicits a powerful reaction frommy first-year students They are often shocked and sometimes even disgusted upon learning about Hilal?s choice to remain silent about her experience of sexual harassment during a field assignment, where she was the only female journalist

to "speak up," "use your voice," and "tell your story,"silence is frequently framed as a betrayal?of oneself, one?s community,or the broader fight for justice Today,the valorization of speech, particularly for women and minorities, is seen as the ultimate act of defiance against oppressive structures However, there is inherent value?and often a profound necessity?in choosing silence, not as an act of passivity, but as a deliberate assertion of agency

Hilal?s motivation for this decision was clear: if she spoke out, she wouldn? t bring the perpetrator to justice; instead, she would jeopardize future opportunities for other female journalists She understood that speaking up would likely lead to victim-blaming and possibly to her being confined for her "own protection" By choosing silence, she resisted the narrative?one that often rings true?that public spaces are unsafe for women. Her intent was not defeatismbut a desire to normalize the presence of women journalists in the field. She believed that if enough women ventured out, it would reduce the likelihood of any one of themfacing similar situations alone. Thus, she remained silent about her assault while encouraging other women to step forward and claimtheir space

For women and minorities, the act of speaking has long been entwined with survival

A

udre Lorde?s iconic statement, ?Your silence will not protect you,?

encapsulated

an era when silence equated to complicity, and finding voice meant reclaiming power.

For women and minorities, the act of speaking has long been entwined with survival. Audre Lorde?s iconic statement, ?Your silence will not protect you,? encapsulated an era when silence equated to complicity,and finding voice meant reclaiming power But as the discourse around radical social media activism grows louder and the acknowledgment of intersectionality shrinks, the imperative to speak up can feel less like a liberation and more like an obligation.

It often takes time for my students to grasp that silence can also be an act of feminist resistance In a society that champions the calls

Agreed, that movements like # MeToo inspire the transformative power of speaking out Through it, survivors of sexual harassment and assault broke long-held silences, exposing systemic abuses and holding powerful individuals accountable Yet, for every survivor who chose to speak, countless others opted for silence?not out of weakness or complicity,but for self-preservation, privacy,or the fear of backlash Take the case of Misha Shafi, a famous Pakistani

singer who faced a huge backlash of victimblaming when she spoke up against sexual harassment Misha was strong enough to follow it to the courts but there were many others who did not have the family support to do so This is not to discourage women fromspeaking out, but to not judge those whose circumstances prevent themfrom doing so In the end everyone?s situation is different and all we can do is honour their silence instead of holding it against them

The risks of speaking out are not hypothetical; they are real, tangible, and punitive. Recently, students in the United States faced arrests for protesting against the Palestinian genocide and Israeli human rights abuses, highlighting the precariousness of free speech The irony is stark: while society celebrates the courage of speaking out, it punishes those who challenge deeply entrenched systems of power

But what of those who want to speak yet find themselves unable? In a systemwhere survival depends on complicity?where mortgages, student loans, and school fees tether individuals to structures they might otherwise critique?silence becomes less a choice and more a necessity. Speaking out in such contexts can risk not just professional repercussions but the very stability of one?s family and future of those who depend on them. In such a case can we really call their silence selfish?

It?s important to remember that, silence, in this context, becomes more than self-preservation?it becomes a formof strategy Choosing not to speak can be a way to preserve stability while finding quieter, less visible ways to resist. For some, this might involve financially supporting movements or educating their children to challenge the very

systems they cannot For others, silence might mean building networks of solidarity away from the public eye For Hilal, it was taking on the pain so she could create space for others to heal This reframes silence not as selfishness but as a kind of complex courage?one that acknowledges the constraints of complicity while refusing to abandon the larger social goals of justice Ones that require us to think in more complicated ways, acknowledging the intersectionality of people?s identities and individual circumstances of gender, class and geographies.

If there is one thing that my students and I take away from analyzing Hilal?s essay,it?s that living within systems of oppression often means becoming entangled in them Frompaying mortgages to funding children?s education, everyday acts of survival can bind individuals to structures they might wish to dismantle This complicity is not a moral failing but a reflection of systemic power: to survive in these systems is to depend on them

The emotional toll of this complicity is profound. The desire to speak up clashes with the realities of job security,financial obligations, and familial responsibilities. Many feel the weight of this contradiction?aware of their role within the systembut powerless to extricate themselves fromit without immense personal and communal risk

Yet even within this entanglement, silence can hold meaning It can signify the recognition of one?s limitations while striving to create a better world for those who follow Silence can be a pause?a moment to regroup, strategize, and act when the stakes align more favorably. For any thinking person, not speaking up against the genocide in Palestine, or the ethnic cleansing of the Baloch in

Pakistan, the atrocities against Kashmiris in India, the Rohingyas in Burma, war that Ukrainians are fighting, the war against the women in Afghanistan or Iran or against women?s bodies in western democracies like the US, Brazil or Poland whether it is the right to choose abortion or the right to choose what to wear, there is a profound sense of frustration And the weight of self-censorship involved in staying silent against so much injustice in the world But, ultimately,the question of whether to speak or to remain silent is deeply personal and contextual.

For some, voice is a tool for immediate action; for others, silence is a way to endure and resist in less visible ways Because resistance can take the formof nurturing future activists, quietly building alternative systems, or simply surviving within structures designed to crush dissent Who are we to throw the first stone?

highlighting the fraught dynamics of voice and authority While her actions were intended to correct and uphold respect, they also inadvertently replicated the very structures of exclusion and dominance she critiques in her work This incident reminds us of the complexities of voice and silence?how power operates not only in what is spoken but also in who is permitted to speak and ?when?

At the same time, the pressure to speak can paradoxically replicate the very systems of power it seeks to dismantle.

For some, voice is a tool for immediate action; for others, silence is a way to endure and resist in less visible ways Because resistance can take the form of nurturing future activists, quietly building alternative systems, or simply surviving within structures designed to crush dissent.

Gayatri Spivak?s seminal essay ?Can the Subaltern Speak? addresses this tension, exploring how systems of knowledge production often render marginalized voices unintelligible within dominant frameworks Spivak argues that even when subalterns speak, their voices are often co-opted, misunderstood, or dismissed by those in power

Ironically,Spivak herself has been implicated in acts of silencing Recently,at a college campus in India, she silenced a male student who repeatedly mispronounced a name during a discussion,

As Hilal?s essay reminds us, the expectation to speak up can itself be oppressive. Sometimes, the most radical act is to stop?to refuse the performance, reject the spectacle, and hold one?s energy for when it matters most The challenge is to redefine silence not as surrender but as a deliberate and meaningful act In this reframing, silence is no longer an absence but a presence.

I know that for many this may come across as a cop out or an act of cowardice. I?mnot here to preach What I try to teach in my classroomis that silence is not always a failure of courage but a recognition of the complexity of living within?and challenging?a world that demands complicity for survival Silence, then, is not the opposite of voice It is a survival mechanism, and a seed for future resistance

In writing this I amnot advocating silence against the

atrocities the world is currently facing But questioning why speaking up by minorities becomes the only measure of their solidarity Yes, there are those who have the privilege and the platformto speak out and challenge, and indeed, they should be held accountable Or those who use hate speech to draw attention away fromthe carnages of political and personal violence- such people should be called out But at the same time there are those who have dependents, or individual circumstances that prevent them fromspeaking out- but does that make them complicit? For themit is not possible to openly condemn the violence without risking being fired or deported or arrested and lose whatever little difference they are able to make in their current positions Such people on the fringes are only too aware that their voice makes little difference in the larger scheme of things and sadly it is on them that the pressure to use their ?voice? falls on the most Some battles are won with words; others, with the refusal to give them The challenge, then, is not simply to find one?s voice but to decide when to use it?and when to hold it close.

By holding space for silence, we honor the diverse ways resistance manifests. N ot every act of defiance requires a microphone or a megaphone, and Instagram post or a Tik Tok; some require the quiet endurance of individuals like H ilal, who refuse to let their pain derail the larger fight for justice. A s Toni M orrison once said, ?The function of freedom is to free someone else.?

Ultimately,it?s not their silence that should be questioned but the loud voices of those in power who create institutionalized structures of self-censorship In today?s world it is no longer a question of ?Can the Subaltern Speak??but ?Can the Subaltern Survive??

In navigating this balance, we might remember Hilal?s plea to just stop Stop demanding, stop consuming, stop judging and stop assuming that every silence is a surrender In doing so, we only replicate the same structures of victimblaming by shifting responsibility away fromthose in power to those who are only too aware of their own powerlessness Silence is not merely the absence of speech but a complex and often misunderstood formof agency. As Rebecca Solnit writes in The Mother of All Questions, ?Silence can be a plan, rigorously executed, the blueprint to a life. It is a presence; it has a history and a shape. Silence can be a formof protest, a refusal to offer words that legitimize injustice ?For Hilal, silence was precisely that: a plan, a protest, and a vision for a future where her voice would not be an exception but part of a collective roar By holding space for silence, we honor the diverse ways resistance manifests. Not every act of defiance requires a microphone or a megaphone, and Instagrampost or a Tik Tok; some require the quiet endurance of individuals like Hilal, who refuse to let their pain derail the larger fight for justice As Toni Morrison once said, ?The function of freedomis to free someone else ? Hilal?s silence was her way of wielding her freedom?not to shield herself but to create space for others to step forward

In teaching this essay to my students, Iamnot trying to romanticize silence or glorify

suffering but to remind themthat the path to justice is neither linear nor universal. It is messy, contingent, and deeply personal. Silence and Speech are not opposites; they are tools, each wielded according to the needs of the moment and the constraints of circumstance

Finally,what Hilal?s essay teaches us is that resistance takes many forms Sometimes, it is the quiet resolve to stay and fight another day Sometimes, it is the loud, unrelenting cry for justice. And sometimes, it is the radical act of choosing when?and how?to break the silence. As Bell Hooks wrote, ?True resistance begins with people confronting pain? and wanting to do something to change it.?Whether through silence or speech, the goal remains the same: to disrupt, to challenge, and, ultimately,to transform.

Sabyn Javeri isSenior Lecturer of Writing, Literature & Creative Writing at New YorkUniversity, Abu Dhabi. She isthe author of 'Hijabistan' (Harper Collins: 2019) and the novel 'Nobody Killed Her' (Harper Collins: 2017) and hasinitiated and edited two multilingual anthologiesof student writing titled, 'The Arzu Anthology of Student Voices' (Vol I & II. HUP: 2019, 2018). Her writing hasbeen widely anthologized and published in the South Asian Review,London Magazine, Litro, Journal of Commonwealth Literature, Wasafiri, Oxonian Review, Trespass, and World Literature, amongst other publications, and she writesa monthly column for 3QuarksDaily on gender and identity She hasa MSt from the University of Oxford and a PhD fromthe University of Leicester Her research interests include transcultural feminism, South Asian literature, inclusive pedagogy and creative writing

ReclaimingAnger

Anger is a powerful emotion, and perhaps why it has historically been denied to women It has been (and continues to be) a male privilege Women hesitate to show their anger publicly because they have been conditioned to believe that anger is unbecoming, a character flaw Unladylike However, the same anger finds a different connotation when it comes to men Then anger is macho, a sign of power and authority; something to be admired Fromchildhood, women are taught to suppress anger, to swallow it, to bury it deep within.Could you not show it in

was similarly not for them The only option available to them throughout the centuries was silence?and they are no longer choosing it

The script has flipped over the last decade or so Women who stayed away fromowning their anger as power are now joining protests, leading demonstrations, grabbing microphones, and screaming down the patriarchy They are letting their anger school them, guide them, and fuel their demand for equality.

For too long, women

For centuries, most women have followed this script, expressing their rage only in private, masking their fury with smiles and silence. Patriarchy weaponized this narrative. Feminists were portrayed as angry, man-hating women. The warning was clear?don? t be like them. D on? t make a public show of your anger. D on? t protest. D on? t speak too loudly. A nger is not for women.

public?Angry women are labelled hysterical and ?unladylike? .

For centuries, most women have followed this script, expressing their rage only in private, masking their fury with smiles and silence Patriarchy weaponized this narrative Feminists were portrayed as angry,man-hating women The warning was clear?don? t be like them Don? t make a public show of your anger Don? t protest Don? t speak too loudly Anger is not for women. Thus, feminismwas also not for most women. Demanding equality or protesting injustices

compromised They adjusted They stayed silent to preserve the small pockets of independence they were allowed But silence has a cost Anger, when suppressed, does not disappear It sits in the heart like a stone, heavy and immovable

I know this anger It has lived within me for years. Growing up in a patriarchal society,I learned to swallow my rage, compromise, adjust, and hold onto the small victories patriarchy grudgingly offered. Anger cannot be ignored forever, but it also did not belong in the narrative we grew into,

either Till it did

Several years ago, I stood at a protest in New Delhi The crowd was young, fearless, defiant Fists punched the air Voices rose in unison, righteous and loud I stood awkwardly,observing Then a young woman smiled, took my hand, and pulled me into the human chain they were forming. I hesitated. I was there to write, not to protest. But I couldn? t step away. I screamed slogans. I held hands with college-going young women whose courage left me breathless. At that moment, I felt my anger belonged. I learned something essential: anger, when shared, has the power to transform.

This is the age of anger It is raw, unapologetic, and unstoppable The 21st century has given women new tools for their rage: social media, public protests, and collective action Across the world, women are taking to the streets, turning their fury into a force for change One simple question ? ?If not now, then when??? has ignited a global movement. Women are rising, demanding justice, equality,and dignity.

In India, more women have taken to the streets in the last decade than ever before

In India, the rise of public anger among women can be traced back to 2012. The gang rape of a young student in Delhi sparked protests across the nation. Women poured into the streets, united by their fury and demanding justice It was one of the first times in the last decade that women had taken to the streets in large numbers, unafraid to express their rage in public The demonstrations brought ordinary women out to the streets, including students and homemakers, many of whomwould never have thought they would

be shouting slogans in public before this moment

Indian women have continued to fight They protested in 2018 after the gang rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl in Kathua They marched in Unnao when a minor girl accused an MLA of rape. They formed a 300-mile human chain in Kerala in 2019, defending their right to enter the Sabarimala temple after centuries of exclusion. In Shaheen Bagh, housewives turned their neighbourhood into a centre of resistance against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), which discriminated against Muslims. In 2021, women farmers stood at the forefront of one of India?s largest protests, demanding the repeal of exploitative farmlaws These were not activists They were ordinary women Angry Determined

A Global Phenomenon

This anger is not confined to India. Across the globe, women are rising in their rage. In 2018 in Spain, thousands marched in purple t-shirts with banners reading, ?For Those Who Are Not With Us?and ?Justice.?In Istanbul, women chanted, ?We are not silent, we are not weak, we are not obeying.?

The same year, in South Korea, some 70,000 women demonstrated, holding placards reading, ?My life is not your porn,? protesting the epidemic of hidden cameras that violated their privacy In Chile, schoolgirls and students marched against institutional sexismon college campuses and schools.

Around the same time, in Nepal, women dressed in black gathered to demand stricter laws against rape; in Brazil, they rallied under the banner # EleNao, denouncing then-frontrunner presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro, a

leader who justified the gender wage gap and trivialised women?s rights In South Africa, women marched to Parliament under the ?Total Shutdown? movement, demanding action against violence

women are turning their rage into resistance They are no longer satisfied with incremental change They want a systemic overhaul, and they are prepared to fight for it Anger is the thread that unites these movements, a raw and potent force that demands attention

Anger is not new. But for the first time, women are owning it as their power.

H ow M eToo U nited the W orld?s W omen

In France, the # NousToutes movement brought feminist groups together, pushing for stronger measures against domestic violence. In 2020, in Mexico, women declared a ?day without women,?refusing to work or participate in public life to highlight their indispensable role in society.

This anger was not confined to H ollywood. It swept across professions, geographies, and social strata, highlighting the pervasive nature of gendered abuse. In India, the movement took root in 20 18, exposing predators in fields ranging from politics to journalism. W hile the accused fight their battles in court, the movement irrevocably shifted the conversation.

Women are locking arms across the world In Portland, mothers formed a human barrier to protect protesters during Black Lives Matter demonstrations In Mexico, mothers of the disappeared march with photos of their children, combing mass graves in search of answers

These protests are not isolated; they are interconnected by a shared fury. Fromthe streets of Santiago to the villages of India,

The # MeToo movement became a global eruption of anger, uniting women in 85 countries and sparking an unprecedented wave of activism. What began as a phrase coined by U.S. activist Tarana Burke to support survivors of sexual assault and harassment exploded into a full-throated cry for justice in 2017. When actress Alyssa Milano tweeted # MeToo to call out Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein, it unleashed a torrent of rage fromwomen across industries, breaking decades of silence about harassment, exploitation, and abuse at the hands of powerful men

This anger was not confined to Hollywood It swept across professions, geographies, and social strata, highlighting the pervasive nature of gendered abuse. In India, the movement took root in 2018, exposing predators in fields ranging from politics to journalism. While the accused fight their battles in court, the movement irrevocably shifted the conversation. It demanded accountability, sparked global outrage, and shattered the illusion of progress in spaces once assumed to be equitable.

# MeToo?s most significant impact was that it legitimised women?s

anger It showed that rage?long dismissed as unladylike or irrational?could be harnessed to dismantle systems of oppression

Women across the globe were no longer asking for change; they were demanding it

This anger is unapologetic

It refuses to be pacified by platitudes or superficial gestures. It demands accountability,justice, and real change. And it is relentless. Women are no longer afraid to show their rage?whether through viral hashtags, mass protests, or grassroots organising They are using their anger to create a world where equality isn? t an aspiration but a reality

The # MeToo movement was a flashpoint, but it was also a starting point. It reminded the world that women?s anger is not just an emotion, but also a force for transformation. This anger has brought women together in unimaginable ways, creating a global network of solidarity and action. It has shown that when women channel their rage collectively,they are unstoppable.

This unapologetic anger means women are no longer asking to be heard; they are making sure they are They are embracing anger as a tool to change their lives and to pave the way for a future where equality is not a struggle but a state of being

The age of the angry woman is here ? and not a moment too soon

Nilanjana Bhowmickisan award-winning journalist, feminist writer,andTEDx speakerwith over two decadesof experience in storytelling and advocacy. Her workhasappeared inTIME Magazine,National Geographic,The Washington Post, and more, focusing on gender equality,social justice, and women?sempowerment

She istheauthor of two best-selling books,LiesOur MothersTold UsandHow Not to Be a Superwoman.

Beyond writing, she hasworked with multilateral organizations likeUN WomenandUNDP India, creating strategic content and advocacy campaignsthat drive action on critical issues, especially Gender Equality. She isalso aTEDx speakerand curates?Wednesday? , a weekly newsletter on Gender Equality and Women?s Empowerment

In Search Of Voice

It often comes as a surprise to many people that it has been almost 12 years since I started teaching University students. Most people see me as an independent publisher and editor, and are unaware of this parallel track in my life, which has, over the past decade, become a vital part of my life What is interesting is that when I first started teaching, I worked with MA students, and only later came to work with undergraduate students, almost in reverse of how it might happen for a career academic But then, and unlike many others, I came to teaching as a practitioner, which suggested the exciting prospect of a blank slate which could be filled in with unique pedagogic practices, while it also translated into many anxious hours in the early years doing lecture prep wondering if I was getting it all wrong!

I began teaching UG students only in 2021, on a course called Introduction to Critical Thinking, a mandatory foundation course for all first-year UGs enrolled at the private liberal arts university where I teach, no matter what their future major might be Fairly early on, I decided that what I could bring from my two decades of commissioning editor experience to such a course was to enable these out-of-high-school students to begin building their critical voice Indeed, voice, for me, lies at the very heart of critical thinking and writing. Voice does not merely refer to style or to ideas, but the very manner in which articulation has a distinctiveness which is unique to the person making the point. It is an idea we were encouraged to examine and explore and debate and discuss when I was a young editor being mentored by a couple of remarkable seniors in the publishing industry who remain lighthouses for me till this day As editors, we were nudged towards understanding the intricacies of the author?s voice and to render the best possible version of it in

our final edit. I want to add here that the edit at hand needed to be even more nuanced and carefully done, if the manuscript we were working on was that of a translation It is no surprise then that one of the ways in which I routinely work on voice with the students is via a translation exercise

In the exercise, the students have to get hold of a short 300-word extract which could be anything from an Op-Ed, to a literary extract, to poetry, etc. in their mother tongue or a language other than English that they are fluent in. The extract has to be related to the theme of the semester. The first time I assigned it, a couple of years ago, the semester theme was Flaneusing/Loitering in the City. I suggested the exercise tentatively, wondering how 18/19-year-old students would respond to it since many of them admitted they were not as fluent in their mother tongue as they would like The submissions surprised me About eight students had picked some random yet predictable Hindi film song (on the city and wandering about the city, favourites being Yeh hai Dilli meri jaan, Bambai Meri Jaan) for which they probably got the translation from Google, or perhaps they just took recourse to Google Translate with the original lyrics However, another 10-12 students had really exercised themselves to do the assignment well, despite knowing that they would not be graded for the assignment; they just had to turn it in. One student found an essay on Delhi by the acclaimed Hindi author Krishna Sobti and translated a part of it. Another decided to have her grandmother reminisce to her in her mother tongue, Marwari, about how her city was once different; the student then translated what she had audio-recorded with her grandmother. I was blown away by the palimpsest of texts her interaction with her grandmother in their mother tongue had

yielded For the student too, it was a moment of discovery and elation As she said to me later, she and her grandmother had never had a conversation of this kind before, almost compelling her to see her elder in an entirely different light The text that she recorded was rich too because it was colloquial and conversational, and she applied herself with great enthusiasm to retain the original sense of lightness and love as she translated the conversation to English for the exercise I began to realise that the thought of the exercise had struck a chord, and that the students were keen to explore their engagement, sometimes tenuous for some of them, with their mother tongue. What they were also doing in effect was bringing their ?self? to the theme of the semester, Flaneusing in the City, feeling closer to the theme in a way that no close reading exercise could have accomplished

students submitted finally left me feeling astonished and thoroughly pleased I particularly want to mention two of these: the first one was an op-ed on Kannada-medium schools of Kanhangad in Kasaragodu district of Kerala (Kannada to English), and the second, a translation of the poem ?Tum Kaun Jaat Ho Bhai?by Bachcha Lal Unmesh (Hindi to English) These two submissions had expertly woven concepts from our classroom discussions into the translation without in any way compromising the integrity of the original text itself. I was gobsmacked on seeing this, catching perhaps just a glimpse of the tremendous possibilities that such an exercise might present.

Voice does not merely refer to style or to ideas, but the very manner in which articulation has a distinctiveness which is unique to the person making the point It is an idea we were encouraged to examine and explore and debate and discuss

After this first rather tentative start to the assignment, I decided to make it a graded assignment. I made sure the students had more time to give thought to what they wanted to choose as their extract and I expressly forbade them from sending in random Bollywood songs! The theme the next semester --Reading the Other?was harder for an exercise of this sort, for its sheer reflective quality,which for some students at least felt like an abstraction I had to dedicate more office hours at this time to help the students feel more confident about the assignment What my

There was another striking thing that happened with each cohort that I assigned this exercise to In every section, certain students who were diffident about their spoken English and their ability to negotiate classroom discussions, generally the quieter ones, suddenly came to life with this exercise. Their newfound sense of confidence was evident and interestingly, in the aftermath of this exercise, some of them even became more conversant in the classroom. One of them was a deeply engaged albeit painfully shy student who wanted to translate an op-ed which was not in their mother tongue but in the language of the state the family had been posted in for long, Meitei Yet another layer of bringing the self to the theme at hand was added in this particular student?s submission What becomes evident after

doing this over four semesters is that the students see it as an exercise where they can a) show something of their personal self b)unleash some amount of creativity. I am frankly more interested in the first bit of evidence---the fact that being able to show something of themselves/their intimate selves/their lives at home, in a critical thinking classroom, engendered such productivity and purposeful work on part of the students Let's unpack this point further

In a symposium panel on Voice and Power in Literature organised by RMIT University Melbourne which I was part of recently as the respondent, one of the panelists, the brilliant writer and scholar Roanna Gonsalves talked about bell hooks's fascinating conceptualisation about ?coming to voice? Gonsalves writes, ? In hooks? conceptualisation, no single voice is identified as authentic Instead, the sense of self, and of voice, is conceptualised as multi-dimensional, dynamic, versatile Speaking is seen as a way to active self-transformation, as a gesture of resistance, of affirmation and of struggle ?In a much humbler and scaled down manner, I suppose it is this motivation that I was trying to keep alive by introducing the translation exercise in my critical thinking classroom. At the same symposium panel, another participant, Creative Writing Professor Marjorie Evasco spoke about the Dagat Bohol project she was part of in the port town of Jagna in Philippines, where several groups were formed including two individuals from the

I have seen architecture and art students work with local communities to create an artefact or structure together, exchanging ideas and knowledge, and keeping alive the local idioms, motifs and techniques; how exciting it would be to see students develop stories and narratives together in the same way with a local community!

local fisher folk community and 3-4 high school students The groups then wrote narratives together, negotiating the fisherfolk?s use of their own language throughout What was particularly enlightening for me in Evasco?s description of the Filipino project was the fact that the mentors stepped back entirely once the students and the fisherfolk began engaging with each other ?We wanted to learn how these young writers would create literature in the language of their local communities, retrieving and reaffirming the value of the tried-and-tested wisdom and knowledge systems of artisanal fishermen, who are often, if not always, taken for granted and marginalized in society.? I have seen architecture and art students work with local communities to create an artefact or structure together, exchanging ideas and knowledge, and keeping alive the local idioms, motifs and techniques; how exciting it would be to see students develop stories and narratives together in the same way with a local community!

In conclusion, to me, such interventions are nothing short of the result of what I call Audacious Mentoring, mentoring that refuses to remain circumscribed within established parameters of what is possible and instead pushes the envelope, based on the trust that the mentee will meet the mentor halfway It is without doubt the only way to enable students to find their voice in the classroom,

where the instructor does not foist their ideas and ?self? on the students, rather she holds space within which the students can engage in an exploration to find their own path

Arpita Dasisan alumna of St Stephen?sCollege, Delhi University and the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, for which she received the Felix Scholarship She isthe Founder-Publisher of the award-winning independent publishing house based in New Delhi, Yoda Press. AsAssociate Professor Practice, Writing, she teachesthe Publishing Seminar to senior studentsof Creative Writing at Ashoka University and a Foundation Course called Introduction to Critical Thinking to first-year students. In the past, she helped set up the Word Lab at the Indian Institute of Human Settlementsin Bangalore, and led the Sage School of Publishing coursesat various universitiesand institutionsacross India Arpita writesoften on book culture, publishing, popular culture, gender and bibliotherapy for various periodicalsand platforms. She is also the Editor of the South Asia Seriesat Melbourne University Publishing

O n the Semantics of Linguistic H egemony and Coercion

Sabin M uzaffar

Of late, language or rather the mechanisms and machinations of language have become an incessant obsession From time immemorial, all tools of language and expression ? be it the hieroglyphics of old, Lutheran Pamphlets, censored blank spaces in Pakistani dailies in the 80s, Mahsa Amini?s image, Mahmud Darwish?s lilting poems to dissemination of mal, mis & dis-info through media, these have been means of societal integration, alienation, subversion and oppression

Language as a manifestation of culture, heritage and legacy also plays a systemically structural role when it comes to both oppression and subversion.

Indeed physical wars disproportionately garner human suffering, but it is the combatant, unrelenting siege of language that in effect produces the genocidal repression of existence ? of a way of life? of living

Language is explosive, it is powerful!

Language has, more often than not, been a potent tool leveraged by the powerful; those who are armed with access, availability and the machinery to exploit its full potential.

Language has, more often than not, been a potent tool leveraged by the powerful; those who are armed with access, availability and the machinery to exploit its full potential. Colonial languages have always taken precedence over native ones of those conquered, subjugated or oppressed. And as time goes by, language of those who rule, is enforced on nations and communities who have no choice but to adopt it The process of assimilation by design becomes organic with the passage of time Thus the dominant, colonial language, which has gradually localized, executes a linguistic hegemony based on its positionality, symbolic status and structure

Linguistic coercion comes in many different forms Terms and expressions used both in language and literature are open to wide interpretation Othello, the Moorish military man who eventually kills his loving Caucasian wife is one example Needless to say, the text is pioneering on many levels including the start of a dialogue on even issues like gender-based violence, intimate partner violence and more That said, for an eighth grader especially belonging to a Global South country, studying the brilliance of the old bard, the term moor can be more than merely ambiguous. For many an expert, the term may not exactly be derogatory but it can ? subliminally and otherwise ? communicate a different story altogether at the intersection of color, race, religion, ethnicity, geo-political positionality etc!

Structurally, the education system has also played a contentious role when it comes to colonizing language and culture In his book, Decolonising the Mind, Ngugi Wa Thiongo writes: ?The colonial system of education in addition to its apartheid racial demarcation had the structure of the pyramid: a broad primary base, a narrowing secondary middle, and an even narrower university apex. Selections from primary into secondary were through an examination in my time called the Kenya African Preliminary Examination, in which one had to pass six subjects ranging from Maths to Nature Study and Kiswahili. All the papers were written in English. Nobody could pass the exam who failed the English Language paper no matter how brilliantly he had done in the other subjects?

More recently, the Arabic

language specifically has also borne the brunt of strategically devised propaganda by megalomaniacal states whose media machinery have deftly leveraged various methods of messaging that are fear-mongering and geo-politically charged in essence to produce the impact and effect they so desire:Us versus Themunder the shroud of trust and safety ? again at the intersection of caste, location, color, race and of course religion Political correctness, fueled with either hate, bigotry, fear or privilege, has been instrumental when it comes to cancel culture as well as self-censorship With the ushering of a new era of technology, new media has but amplified racialized, linguistic bigotry.

On the flipside, globalization of the English language for example has also played a catalyzing role when it comes to subversion and resistance Poets like Palestinian Mosab Abu Toha have said time and time again about using the English language to communicate lived experiences of colossal human suffering, pain and devastation.

The question then arises: can language be truly decolonized? It is an internecine war generationally fought from eons of time It is a war fought against those who are ?more equal than others?by revolutionaries who are able to use language as a ?jagged knife?? as journalist, author Tathagatha Bhattacharya writes in the Acknowledgements page in his debut novel General Firebrand and his Red Atlas: ?Some words are like guerrillas, they are always going to escape They will go here and there You cannot gauge their trajectory of travel, and they will always return fire ?

The question then arises: can language be truly decolonized? It is an internecine war generationally fought from eons of time. It is a war fought against those who are ?more equal than others?.

?Words are crazy ? they are cruel, they are unpredictable In my short life, I have known many such words. These words move me. Words of safety never interested me. But words are also forever. Manuscripts don? t burn, no matter how much fuel you put into the fire. Even words forged in fear today can become the words of someone?s courage tomorrow?

Sabin Muzaffar isthe Founder & Executive Editor of Anankemag.com, new media and development platform creating inclusive conversationsin the digital realm, launched in 2014

Globalization of language has also created pathways to resistance and resilience with the use of translations. Translations of Dalit literature in South Asia for instance or the African continent?s Gikuyu and Kiswahili have shed light not just on the dominant, imperial language; but also bringing to limelight regional languages, their legacy and even their suffering and endurance

In 2021, she founded another initiative, Ananke?sWomen in Literature Foundation Possessing 25 yearsof experience in print and digital media, her past roles, apart frominternational journalistic career, include being a UN Women?sEmpower Women Global Champion for Women?s Economic Empowerment and a mentor. She hasmentored and trained 100+ girlsfrom the Global South. Under her guidance, Ananke hasbeen nominated twice by the World Summit on Information Society Prizes (2019 & 2020) & iscurrently a Commitment Maker for the ActionsCoalition, Generation Equality

Working M others: The Myth Of Having It All

Saba Karim Khan

Last month and more than eight years into my role as a ?working mother?* (if that is a thing?), I found myself at a literary event at the Pakistan Embassy,surrounded by stalwarts of Pakistani literature and storytelling, in anticipation of moderating a conversation on all things books and writing What could be more joyous, one might imagine, than spending the evening discussing Urdu and English poetry and prose, listening to anecdotes of readers from unexpected corners of the country, and sipping chai whilst watching hordes of people get in line to have their book signed by a writer they clearly found charismatic and inspirational. Whoever said books are dead definitely didn? t know what they were talking about!

But I could not stop thinking about my 7- and 8-year-old daughters, whom I had left behind on a Sunday afternoon, to fuel my own supposedly intellectual ambitions My older daughter?s words kept ringing in my ears as she stood at the door and waved goodbye, ?Mama, please can I come with you??and my response equally chilling and etched in my mind: ? I really wish you could but children aren? t allowed at the event, my dear,?I consoled her. The words felt jarring, knifing through me even as I uttered them, knowing that all she would have done was sat quietly and watched me or played in the garden, even if I did take her along

I thought back to her incessant questions as I prepared to leave and wondered if I?d made a mistake by accepting a weekend work commitment: Where are you going? Will other people be there? Will you be on stage? And then of course, the million-dollar question of what time will you come back? That last question always throws me off-kilter: do I divulge the truth, offer a half-truth or make up something blatantly false to temporarily placate her? Instead, I tried to distract her by asking for some photos of mine to be taken

Put another way, I, like so many other women in similar situations, despite the privileges, am plain tired. The processing load has peaked, with so many micro-moments where decisions that induce guilt and anger and sorrow surface.

For a moment, I was tempted to take her along If it meant so much to her to spend the evening with me, should I just bite the bullet and make her happy? After all, she wasn? t a troublesome child and I knew her presence would cause no disruption to the event My impulse was signaling a definite ?yes?but to our socially conditioned minds, optics matter more than anything else So, of course, I left both my girls behind, knowing fully well that I?d miss being with themall day and putting themto bed at night; the next day too (being a Monday), I would barely get to see themas I?d be in class till 8pm. By the time I?d get home, which would be close to 9pm, they?d both be fast asleep ? and that?s exactly how it went down. Before leaving for school the next morning, my younger daughter came to me and cried by my bedside incessantly: ? I miss you, Mama,?she kept repeating, as

if confirming the guilt that had firmly calcified within me

In most professional introductions, I amintentional about including my role as a mother. My website bio reads: ?Born in Karachi, she now lives in Abu Dhabi with her husband and two daughters? However, as Anne-Marie Slaughter wrote in her famous article in The Atlantic titled, ?Why Women Still Can? t Have It All? , ?gravitas and parenthood don? t seemto go together?Mentioning my daughters in my bio might still be seen by some as incongrous, just the way the notion of work-life harmony ? allowing the two to ocasionally coalesce?rather than work-life balance, still appears unpalatable to many.

Coming across as the sort of mother who cannot school her children properly enough to create boundaries, one who drags themto serious and cerebral events, and who cannot demarcate neatly between work and ?life? , poses a threat to the identity of being a savvy and professional go-getter. Appearing overly emotional and giving into the girls?demands (some might say blackmail), instead of remaining strictly by the book, would make me equally culpable of lacking depth and seriousness Truth be told, my overwhelming concern at the Embassy event had been: how might people perceive this unusual

pairing of me with my 8-year-old daughter at a literary evening ? might they judge me or worse still, be irked at a child tagging along to an adults only event?

I amby no means suggesting that children must be a part of every such occasion or that any request they present you with, must be complied with. On the contrary,it is imperative that they learn to accept ?no?fromtime to time and understand that at certain moments, their mothers will need to leave themand attend to commitments alone

Sadly, there are no readily packaged solutions N onetheless, in the absence of structural support, being pulled in so many directions is finally forcing me to reflect a little more deeply on what kind of agency I might have in this situation.

What I am suggesting ? in fact underlining in bold ? is that this juggling act, this veneer of trying to strike some sort of happy balance that comes with the territory of being a working mother, is fiercely messy and difficult, if not impossible to achieve Above all, it is terribly exhausting, both physically and mentally

Put another way,I, like so many other women in similar situations, despite the privileges, amplain tired The processing load has peaked, with so many micro-moments where decisions that induce guilt and anger and sorrow surface. The emotional labour required to tackle all fronts satisfactorily takes a real toll because quite frankly,our systems and institutions aren? t set up to serve the needs of ?working mothers? , as the pandemic so clearly exposed School runs, office

runs, spelling tests, drama rehearsals, soccer practice, planning Pinterest level birthdays, chasing your own ?reach for the stars?worklife, daily home-cooked meals and of course, the over commoditized ?self-care?mantra of exercise and meditation and ?me-time? The spa, a pipe-dream? There are nights I lie awake making to-do lists in my head, worrying that it? ll all be forgotten by the morning Other times, I am swamped with one crazy creative idea or the other, each of which I amequally desperate to pursue I worry about not doing enough. I find myself not fully immersed in either realm, home or work or everything in between The mind becomes a minefield

Foregoing some work opportunities is another It?s never easy but prioritizing and optimizing the workload has got to help You are in the best position to decide what to take on and what to table for later and I amgradually going to have to train myself in this direction, starting with doing this just this past month.

Sadly,there are no readily packaged solutions

Finally, minimising the surround sound and external scorecard is equally important. W ould I no longer be perceived as a supermom if I let some things pass? Should that

bother me in the first place and isn? t the title more a burden than a boon?

Nonetheless, in the absence of structural support, being pulled in so many directions is finally forcing me to reflect a little more deeply on what kind of agency I might have in this situation. Not much, perhaps, but three tiny steps may offer a starting point:

Asking for help, if it is available, is one Husbands, house-help, whoever is part of the family,needs to step up I have to become comfortable with not doing every single school pick up And if we are doling out cookies and brownie points to working fathers for showing up at school functions, women are deserving of the same.

Finally,minimising the surround sound and external scorecard is equally important Would I no longer be perceived as a supermomif I let some things pass? Should that bother me in the first place and isn? t the title more a burden than a boon? But people do lament the choice women sometimes make to trade a high powered role for one that allows better work-life harmony and those sort of reactions only exacerbate the confusion

In her article, Slaughter quotes Bronnie Ware, an Australian blogger who was involved in palliative care for a long time. In her book The Top Five Regrets of the Dying, she shares the most common regret she heard frompatients: ? I wish I?d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me ?Following that, the other frequent regret they stated to her was ? I wish I didn? t work so hard ? Ware mentions that ?This came from every male patient that I nursed. They missed their children?s youth and their partner?s companionship.? Don? t get me wrong I amnot

making a case for abandoning women?s professional ambition in favour of more family time If anything, more women need a seat at the table Rather, I am advocating for more realistic expectations fromworking mothers (both by others and by themselves), a serious acknowledgement that their lives and identities are chaotic and therefore offering themthe flexibility and empathy to deal with this I amalso suggesting giving a serious shot to work-life harmony,rather than expecting these two to be strictly compartmentalised arenas at all times

It?s high time that we stopped erroneously assuming that these women can just miraculously be at it nonstop (in fact applaud them for it), that they will rarely complain and retain some semblance of sanity whilst at it But perhaps most of all, I amalerting us to the cost women bear for chasing the myth of having it all and the dangers of glorifying this, just the way we have placed motherhood martyrdomon a pedestal. I?d go so far as to say, that?s where the mess got created in the first place. With this in mind, now that I think about it, maybe I made a mistake by not taking our daughter to the book talk after all. It would have been a neat example of walking the talk.

*?working mothers?for the scope of this essay refers to mothers who are in some formof paid employment

Saba KarimKhanisan author, award-winning documentary filmmaker and educator, who read Social Anthropology at the University of Oxford and worksat NYU Abu Dhabi. Khan?sdebut novel, Skyfall, waspublished by Bloomsbury and she isa contributor to the recently launched anthology,Waysof Being: Creative Non-fiction by Pakistani Women She isa columnist for Khaleej Times and her writing, interviewsand talkshave appeared in The Guardian, BBC, The Independent, the Emirates Literature Festival, Lahore Literary Festival, NYUAD Institute, Gulf News, The National, Wasafiri, Huff Post, Verso, LUMS, ThinkProgress, DAWN, The Friday Timesand ExpressTribune. Khan?s doc-film, Concrete Dreams: Some RoadsLead Home, produced by the Doha Film Institute (DFI), secured official selectionsand won awardsat filmfestivalsin NYC, Paris, Berlin, Toronto, USA, Sweden and India. Before joining the Academy,Saba worked as Country Marketing and Public AffairsHead at Citigroup. Born in Karachi, she now livesin Abu Dhabi with her husband and two daughters Saba KarimKhan can be contacted at https://sabakarimkhancom/

I EXIST BECAUSE YOU EXIST

The splendor in thislight provided by you,

You are the green oasisin my desert.

The lonely sandcastle, lost without a clue,

The haven of mother?slove keeps me alert.

The flower that you nourished,

With you, my worriesperished. My gaze for you with grace, Just how do you make no mistakes? Teaching me values, raising me true, Helping me practice virtuesto pursue.

Our memoriesstored in a shared place,

I can handle a challenge with you in thisrace.

A mom?smotherhood isnot tobe forgotten,

The sacrificesare tobe remembered.

No matter how far I would?ve gotten,

You will alwaysbe the passion for my effort.

A preciouspainting people picture, Our foundation isassolid asour structure. Syeda Eshal Razi Jafri

A ge: 14

School: A l Sadiq Islamic English School (A SIES) D ubai - U A E

M others

A nd

D aughters

My daughter was nine when I thought to myself, what amI doing wrong? How have I failed as a parent that my own doesn? t like me? What can I do to fix this relationship?

I had not been a good parent to her. I was in a bad place in my life and struggling to keep my mental health afloat. I was too proud to reach out to anyone; I had always been known to have everything sorted. Sure, I spoke to friends. Ranted. Lamented. But I wouldn? t say I was able to find a solution to my suffering mental health and at the same time be a calming figure in my daughter?s life. Therapy was still taboo ? it was still for the mentally sick, people who have real psychological problems, not someone who might be in a slump because of some unpleasant relationships

way to raise children had we not been exposed to so much more in our generation The internet, franchising culture, social media, gadgets, phones ? the benefits run side by side the damage of hyper awareness the internet creates for a child too young to understand Much later in my journey as a parent, I tell my son: Google doesn? t know your age But more on that later

What we don? t understand as parents is that nobody qualifies us as ?fit to be a parent.?People suffering from generational traumas, inherent regrets, anxiety disorders, anger issues, go untreated.

What we don? t understand as parents is that nobody qualifies us as ?fit to be a parent.?People suffering from generational traumas, inherent regrets, anxiety disorders, anger issues, go untreated.

Without actually knowing what we?re signing up for, we become parents What a responsibility to raise a young one, when you have no such qualification! Most individuals fromour parents? generation did not put too much thought into ?raising?healthy individuals Perhaps the number of children superseded the number of parents and that was reason enough to ?let themlearn on their own.?And perhaps that would have continued to be a better

I was lost at trying to be a mother. I had always been a class topper, good at sports, good child etc. I had never had such a slump in my life, how was I not the best mother, what happened to my grades here? I searched for solutions that wouldn? t become problems later Family and friends were out of their depth I decided to reach out to a counsellor I don? t think she was a certified therapist (in hindsight I should?ve looked for a qualified one) but she was recommended by someone I trust, so I went ahead and booked an appointment. I entered her house and started telling her about my life. How I was stuck in a situation beyond my imagination, how much regret I had, how sad I was. The first few sessions, I just spoke about myself and my unfortunate living conditions.

When I got to my daughter, I felt myself start to become defensive She is impossible She blames me for everything She doesn? t listen at all! My counsellor, however unqualified, did help me She told me to pick my battles She told me to stop for a moment and see why my daughter is reacting Why I want her to do a particular

thing so badly,can there be an alternate solution?

Many months after a fall out with my counsellor, who apologized to me for projecting her own trauma, much later on, I did sit back and think about what she had told me to stop in that moment of quarrel. I did stop. I did pick my battles. I let her not shower for three days. I let her wear her hair down without brushing it. I let her have nuggets for lunch. I took her out on mama-daughter dates. I realized, much to my surprise that I needed to look after myself too. I took up a part-time job at my son?s school. I registered myself for a degree I had been longing to do ? on a condition that I will only self-study and not attend classes I did that so it was not a big change to my home environment, I was only out in the mornings when my children were in school and I studied at night No one?s schedule was interrupted, no car was taken ? I still went to lunches and weddings and cooked dinners and attended to all who needed my attention.

If we are forthcoming, we are labelled rude, if we care about our own well-being or our children?s, we are considered selfish, and god forbid if we want a career, it is sheer blasphemy. It is however important to look after oneself

did I find time to do all of this, I actually don? t know I also wrote my first novel during this period I think better mental health was helping me become more productive and less physically sick too (I had been suffering from headaches and unannounced fevers for a few years now) And my relationship with my daughter was flourishing I also realized a lot of what I was asking her to do was not for me, but how I would appear to people as a mother Her unkempt hair was a testament to my failure as a mother Her dirty nails screamed ?bad mom?as loudly as the Muazzinon our street I had been focusing on her physical presentation much more than her psychological well-being. And to be honest, my own.

Whatever feministic ideals the western world upholds, the Global South still suffers fromdeep patriarchal values and family systems Assigned roles are still regarded acceptable and anything jeopardizing the harmony of these designated placements, are a threat to carefully sowed power dynamics Many of these are a social construct, and contrary to how they are projected, their roots are not even religious.

But I also had this alternate life where I was doing things that gave me contentment and drive I should add here, if not already obvious, I?ma highly ambitious person, and for people like me, any environment that dulls my drive, is not a hospitable environment

In this time, I also began reading again. You may be thinking how

Many times, women who take a sacrificial role are regarded as ?good women?and we all play very beautifully into it FromTV dramas to conversations at social gatherings, it is always highlighted how all a woman needs to be is patient

If we are forthcoming, we are labelled rude, if we care about our own well-being or our

children?s, we are considered selfish, and god forbid if we want a career, it is sheer blasphemy. It is however important to look after oneself and be cognizant of the responsibility of raising well-rounded individuals who know they can ask for help, who are contributing members in our society,who are empathetic, kind, confident and trust-worthy. But it is also equally important to fill your cup first.

My daughter is fifteen years old now She has very been recently allowed social media after careful thought and trust (a story for another time) She posted a story of our matching shoes titled ?built in best friend ?She and I do many things together; football, padel tennis, gym I hang out with her friends; she hangs out with mine.

My friends complain that their teenagers roll their eyes at them, lock themselves in their rooms. Mine doesn? t I talk to her about everything She trusts me I amher best friend and she is mine And none of this would?ve been possible without altering my relationship with first myself, and then careful and open communication with her Parenting is a journey,and not an easy one I learn fromher and my son every single day

Safinah Danish Elahi isa lawyer,poet and novelist from Pakistan. She earned her MFA in Publishing and Contemporary Fiction from Emerson College, Boston, USA. Her debut novel, Eye on the Prize, published in 2020, translated into Urdu hasbeen converted into a TV series She isalso the founder of an award winning publishing house, Reverie Publishers. She isan Honorary Fellow at the University of Iowa and wasa resident in their International Writer?sProgram2022 Her second novel, The Idle Stance of the Tippler Pigeon has been shortlisted for the Asian Fiction Prize

Parenting is a journey, and not an easy one.I learn from her and my son every single day

Why Social Media Still Fails To Be A Safe Space For

Women And Minorities

In today?s hyperconnected world, social media and digital platforms have become a cornerstone of communication, advocacy,and community-building Yet, for women and marginalized groups, these platforms often feel more like battlegrounds than safe spaces Despite their global influence and vast user bases, social media and digital platforms consistently fail to address the unique challenges and threats faced by women and minorities online This glaring oversight raises a critical question:Why weren? t safety and inclusivity baked into these platformsfromthe start?

The Unfriendly Reality of Social Media

Fromincessant trolling and harassment to doxxing and cyberstalking, women disproportionately bear the brunt of online abuse Studies reveal that nearly 38%of women globally experience online harassment, with this figure rising to 58%among young women aged 18-29 Platforms like X, Facebook, and Instagramhave made strides in moderation, but their tools are often reactive, not proactive Women are left to fend for themselves, reporting abusive content after the damage is already done

Anagha 28 (*name changed on request) a tech professional shares, ? I have never been able to share my pictureson any of the platforms. Before AI the fear of hacking and now it ismorphing The fear hasbeen constant though the reasonsbehind the fear have changed.?

representation and minority voices in tech product development has led to blind spots that continue to endanger women and other vulnerable groups

The Flawed Product Design

In 2024, it is alarming that something as basic as profile picture safety remains a challenge There?s little distinction between a professional platform like LinkedIn and a dating app like Tinder when women are bombarded with unsolicited and inappropriate attention. The question is, why design features that actively encourage people to see who ischecking their profile? What meaningful purpose does this serve in professional or personal growth?

With AI being the buzzword of our times, why hasn't it been harnessed to tackle the rampant issue of random, inappropriate DMs women receive? The lack of effective checks and regulations not only perpetuates harassment but also creates an unsafe digital environment, forcing women to think twice about their visibility online It is not just a technical failure; it is a failure to prioritize the safety and dignity of users

The problemis not just the abuse?it is the design These platforms were predominantly created by teams that did not prioritize the safety of diverse users. The lack of gender

? I quit social media platformsall together in the pandemic. It was getting too much to handle,? Jyothika 34 shares ?The comments, the DMs, and the kind of language they used it was impossible to continue participating in any conversation or post anything of your own. During the pandemic it had started impacting my mental health. Thingsgot worse when my friend?sInstagramID washacked and misused by someone she knew. I decided that it isenough?

Why does the responsibility to

block, mute, or report fall squarely on the victim? Features like public comments, open DMs, and minimal accountability for anonymous users create an environment ripe for abuse For instance, Instagram?s "Restrict" feature or X?s "Mute" button, while helpful, still place the burden on users to shield themselves rather than addressing the root cause of harassment

LinkedIn offers a feature that allows users to see who has viewed their profile. A woman shared her experience of using LinkedIn's premiumfeature, which allows users to see who has viewed their profile. To her shock, she discovered that a long-forgotten stalker was still regularly checking her profile The unwelcome revelation reignited past trauma, leaving her to cope with its emotional aftermath for weeks

X recently announced a

found no violation,?leaving users helpless against harassment and abuse For women striving to carve an identity and earn a livelihood through these platforms, this flawed methodology is a significant deterrent Instead of fostering safety and inclusivity,it reinforces the notion that their concerns are dismissed, doing more harmthan good and pushing many women to reconsider their presence online

W ith A I being the buzzword of our times, why hasn't it been harnessed to tackle the rampant issue of random, inappropriate D M s women receive?

soon-to-be-launched controversial feature allowing blocked users to still view posts. This change has sparked outrage among users, who question the purpose of blocking if it does not prevent access to their content For many,blocking is a crucial tool to maintain safety and boundaries By undermining this, is X inadvertently enabling stalking and harassment? The move raises serious concerns about user safety,privacy,and the platform?s commitment to protecting its community

Reporting on social media often feels like shouting into the void More often than not, reports return with responses like,?We

Bullying on social media platforms has reached alarming levels, particularly affecting women, and minority groups. The relentless harassment, abuse, and targeted bullying faced by these individuals often take a devastating toll on their mental health, and tragically,in some cases, it has led to deaths The anonymity offered by these platforms emboldens aggressors, allowing them to harass, intimidate, and silence marginalized voices with little accountability Despite numerous reports and complaints, the lack of effective action or systems to address such bullying leaves victims feeling isolated and vulnerable. The failure to create a truly safe and supportive environment for women and minorities contributes to a dangerous cycle of harassment, further exacerbating the challenges they face both online and offline

No platformhas fully addressed the nuances of intersectionality ? how the experiences of

harassment multiply for women of color, LGBTQ+ individuals, or those with disabilities This oversight demonstrates a broader systemic failure to consider the lived realities of marginalized communities during product development

Why It is More Than Just a "Tech Problem"

Fatema, 41, recounted a recent ordeal that left her deeply shaken,? I recently bought a smartwatch, one of the latest modelsmarketed exclusively for women?a sleekrose-pinkdesign, labeled asa ?women?sonly? product. At first glance, it seemed perfect. But the horror began when I started using it. This so-called 'smart' device allows randomstrangersto send me friend requests, trackmy workout locationsvia Bluetooth, and even accessmy email ID and phone number,which are mandatory to use the device. There?seven a social interface similar to Facebook, where people post workout pictures, and others comment on them?using a built-in camera, no less."She further expressed how even something as simple as monitoring her workouts has become a source of anxiety, as she constantly fears being stalked or spied upon.

"Turning off these intrusive features stripsthe watch of itsfunctionality, leaving it aslittle more than a basic timepiece. None of thisis mentioned on the packaging, nor do shopkeepersseemaware of these invasive 'features.' Why isit that women are being forced into these unsafe interactionsunder the guise of empowerment?Where isthe choice, the safety,or the consideration for privacy?"

This statement raises a critical question:How can we champion women?sempowerment on one hand while designing products that strip themof basic safety

and autonomy?

Safety concerns raised by women users of food delivery apps like Zomato and Swiggy,and cab booking platforms like Uber, are alarmingly frequent in India Stories of phone numbers being misused, leading to harassment, stalking, or even flashing, have become all too common Every day,we witness instances where women are forced to file complaints, block numbers, or confront abusers to safeguard themselves

But here is the uncomfortable question:Why doesthe onus

U nsafe platforms are more than an inconvenience; they are a deterrent to participation.

W omen self-censor, leave platforms, or avoid public conversations altogether to escape abuse

alwaysfall on the victim? Why are these platformsnot built with stronger safeguardsto prevent such violationsin the first place? With accessto advanced technology,shouldn? t the creators of these platformsbear the responsibility to ensure user safety?especially for women and other vulnerable groups?

Empowerment should not mean asking women to constantly fight for their right to exist safely in public or digital spaces Instead, it should begin with creating systems where such violations are proactively addressed, ensuring that safety is not just a feature

On the other hand, in the aftermath of the abortion law changes in the US, women found themselves forced to abandon period tracking apps?a tool meant to empower them?because their data was being weaponized to monitor and target them. This shocking misuse of personal health information exposed a chilling reality: technology designed to support women could instead be used to control and oppress them. The implications go beyond reproductive rights. In a disturbing parallel, a movie

Safety is not just a "nice-to-have" feature; it is fundamental to ensuring a thriving, inclusive user base. By prioritizing these actions, platforms can start to regain trust and actually deliver on the promises they make.

highlighted how such data was exploited to discriminate against women in hiring, feeding into preexisting biases and judgments. This is not just about tech features; it is a glaring reflection of how, in many aspects of society,women?s control over their bodies is still questioned or outright taken away

Digital platforms, instead of empowering women, often become tools that undermine their autonomy,fromdata privacy concerns to the online harassment that many women face daily. This issue goes beyond tech?it is about ensuring that women are

allowed to make decisions free of fear or manipulation, both online and offline This is not the future women deserve Technology should be a force for progress and equality,not a tool for surveillance and subjugation

Unsafe platforms are more than an inconvenience; they are a deterrent to participation. Women self-censor, leave platforms, or avoid public conversations altogether to escape abuse. This silences crucial voices in areas ranging fromactivismto leadership, skewing online discourse toward those who wield power without fear of repercussions.

During a focused group discussion on gender mainstreaming, Vincy,a 30-year-old advertising professional, shared her perspective, highlighting a crucial point that often gets overlooked "The conversation was all about educating women and making themaware of their rights,"she said "But I raised a question that shifted the entire dialogue: Why isit alwayswomen who need to be educated? Men need to be educated too."

She went on to explain how, despite being educated and independent, she frequently faces situations where her autonomy is questioned. She shared an example froma recent visit to a salon, where, despite being an adult and fully capable of making her own decisions, the stylist turned to her partner for approval before cutting her hair Similarly,in medical settings, she has had doctors insist on seeking her partner's permission before proceeding with any decisions about her body

"Even though I?mknowledgeable and capable,"she continued,"it?s assumed that someone else must approve what I choose to do."

She further pointed out how financial independence is also

compromised for women. In many cases, women cannot apply for loans or own property without a male guarantor?typically their father or husband. These structural barriers reflect the broader issue of women?s autonomy being undermined.

She shared an example fromher visit to a rural village, where government schemes intended to empower women by providing free materials to build toilets had failed Even though the materials were delivered, the toilets were never built because the men in the community,who were not involved in the program?s dialogue, refused to allow it.?Women still walkto fieldsto relieve themselvesin the dark, fearing abduction or harassment,?she lamented ?Thisis not empowerment.?

digital platforms reveals a deeply troubling truth: women are routinely denied the autonomy to make decisions for themselves. The pervasive invasion of privacy?through surveillance or unsolicited data mining?exposes how women's personal choices, fromreproductive health to daily activities, are treated as public commodities to be exploited.

The growing insecurity surrounding social media anddigital platforms reveals a deeply troubling truth: women are routinely denied the autonomy to make decisions for themselves.

The recent incident on X, where a user created a thread compiling pictures shared by women, underscores a disturbing trend: the normalization of harassment in digital spaces When questioned about this breach of privacy,the perpetrator's justification was chilling,?X is a public platform If you share your pictures here, they can be used any way It's like walking on the street; there are risks."

This comparison between sharing on a public platformand walking on the street is not just misguided; it is dangerously reductive Yes, when you walk on a public street, you expose yourself to the outside world?but you do so with an expectation of basic safety You expect that your personal space will not be invaded, that you will not be harassed, and that the law will protect your rights The same should apply online A digital platform, no matter how "public" it is, should not become a free-for-all for misuse, exploitation, and harassment

She concluded by pointing out that true empowerment cannot happen without involving men in these conversations and making themactive participants in reshaping societal norms.?Until men are equally educated and engaged in thisprocess, women will continue to be denied auton

The growing insecurity surrounding social media and

The argument that women, simply by sharing content on a public forum, are inviting harassment, is rooted in victim-blaming and fails to recognize the very real risks of digital spaces. It is not the act of sharing that needs scrutiny,but the systems in place that allow such blatant exploitation of women?s content The very fact that platforms like X can dismiss such behavior with a shrug and a reference to "publicness" shows how poorly these platforms prioritize user safety If we allow

this mentality to persist, we risk normalizing a culture where women?s digital lives are open for abuse, simply because they chose to engage publicly.

The question is not why women are sharing their pictures?it is why they are being treated as targets, with no recourse for the harmcaused The right to participate in digital spaces without fear of harassment or exploitation is a fundamental aspect of digital freedom, and it is time for platforms to take responsibility for ensuring that right

In an era defined by digital innovation, it is astonishing that product teams have consistently overlooked these glaring issues. How is it that user safety?especially for women and minorities?remains an afterthought? While features that boost visibility and connectivity are prioritized, essential safeguards to prevent harassment and abuse are notably absent

This is not merely negligence; it underscores a systemic failure within product development If these teams had better diversity or genuinely listened to the voices of women and marginalized groups, wouldn? t they have foreseen the risks? How many more users must speak out about feeling unsafe before meaningful action is taken? It is time platforms stop treating safety as an optional feature and integrate it as a core part of their design.

The consequences extend beyond individuals Businesses, brands, and entire communities that depend on social media for visibility are also impacted When women and minorities feel unsafe online, the digital economy suffers, losing out on diverse voices, perspectives, and innovation

What Needs to Change I

t is high time for tech companies to understand that safety and inclusivity must be foundational to user experience, not just added after the fact. Here?s what needs to be done to address the ongoing issues:

The argument that women, simply by sharing content on a public forum, are inviting harassment, is rooted in victim-blaming and fails to recognize the very real risks of digital spaces.

- Diverse Design Teams:Platforms must involve a broader spectrum of voices in their design processes More women, minorities, and marginalized communities need to be part of the conversation to ensure that the experiences of all users are reflected in the design and functionality of these platforms.

- Proactive Moderation:Both AI and human moderators must work hand-in-hand to identify harmful content before it reaches users. Automation alone cannot catch every nuance of abuse or harassment?human oversight is essential for context and accuracy.

- Accountability for Abusers:The time for leniency is over. Stricter penalties for abusive behavior, including swift account suspensions or permanent bans, must be consistently enforced These penalties must be applied equally to all users, regardless of their status or influence

- User-Friendly Tools:Empower users by providing themwith better control over who can interact with them This includes enhanced privacy settings, more granular content filters, and options for opt-in communication channels, ensuring users can tailor their experience to their comfort level.

- Transparency:Platforms must be open about their efforts to combat harassment and abuse. This includes sharing clear data on how well their safety measures are working, the number of complaints received, and the actions taken to address them.

- Make Reporting Easier and Effective:The reporting process needs a complete overhaul. It should be intuitive, quick, and simple. The experience should never feel like a burden. Platforms should take reports seriously,and if a certain threshold of reports is reached, a manual review by a dedicated teamshould be triggered automatically

- Validate Reports and Act Decisively:It is not enough to simply receive reports?platforms must validate the concerns raised and act decisively. Problematic users or harmful content must be swiftly identified and removed, with transparent communication about the actions taken Failure to do so not only undermines user trust but also perpetuates unsafe environments

- Stay True to Promises:When platforms launch, they often promise to create spaces for knowledge-sharing, curation, and community building However, too many of themdevolve into breeding grounds for misogyny, abuse, and toxicity These platforms must be held accountable for the environments they create If they want to be seen as truly empowering spaces, they need to live up to their original promises and foster safe, inclusive communities.

Safety is not just a "nice-to-have" feature; it is a fundamental right, essential to ensuring a thriving, inclusive user base. Without it, the very essence of digital spaces becomes compromised. Platforms must take immediate action to safeguard their users, not just as a response to criticism, but as a proactive responsibility.

As users, we must hold social media companies and digital platforms accountable for their failures in protecting us This is not just a matter of consumer rights?it?s about basic human dignity We need to raise our voices, advocate for better policies, and demand that tech companies prioritize safety over profits The time for silence has passed We can no longer stand by and watch as these platforms continue to ignore the very real dangers their users face daily.

Governments and regulators also have a crucial role to play. It is time to introduce policies that enforce strict safety standards and ensure that tech platforms are not above the law Until these platforms are held accountable for their actions and inactions, the cycle of harassment and inequality will persist

The Call to Action

As social media and digital platforms continue to grow, they must evolve. The safety and well-being of users must be prioritized?not as an afterthought, but as an integral part of their design. Creating safe, inclusive digital spaces is not a luxury,nor is it optional. In a world that is increasingly moving online, the ability to feel safe and respected on these platforms is not a privilege?it is a necessity

Social media holds immense power to connect, empower, and transform?but only if that power is harnessed with responsibility The foundation of every digital space must be built on safety,respect,

and equality. We all deserve spaces where we can express ourselves freely,without fear of harassment or exploitation. The time to demand better is now, and it starts with each of us raising our voices in unison.

Note:Having worked asa social media manager for over a decade, Namrata?sobservations are not just theoretical, they come fromfirsthand experience. Fromoverseeing the intricate workingsof these platformsto understanding user behavior,she haswitnessed how these platforms often fail to protect and empower their users. It istime for real change, and it isin the handsof both the usersand the platformsthemselvesto make that happen.

Namrata is the editor of Kitaab, a South Asian literary magazine based in Singapore Since 2018, she also runs a creative agency called Keemiya Creatives where she works with authors and publishing houses in different capacities. She is a published author who enjoys writing stories and think-pieces on travel, relationships, and gender.

Namrata is also an independent editor and a book reviewer Her writings can be found on various sites and magazines like the Asian Review of Books, Contemporary South Asia Journal of King?s College-London, Mad in Asia, The Friday Times, Daily Star, The Scroll, Feminismin India, The Brown Orient Journal, Inkspire Journal, Moonlight Journal, The Same, Chronic Pain India and Cafe Dissensus among others

Find her on Twitter: wwwtwittercom/privytrifles

The Gig Economy A nd W omen

W orkers in South A sia

A ekta Kapoor

The sight of uniformed women delivering groceries and meals on scooters is no longer a rarity in cities like Delhi and Mumbai Nor is it unusual to see a woman driver pull up when you book a cab through an app There is also a boomin on-demand app-based services such as beauty or domestic work in Indian metros, leading to more women joining what is called the gig economy ? a labour market run through digital platforms But has this new development led to women?s welfare, employment opportunities, and labour rights? Recent studies point to both advantages and disadvantages of platform-based gig work for women in South Asia.

Digital platforms connect clients with workers for specific tasks or ?gigs?Once the task is done, the platformtakes a commission Instead of owning tools or equipment, these platforms focus on connecting people While they are part of what?s often called the ?sharing economy? , many of these platforms grow their own profits by relying on workers?time and resources including phones and vehicles, as well as customers?assets, including their homes where the labour takes place.

transportation, delivery,beauty, childcare, home repairs and similar location-based activity

There?s also another kind of online gig work?that of remote white-collar tasks like data entry,clerical work, writing, translation, sales, multimedia and creative services. The Indian Subcontinent leads the world in supplying this kind of freelance labour: India supplies 26 percent of online workers; Bangladesh is at second place with 15 percent; and Pakistan in third place with 12 percent. The United States is a distant fourth with 5 percent of all supply.

There?s also another kind of online gig work?that of remote white-collar tasks like data entry, clerical work, writing, translation, sales, multimedia and creative services The Indian Subcontinent leads the world in supplying this kind of freelance labour: India supplies 26 percent of online workers; Bangladesh is at second place with 15 percent; and Pakistan in third place with 12 percent

Gig economy in South A sia

In the past 10 years, app-based platforms have become quite common in cities across India, Bangladesh, and to a smaller extent in Pakistan These platforms have built on the region?s huge informal economy and increasing access to smartphones and mobile internet The platforms mostly operate in densely populated cities and focus on urban services like

The Fairwork project, which rates location-based gig platforms in 38 countries across five continents, has found better conditions for gig workers in India as compared with Bangladesh and Pakistan, and even the US, though there is a still a long road ahead to ensure economic growth for all. The project, which is coordinated fromthe Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford, and the WZB Berlin Social Science Center, has been tracking 11 platforms each in India and Bangladesh, and six in Pakistan India?s report for 2024 found companies like Big Basket, Swiggy, Urban Company and Zomato ranking six out of 10 on parameters such as fair pay,fair conditions, fair contracts, fair management and fair representation BluSmart and Zepto follow with five and four points, respectively Other companies, including Uber, scored zero

Bangladesh?s last report in 2023 found Daraz and Sheba tied at five

points, HelloTask at four, and the rest, including Uber, at one or nil points In contrast in Pakistan in 2023, all six gig companies including the much-advertised Bykea, Careem, FoodPanda and Uber, scored zero USA?the country with the maximum gig platforms worldwide?earned just two points each for the top three companies in 2023, and zero points for 10 others

One of the reasons for the better performance of gig platforms in Indiais the significant power of trade unions and increasing pressure on the federal and state governments to codify gig workers?rights. In the 2024 general elections, two leading Indian political parties promised to act on behalf of gig workers in their manifestos. Draft bills have been filed in Karnataka and Jharkhand, while Rajasthan became the first Indian state to pass an Act for gig workers? welfare in 2023 Other states too have made the right noises about assuring legislation for gig workers

Though Bangladesh?s government has not yet taken any steps towards ensuring rights, the workers themselves have been getting organised through online social networks such as Facebook groups, indicating a positive direction for worker rights in future.

The female factor

The gig economy is often seen as a new phenomenon tied to technology and platforms, but the truth is that women have been doing gig-style work for ages, whether it?s hourly jobs in sanitation and construction or task-based jobs in crafts and salons Their work lives are influenced by a range of other factors, including local politics, labour laws at different levels, and social issues like caste, religion, and community dynamics

and fintech services?women in the Subcontinent make up a very small proportion of the gig economy Just 2 percent of gig workers in India are women (about 100,000 in total), and about 9 percent in Bangladesh (about 58,500) Gender discrimination follows themto the workplace?including in limited choice of work, gender wage gap, issues of safety and sexual harassment, and fewer opportunities for growth

The gig economy ? especially the location-based, on-demand service sector ? sells the idea of ?flexibility? , where workers can supposedly choose when, where, and how they work. But reports have shown that this so-called promise of flexibility doesn? t live up to the hype, especially for women workers. The work is assigned by algorithms that prioritise busy service hours, so women don? t always get to choose jobs that fit around their

Just 2 percent of gig workers in India are women (about 10 0 ,0 0 0 in total), and about 9 percent in Bangladesh (about 58,50 0 ). Gender discrimination follows them to the workplace?including in limited choice of work, gender wage gap, issues of safety and sexual harassment, and fewer opportunities for growth.

unpaid responsibilities at home. They also can? t negotiate or challenge thesystem?they have to accept the gigs and pay they?re given, or risk being kicked off the platformentirely.

Due to such cultural factors as well as the digital divide?which leaves women way behind men in terms of education, access to digital devices,

This aspect of gig work points to a lack of basic legal and social protections It?s hard to organise against companies run by algorithms, not people Unions led by women barely exist, even in industries like

domestic work and beauty services, where most workers are women Instead, women tend to negotiate directly with companies or rely on informal WhatsApp groups for support In mixed-gender unions, women often feel left out, and their voices go unheard

Issues like maternity leave are barely discussed. The law on workplace sexual harassment in India ? the Vishakha Guidelines ? doesn? t apply to gig workers, leaving them vulnerable. While women-centric cab companies in India such as TaxShe informwomen about this law during orientation, women drivers working with larger companies like Uber and Ola, or with food delivery apps, have to fend for themselves. Since the customer?s rating decides their future on the app platform, women are often hesitant to report problems In fact, safety concerns heavily influence whether women even join or stay in the workforce Pakistan?s few female cab drivers are now quitting due to extreme harassment and safety issues, besides bleak working conditions. Women delivery workers in India earn 10 percent less than men as they can? t always benefit fromsurge pricing or incentives?since they avoid risky shortcuts or unsafe areas, especially at night.

that Bangladeshi women remote workers are better educated: 47 percent of the women have a graduate degree compared to 25 percent of the men

In Bangladesh?s white-collar gig economy,including platforms like Upwork and Fiverr, women work longer hours?40 37 hours per week versus 35 90 for men?but earn significantly less(USD 330 for men versus USD 223 for women) This is despite the fact

While many women prefer freelancing due to additional unpaid work at home and caregiver responsibilities, domestic workers?who are the most vulnerable of all categories of gig workers?prefer steady incomes. But the gig economy is poorly regulated, leaving workers open to exploitation. Platforms label themas ?partners?or ?independent contractors?instead of employees, so they miss out on protections like pensions, maternity leave, or insurance. India?s new Code on Social Security 2020 is the first law to recognise gig workers, but it has not yet been implemented and doesn? t cover domestic workers?a sector dominated by women from lower economic backgrounds That said, on-demand platforms do bring some structure to the chaotic, informal blue-collar job market in these countries. Unorganised workers in this region face challenges like low pay,job insecurity, lack of skills, and limited access to technology. In this scenario, the platformeconomy has the potential to help marginalised workers?especially women?gain financial independence by making self-employment easier, helping themopen bank accounts, and enabling themto receive digital payments Some hybrid models in India offer benefits like health insurance, provident funds, and maternity leave, especially when NGOs are involved One example is the Azad Foundation in India, which has given hundreds of women an avenue to earn as cab drivers through the Sakha cab service, while ensuring safety and dignity of

labour Such platforms also give women more flexibility to balance work and home responsibilities There are other examples of women-focused companies helping with training and retention, such as Urban Company, which has regular re-training for beauticians, helping themlearn transferable skills

Moving forward, more regulation and laws are needed across the region to ensure worker rights. Public sector and private companies need to work together to optimise productivity while generating equitable employment for all genders.

Aekta Kapoor isthe Delhi-based founder and editor ofeShemagazine.

A

GAP,Forever 21, Zara, H&M, Mango, and so many others? we love them We love being able to update our wardrobes every few months, or even every month if we want to. Those who have more buying power shop at these places virtually every single day. Thanks to ?fast fashion?or ?value fashion?? everyone gets to be a shopaholic, and always on-trend. Oh wait, not everybody,almost? in this world.

Way back in history,women used to make and mend their own clothes, and going to a dressmaker or a tailor was considered a bit of a luxury Products of the textiles, clothes, leather and footwear (TCLF) industries, e g ready-to-wear (RTW) clothes which eventually became fashionable in the latter part of the 20th century,changed everything RTW was usually cheaper to buy, easily accessible, and always patterned after the latest fashion craze However, in the early days of TCLF,there were only two main seasons: fall/winter and spring/summer. And according to a 2014 report by the International Labour Organization (ILO), ?Business was supply driven, production cycles were predictable, the supplier base was usually regional and relatively stable? ?

The globalization phenomenon that followed made staying trendy a larger than life experience On one end, shoppers, always on the lookout for the latest fashion buys and discount sales go on a buying frenzy (see ?Black Friday?in the US) during major seasonal sales, while on the other end, workers in the textile and garments industry have to continually cope with ever-increasing productivity demands and rapidly diminishing earnings as contractors and sub-contractors are forced to submit to the need of global fast fashion brands to offer fashionat the lowest possible price It must be noted, though, that the effects of globalization on TCLF was not consistent in the four sectors as changes in global trade agreements directly impacted the clothing and textile industries; hence, changes and seasons in the leather and footwear sectors have been more gradual

When it comes to clothes, quite obviously,choosing and buying the fabric you need and then selecting a style that you want your dressmaker to follow, and then waiting to get the dress finished takes a lot longer than simply going to your store (physical or virtual) of choice and simply buying something off the rack (or fromonline catalogues) According to the Ethical Fashion Forum, ?A Cambridge University study reports that in 2006, people were buying a third more clothes than they were in 2002, and women have four times as many clothes in their wardrobe than they did in 1980 Women are also getting rid of similar amounts each year?

W e

In short, we have reached new heights when it come to our capacity to buy the clothes we want and not have to consider what we waste, and not have to exert any effort to mend or repair small wardrobe problems like a missing button or a hem that needs stitching because, hey,might as well buy a new one!

changing styles and demands in the fast fashion industry Lucy Siegle?s words in her article ?Britain?s appetite for fast fashion is pushing workers into starvation conditions?(2010) sums things up perfectly: ?The fashion industry?s two seasons a year have been replaced in high-street shops by 30 to 50 mini-seasons. A CMT (cut-make-trim) factory in India, Bangladesh or Cambodia must be hyper-responsive to cope with design changes fromoffices in Europe. A last-minute fax insisting that a button needs to be moved sends a poorly-funded, badly-managed factory into a panic. Third-world firms will never tell Western retail superpowers that an order is too difficult, so workers simply must finish it ?

have reached new heights when it come to our capacity to buy the clothes we want and not

have

to consider what we waste, and not have to exert any effort to mend or repair small wardrobe problems like a missing button or a hem that needs stitching because, hey, might as well buy a new one!

H ow much do workers get?

Before we move on to how much workers in the garment/clothing industry actually receive as compensation for the work done, we need to know a little about the workings of the systemthat has continuously pushed factory workers? earnings down.

Sudden shifts in what?s in vogue has made work in the garment industry more challenging and competitive as garments/clothes manufacturers have to keep up with the more frequent

The workers that produce what most of us so avidly shop for and so eagerly wear come in different categories Once upon a time, there were mostly regular workers employed in garment manufacturing firms; however, globalization and the demands of fast fashion have made it more profitable (cheaper) to employ workers on contractual basis, making paid work seasonal and dependent on the needs of retailers, and have popularized the practice of getting casual or informal workers who work on a piece by piece basis, at home Even with the advent of so-called ethical trading practices, local governments have turned a blind eye to unfair and inhumane labor conditions especially where the level of unemployment is high and a constant supply of labor is available to replace those who can no longer tolerate whatever systemis already in place

Back in 2010, in the report ?Taking Liberties? , it was found that in India, ?Factory helpers were paid £60 a month, less than half of the living wage; workers at some factories

worked up to 140 hours of overtime each month, working until 2am; 60%of workers were unable to meet production targets ? in one factory the target for each worker was to produce 20 ladies shirts every hour.?

Currently, Bangladesh, Vietnam, India, Pakistan, Cambodia and Sri Lanka, which belong to the list of top 20 clothing industry producers, have the lowest minimum wages in the industry In the 2014 report of ILO, the monthly ?temporary rate for industrial zones?for clothing industry workers falls at less than USD 100 in Indonesia, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Sri Lanka

Majority of garment workers are women In countries like China, Bangladesh and Cambodia, women employed in the garment/clothing manufacturing industry make up 70 percent, 85 percent and 90 percent respectively. While garment workers are, in general,

an exploited group, women workers are usually subject to certain forms of abuse such as systemic discrimination (e.g. lower wages than men doing the same type of work), low job security, and poor prospects of promotion (?Exploitation or emancipation? Women workers in the garment industry?by Emilie Schultze, Fashion Revolution).

So cheap clothes really aren? t cheap

We now know that other people ? the producers themselves, ie garment workers ? shoulder a large part of the expense we are supposed to pay as customers at the end of the clothing supply chain And the more we buy and demand for the latest fashionable clothes to be available at the lowest possible price, the more will the cycle of exploitation continue. ?Sweat shops?only exist because what we do helps perpetuate their existence

On the retail side, a lot of high street, fast fashion retailers have begun to review their own practices and how these impact the entire production cycle, especially the workers However, most of their decisions and actions designed to alleviate the plight of clothing factory workers are the result of pressure fromvarious interest groups

and their desire to maintain good PR with their public Only a few actually apply ethical business practices built into the core of their enterprise. Companies like Elroy,People Tree, M. Patmos and Loomstate show how businesses can still make decent profits while built upon ethical business practices and sustainable business models whether or not production takes place closer to home or somewhere overseas.

More developments need to happen, and quickly

Fast fashion doesn? t just affect the workers, it also affects the environment as more waste is produced in the process; yes, even with the prevalence of ?flea markets.?Why should we dispose of things that are actually still wearable just to have the next new thing?

It is not just the garment workers, in general, who suffer, their children, their families do, too Just as we desire a bright future for our children, so do they We are all the same at the basic level, we all want nice things? but before we reach out for that new blouse or shirt because what we bought last month isso yesterday, maybe we should think twice first and ask ourselves, ?do I really need this?

Claire Dangalan isa Filipina freelance feature writer (a.k.a. Lovely Claire Cachuela) based in the Philippines. She is a consummate lover of the arts, especially literature She taught Cultural Anthropology,Sociology,Humanitiesand Literature backin the Philippines Her interests, aside fromwriting, include the environment, health and fitness, culinary arts, social issues, studieson world view, and ?unprofessional photography?

Keeping It Real

N aima Rashid

Do you feel it too? Look around you

Do you see a new charge in women to do more with their lives, to flip the old scripts that defined what they could and could not do?

In my own circle, it seems that one out of every three women has either opened her own (big, small or micro) business, gone back to studies in mid-forties or returned to work They have raised families and successfully set children on their paths but they don? t want to stop there They are raising themselves too.

There?s a contagion to it and we can see it reflected in official stats and feel the surge among our friends and acquaintances. This naturally raises the question of supporting women in general and women supporting women, in particular

It?s an exciting time to be alive, for sure Fromthe truism of ?A woman is a woman?s worst enemy? , we find ourselves thrust into a new era of women supporting women, a new sisterhood

I?mexcited about the possibilities of this but also cautious as I amabout all new terms and fads. I remember the construct of the Superwoman, the woman who could juggle ambition, work, family,social judgement without a crease in her forehead, cellulite on her thighs or a charred bit in her casseroles It was an oppressive construct, imposing a dangerous idea of perfection that women felt pressured into living up to or being measured against, at the very least

ground realities in the momentumof its upward swing. It is said that a sign of progress is that we have a new set of problems to deal with. By that token, we are definitely on the right track

So, while everyone is jubilant about this, I want to keep it real and sustainable As we all thrive in this new age, I?d like to ground myself and my readers in some real reminders The following are as much daily reminders to me as invitations for you to consider

1Enough with the silence

For so long, women have been defined by silence, controlled by it, threatened into it and even rewarded for it

We were silent about the challenges of balancing work and family,we were silent about the pressures of being the Superwoman, when I had my child and was suffering fromacute post-partum depression, I didn? t even know that termexisted because around me, women were talking with beatific faces about how ?angelic?the experience of childbirth was, we were silent about period pain when doubling over with cramps, we were silent about how women?s health issues were trivialized and the damage it caused.

Let?s not add the pressure of silence to this new phase Social silencing becomes self-silencing over time, and when we silence ourselves, we cheat ourselves (and the world) out of our full potential

2 Check yourself first

I fear that this sudden sisterhood can be a new kind of oppression if it glosses over

It?s an open secret that women tend to be perfectionists and

under-estimate themselves while men with half the ability still consider themselves qualified We have a tendency to shoot ourselves in the foot before anyone else does.

When you are stuck and looking for a solution, instead of seeking it in the outside world, check in with yourself first.

What false limits have you accepted in your mind? What conversation do you need to have with yourself and with others to move things forward? What action are you afraid to take because you don? t have a precedent?

I? ll be the first to acknowledge that I work on this continually. I realize that I disempower myself in small, even silly,ways, because I have grown up with the notion that such and such was a man?s task. Fixing a bulb, anything related to tech or finances.Neither of this is rocket science but due to my conditioning, I would conveniently switch my brain off at these matters and slip

into learned helplessness which would easily spiral into a block.

Now aware of my limiting belief, I take small, slow and steady steps consciously to address it I?mrewriting the script running on auto in my mind.

3 Champion other women ? the right way

Championing women does not mean letting themoff the hook. It does not mean having no standards when assessing a woman?s work, being gentle with feedback because women are sensitive, just letting it go because she? ll over-react.

There?s a way to support women while holding themto high standards of performance I think we are clear it?s not ability they ever lacked When women are holding themselves back, it usually ?comes down to two things: W

a Lack of self-belief and self-reliance due to years of being conditioned into believing their abilities were tied to gender-defined roles

b Absence of support systems or a supportive culture

When possible, find ways to assist themat these fault lines Don? t soften, edit or sugarcoat things for them. You? ll be cheating themout of experience. Instead, offer support in a way that equips themwith the resources and

W e need to decondition ourselves and upend the vocabulary of success. W hen we become more self-aware around the language we use every day to define success and the standards we hold ourselves to, we?ll see that we often conflate style with substance.

anomaly,not the norm. While that has changed completely, there are still toxic traces of expired mindsets and prejudices that linger in the language we use.

I?mtalking about words like gravitas and aggression Those medals belong to the bygone times when women were only considered professional if they dressed like men.

resourcefulness to handle life full-on Because they can

Give the tough feedback Give her the challenge that pushes her out of her comfort zone. Take a bet on her.

4.Stop using expired language

Until recently,women in leadership, business and other professions for men were an

We need to decondition ourselves and upend the vocabulary of success. When we become more self-aware around the language we use every day to define success and the standards we hold ourselves to, we? ll see that we often conflate style with substance

Separate the two and you? ll see how freeing it is Create the vocabulary that you need. In business, women are now bringing a range of feminine experience, energy and vocabulary.There is no shame now in discussing topics like healing, trauma and energy in relation to money and wealth These were considered too woo woo (for the real world of men).

Women bring their own language and style to the same substance. Let?s remember to see clearly and not confuse one for the other

5 Pick your feminismand respect those of others

As a rule, I get nervous at the mere mention of anything ending with an ?ism? . But even among the murky waters of ?ism?s, ?feminism?is its own troubled beast Remember, it means different things for different people and make an

effort to look for the meaning past the tyranny of the term.

I once excused myself froma group of female colleagues in the UK with whomI was working on a project I wanted to leave in time so I could get home and be present for himwhen he got home fromschool. The members of the group gave me a talking down, saying I was over-parenting and that my son, 18 years old, was old enough to cook for himself and he needed to understand that the role of a mother was not to always be present to welcome him, that she had a life of her own.

I have taught my son to cook since a very young age, so he can manage very well on his own. Also, I have mostly done everything I wanted to in life with the full support of my family and in-laws to boot, so he has no doubt that I have a life of my own and a very meaningful one at that However, it is my choice to be present for him because it?s a standard I have set myself He? ll be living on his own soon enough. My own mother, a doctor by profession, always made sure she was home when we got back fromschool She fit her career around her values, not the other way round. I?m doing the same

6.Think beyond your own life

Instead of one-off acts of support, take the time to build a culture that will outlive you. Think of your daughters and sons.

Negotiating our daily lives, we take so many decisions which set an intent and direction in line with our values Every time you teach your family to respect your boundaries, every time you teach your family that household chores

Coming fromdifferent cultures, our values might look very different but the essence of feminismfor me means that a woman lives in full agency and freedomto exercise her potential and benefit the world fromit Agency and freedomlook different in different cultures

Coming from different cultures, our values might look very different but the essence of feminism for me means that a woman lives in full agency and freedom to exercise her potential and benefit the world from it.

are for everyone, every time you tell a story with a female protagonist, every time you break a cycle of negative behaviour, you are teaching your children something

Instead of making these singular, one-off acts, build a culture. Tell a story,create a tradition, pass it on Take pride in it, show others how to take pride in it By setting a precedent, we make it that much easier for our sons and

daughters to have a healthy standard as reference point

7 Become the role model you wished you had

In the early 1990s, after the airing of X-files, there was an increase in the number of women opting for STEM careers This was called the Scully effect A single positive role model in a field can have a ripple effect that extends to generations.

Today,we have women leading the way in so many different professions and transcending any barriers of age or gender You don? t have to be featured on the front cover of Time in order to be a role model Each of us has the power to be one for those close to us who are watching us.

Step into that power, step into that responsibility

8.If it doesn? t exist, build it

The Biskery is a women-led personalized and branded biscuit company based in Leeds The founders are moms to schoolgoing kids. The timing on the website says clearly that they only work when their kids are at school They used this constraint as a branding point, showing how to build a business around priorities.

You wish there was a company that only hiresdmothers looking to step back into the workforce? Build it.

You wish there was a grant that supported women writers over 50? Create it.

You wish there was a workplace with a robust

menopause support policy that went beyond ?buying fans?? Build it.

Elevate the new normal relentlessly

It?s great to be led by the grand vision of the future. But it?s equally important to keep an eye on things on the ground that can trip us over It?s exciting that we have an opportunity to build a future that wasn? t always possible At the same time, we are hard-wired for certain things and conditioned into beliefs and mindsets through decades of experience. We? ll soar when we understand and manage our stumbling blocks rather than pretend they don? t exist.

Naima Rashid isan author,poet and translator who works between Urdu, Punjabi, French and English. Her workhasbeen long-listed for National Poetry Competition and Best Small Fictions Her published translationsinclude critically acclaimed translationsof works by Ali Akbar Natiq (Naulakhi Kothi, Penguin India, 2023) and Perveen Shakir (Defiance of the Rose, Oxford University Press, 2019) and a joint translation fromFrench (Chicanes, Les Fugitives, 2023). Her most recent workisa poetry collection, Sum of Worlds(Yoda Press, 2024).Her workand viewshave been widely published internationally including in Wild Court, Poetry Birmingham, The Scoresand Asymptote. She hasconducted translation workshopswith Shadow Heroesand will be conducting one with Bristol Translatesin 2025 At present, she isworking on her short story collection and her novel

N otes O n Feminist Survival Practices

How Do I Write ThisWithout Rambling?

M ardiya Siba Yahya

Towards the end of the second quarter of 2024, I was at a jazz show with an acquaintance, feeling the music within us, while slowly moving our bodies to the riddim After the show ended, we took some time to quickly catch up We had previously reconnected at another gathering, and when she mentioned she would be in the city I was based, we made a plan to catch up and attend the show.

During our conversation she mentioned that she was exploring the world, traveling while slowly writing and conducting her research. That was partly me!? I told her I also mentioned that I was considering starting a personal blog where I document things of interest. She validated my ideas, and said ?even if it is just for you, make sure to start that blog.?

At the moment we were having the conversation while I felt validated in my lifestyle, the thought of perhaps cutting back on some of the trips especially the work related ones lingered It was getting more exhausting and expensive Plus, my research and writing processes were never as slow I rarely had the space to explore a theme long term, although one can say my work on surveillance has mostly been me discovering pieces of different puzzles at various points of my career.

Usually my work especially commissioned research was a series of condensed, short and high energy-inducing timelines that often coincided with each other

When I returned home that night I thought more deeply about what it would mean to do work slowly. All the while nursing and reflecting on Jasbir Puar's [1] words that, ?If we say that events are happening fast, what must we slow down in order to make such a pronouncement? If we delineate time as having a steady rhythm, what disjunctures must we smooth

out or over in order to arrive at that conclusion? If we feel that things are calm, what must we forget in order to inhabit such a restful feeling??

Puar argues against the ?leisurely production of intellectual scholarship? , and the idea that work can only thrive in a stable environment which is often the idealistic solitary confines of the writers room. The context Puar uses is of political stability, however I prefer to extend it to how one's life is influenced and shaped by political, social, health and personal instabilities.

How do we live within the chaos? What privileges do I need to access to embody the perfect archetype of a writer? Here I was, enjoying a jazz show, all while in the middle of completing a manuscript that was due in a few days I was beaten down, drained, and constantly crying about how painful putting each word to paper was That show was necessary to reconnect with the community,my body and find some formof joy through music.

What was slow writing when an institution was hounding me for ?their?manuscript? Meanwhile I was also exploring a new skill in fiction, when I was much better positioned as anon-fiction writer. I chose to step out of my comfort zone to learn and apply a new skill at the same time My body was in pain, and I needed to show up to life regardless

Writing and researching violence with a close relationship to the topic is never easy,and the painful aspects of this work was very much understandable to me I amstill unsure whether to call the days after I submitted the manuscript depressive moments, but what I do know is I began to default on my deadlines ? never sharing the second part of my proposal, or following through on related articles I had promised. This led me to eventually decline everything that made my stomach churn

Between this period, I was reading The Feminist Killjoy Handbook by Sarah Ahmed [2], who in the earliest chapters pointed out that feminismneeded feminists to survive Ahmed referenced Audre Lordes self-preservation, and how as feminists our bodies speak to us. She said ?there is only so much we can take on because there is only so much we can take in and the need to follow our feelings?[3] While reading these sections, it was as if Ahmed was speaking directly to me at that moment.

I no longer wanted to write or fight about big technology corporations who exploit marginalized communities I no longer wanted to bump heads with data and design teams on why we needed to include marginalized communities in the work we do Saying the same things over and over felt like a personal failure to communicate and achieve change.My stomach churned each time I had to sit on a call to work with technical teams made of white men My stomach churned when I had to engage with the white women fromthe institution who had commissioned my research. I needed to breathe and exist So I began to rethink my relationship with the work

Returning to Ahmed, she wrote that ?frombeing a feminist killjoy, we learn that if we don't get very far or we don't get through, that is not a sign of our failure but a measure of how much we are up against ?[4] While Ahmed supports this by claiming we need to do ?what we can, when we can and where we can?[5], I am more interested in where Ahmed asks us to pay attention to what our body communicates and our feelings

condescension when I spoke to these technologists and defensiveness when I spoke with the research institution?

On the side of my writing I was not coping with the unrealistic deadlines Sadly for the institution however, conducting the research and putting together a manuscript on community violence was not the end of the fight Violence and resulting inequalities were not solved by bringing issues to light and I did not emerge on the other side triumphantly smiling I felt raw, and I was even angrier. How was I doing work on care, and violence, when the same institution of feministswere unable to extend such to their researchers? Why were requests for support, and extra time met with quotations of the contracts we signed? For themit was a transactional relationship, they give us money, they get to claimour work as part of their successes,and use our bodies as tokens.

Following Ahmed?s advice, listening to my body meant completing the initial work agreement and cutting ties with the institution. For me it was the beginning of a long-winded investigation into a sub-topic on surveillance resistance that may be slow burning. Writing has always been my labour of love, a space for expression and exploration. Each time I began to feel hateful towards it, Ahmed reminded me I could not afford to let it die The thing causing that feeling needed to die instead.

Why was my stomach and head feeling strange each time I had to engage with this very institution or group of technologists? If I did not listen to my anger and the gut feeling, I may not have been able to survive. Why did I always sense

I needed to survive so that my feminist work also survives Given what we are up against, and to balance our uncertain and unstable temporalities we might need to embrace feminist work as a long journey of small opportunities towards change. Long journeys require resilience, and Ahmed?s words, ?feminism needs feminists to survive? Perhaps what my acquaintance was pointing to was how we balance our fight, with joy, healing and self-preservation

[1]Jasbir K Puar, Terrorist Assemblages: Homonationalismin Queer Times (Durham: Duke University Press, 2007).

[2]Ahmed, Sara The Feminist Killjoy Handbook Seal Press, 3 Oct 2023

[3]Ibid 2

[4]Ibid 3

[5]Ibid 4

Mardiya Siba Yahaya isa feminist writer,digital sociologist, researcher,and community movement builder and worksas a Global Community Manager, at Team

CommUNITY housed at Article 19. She experimentswith design justice approachesto address digital surveillance against minoritized communities

Resilience is often portrayed as a symbol of strength, perseverance, and human spirit.

Women?s resilience, in particular, is celebrated as a beacon of hope, whether in media campaigns, motivational talks, or everyday conversations Fromthe rural entrepreneur navigating societal barriers to the single mother juggling multiple roles, women are hailed as heroes of resilience

But here?s the reality we often ignore: resilience is not a choice, it?s a necessity born out of systemic failure.

In Pakistan, this narrative is pervasive Women are celebrated for enduring challenges posed by an unequal society,but little attention is paid to why those challenges exist in the first place

This glorification risks perpetuating a dangerous status quo where the burden of overcoming systemic barriers is placed solely on women instead of addressing the systems themselves.

Resilience isn? t always the answer, it can also be a trap

The narrative of resilience as an admirable trait is not unique to Pakistan Globally,women?s struggles are often framed as tales of triumph While these stories highlight individual strength, they risk normalizing inequality and hardship

In Pakistan, labor force participation is just one example With only 22%of women in the workforce compared to 80%of men, systemic barriers prevent women fromaccessing opportunities. Those who succeed are lauded as exceptional, while the systemic hurdles that exclude the majority remain unaddressed.

Similarly,education is another stark

Image by Piyapong Saydaung fromPixabay

example. Girls in rural areas are praised for their perseverance in walking miles to attend school, yet only 40%complete primary education compared to 67%of boys. Instead of focusing on their resilience, the question should be: why is education still inaccessible for so many?

Why do girls in Pakistan risk their lives for education?

Why do we celebrate their strength rather than fix the systems that force themto struggle?

The Costs of Celebrating Resilience

The romanticization of resilience comes at a steep cost. Women internalize the expectation to endure, leading to chronic stress, burnout, and unaddressed mental health challenges. In Pakistan, where mental health remains stigmatized, the burden is compounded by a lack of access to care.

Furthermore, celebrating resilience diminishes the urgency to dismantle structural inequalities By focusing on individual success stories, we risk ignoring the broader systems that perpetuate inequities This normalization of hardship sustains a cycle of invisibility,where women?s unpaid labor and opportunity costs go unrecognized.

Global Efforts to Challenge Systemic Inequities

pursue careers without bearing an unequal share of caregiving. With a constitutional mandate requiring at least 30%female representation in government, Rwanda exemplifies how systemic change can empower women by embedding their voices in policy-making and leadership These systemic changes focus on removing barriers rather than celebrating those who overcome them, reframing resilience as an option rather than a necessity

Shifting the Narrative in Pakistan

Many countries are successfully shifting the focus fromindividual resilience to systemic reform, offering valuable lessons for Pakistan. Iceland, a global leader in gender equality,has implemented policies like shared parental leave, ensuring caregiving responsibilities are evenly distributed and enabling women to participate more fully in the workforce Canada has made significant progress through its Affordable Childcare Program, alleviating economic pressures on families and allowing women to

In Pakistan, the need to move from celebrating individual endurance to addressing systemic failures is urgent Initiatives like the Aurat Foundation, which advocates for women?s rights, and Sehat Kahani, which provides digital healthcare solutions, are steps in the right direction. Similarly,grassroots organizations like the Kashf Foundation empower women through financial literacy and microloans, creating opportunities that challenge the status quo.

The narrative of resilience as an admirable trait is not unique to Pakistan. Globally, women?s struggles are often framed as tales of triumph. W hile these stories highlight individual strength, they risk normalizing inequality and hardship.

Skill-building programs are also paving the way for systemic change CodeGirls, a women-only coding boot camp, equips young women with essential coding and business skills, aiming to close the gender gap in Pakistan's tech industry

Similarly,CaterpillHERsfocuseson developing and implementing programs that enhance women?s skills in entrepreneurship and STEM, ensuring they have the tools and opportunities to thrive in a competitive landscape.

Prominent figures such as Malala Yousafzai and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy have also spotlighted systemic issues on

global platforms, pushing for collective action rather than individual perseverance

FromResilience to Equity

True empowerment lies not in how much women can endure but in creating systems where they don? t have to To achieve this, Pakistan must:

- Address Systemic Failures:Advocate for gender-responsive policies that ensure equal opportunities in education, work, and leadership

- Redistribute Invisible

Labor:Launch public campaigns to challenge societal norms and invest in community-based childcare to alleviate

Skill-building programs are also paving the way for systemic change.CodeGirls, a women-only coding boot camp, equips young women with essential coding and business skills, aiming to close the gender gap in Pakistan's tech industry.

caregiving burdens.

- Shift Storytelling:Media must highlight systemic barriers alongside individual achievements, shifting focus fromromanticized hardship to actionable change.

- Invest in Collective Empowerment:Collaborate with private sectors to create mentorship and upskilling programs tailored to women.

Resilience should never be a survival mechanismforced upon individuals by broken systems. Instead, it should be a choice within an equitable society The next time we celebrate a story of resilience, let?s ask: what societal failure made this struggle necessary, and how can we prevent it from recurring?

By addressing these questions, we can create a future where resilience is not a necessity but a testament to the strength of equitable systems.

Mahumisa content marketer and an entrepreneur with a focuson creating impactful narratives Asthe Marketing Executive at CaterpillHERs, she leveragesher expertise to empower women and foster growth in the digital space

Combating Child Abuse: Inside A Child Rescue Center

Liz Guantai

Child abuse is the main form of violence against children globally. According to Childhelp, more than 3.6 million referrals involving more than 6.6 million children are made to child protection agencies every year. At the heart of child protection are safe places, known as rescue centers, both State-owned and NGOs, where protection officers, social workers, counselors and other caregivers work relentlessly to ensure that these children survive the trauma of child abuse and rebuild their lives.

I have visited this beautiful family several times Last year I was privileged to join them for a Christmas party, amongst other friends. We ate, sang, danced, laughed and played until darkness drew us part. Whenever I visit, I find the children playing, reading or relaxing

Sometimes I find the older children in the kitchen cooking for their younger siblings

retired Sebastian Muroki is the Director and overall coordinator of the Centre I will not state the Centre?s address because of the sensitivity of child matters reported on a daily basis

St Marian Centre provides shelter, comfort and parental love to children rescued from all kinds of exploitation, sexual and physical abuse, drug abuse, neglect, child trafficking among other heinous acts of violence against children. Several staff including a social worker, three house parents, a project officer and volunteer counselors assist Sebastian in his work of ensuring Children?s interests are fully protected. There is no fixed source of funding for the Centre, which currently relies on donations from well-wishers for sustainability

The Centre also hosted seven-year old *Brian, a child with albinism who was kidnapped from his family at age five and trafficked to N airobi for ritualistic practices.

Luckily, a good Samaritan rescued the boy.

The guardians, whom they call ?parents? , are constantly available to watch over their children

However, this is not the typical nuclear family. The members are children who have been ill-treated by society and robbed of their beautiful childhood. They have suffered severe abuse and are now recovering from its devastating effects. I have learnt that family does not necessarily imply that members be related by blood, it is also what you call home, where you find care and protection, as evidenced in this case This family is known as St Marian Children?s Centre in Nairobi, founded in 2008, by a Catholic nun who has since

When I first visited the Centre in April 2016, I met *Rose, a twelve-year old girl rescued from perpetual defilement by her stepfather. According to evidence gathered by Sebastian, her mother knew of the abuse but failed to report at the police station in order to protect the perpetrator, her husband and breadwinner from being arrested. Another story that broke my heart is that of Fourteen-year old *Lilian a young victim of sex trafficking She was abused as a child prostitute at the Kenyan Coast from a tender age of ten, offering sex to beach tourists Sebastian admitted that it was particularly difficult to rehabilitate *Lilian, as she was so conditioned and habituated to lead a sexual lifestyle that she would attempt to molest younger children at the Centre

The Centre also hosted seven-year old *Brian, a child with albinism who was kidnapped from his family at age five and trafficked to Nairobi for ritualistic practices Luckily, a good Samaritan rescued the boy and he was referred to St Marian His family was finally traced and he was re-united with his parents two years later Sebastian also reports of a rescued child with disabilities; a victim of neglect by the mother influenced by the belief that such children are cursed and a bad omen for the family Another child was admitted with ailing health. His superstitious mother would not take him to hospital believing he was possessed by demons and could only be exorcised by the village pastor/ witchdoctor.

(At the time this story was published)

The Centre hosts 20 children, with 92 others being supported externally with school fees and basic needs

children with parents who have been incarcerated or are themselves survivors of child abuse The Centre also receives cases of children whose parents are serving custodial sentences in prison after being indicted for various crimes, such as, sexual and physical abuse of their children, selling illicit brew, robbery,among others

W hen a child is rescued and brought to the Rescue Centre, Sebastian ensures that the child comfortably fits into the St M arian family.

However, around 50 children are rescued every year On average, these children are housed in the Centre for about six to 12 months before they are either reconnected with their families or taken to alternative shelters Many reasons attribute to these children?s admittance to the Centre, some are brought because their guardians failed to protect them or circumstances limited them from performing their duties properly. While some kids admitted were introduced to and were victims of drug abuse, many were sufferers of malnutrition due to parental neglect, poverty or lack of resources. In addition to this, the Center is also a home for

When a child is rescued and brought to the Rescue Centre, Sebastian ensures that the child comfortably fits into the St Marian family. Each child receives a package of basic items to help them settle, including clothing and bedding. They are trained on essential life skills such as toileting, hygiene, and general self-care Sebastian reports that such skills are mostly lacking in these children In addition to the provision of necessaries, the children receive counseling sessions and are also enrolled in a school If the child?s life is seriously endangered, they are taken to a far off boarding school. The older children are equipped with technical skills at neighboring polytechnics. All children are taken through a comprehensive mental health care program to help them overcome their brutal past. They are given continuous guidance and counselling to elevate their self-esteem and help them to regain their normal lives.

Sebastian and his team liaises with the police, courts, teachers, religious leaders, and community workers to trace their families and take legal action on the perpetrators of child abuse

Parents are also given counselling Since most cases emerge from the slums where poverty is a big contributing factor, the Centre assists parents with capital to set up income generating activities to ensure better care of the children once they are returned to their families

I asked Sebastian whether he loves his job. He replied, ?This is not a job. It is my vocation. I choose to be the parent to neglected children, and it gives me joy and satisfaction to see their innocent and vulnerable lives, once ill-treated, fully rehabilitated and restore their full dignity.?

It breaks my heart to see such brutality targeted at innocent children If it were not for the commitment and dedication of protection and rescue Centers such as St Marian and others, these children?s lives would not be the same. Let us all join hands to end child abuse.?

Parents are also given counselling. Since most cases emerge from the slums where poverty is a big contributing factor, the Centre assists parents with capital to set up income generating activities to ensure better care of the children once they are returned to their families.

*Real names hidden to protect minors and survivors of child abuse.

Special Thanks:

Sebastian Muroki ? Director, St Marian Children?s Centre.

Liz Guantai isa development Specialist in Gender & Youth affairs; human rights; International Trade, Women Peace and Security. She isa champion sustainable and inclusive socio-economic development, with significant focuson women and youth as key development players. Liz wasalso selected asa Women Deliver Young Leader (2020-23), UN Women Global Champion for Women Economic Empowerment (2015-16), alumni of the Africa Presidential Leadership Program (2019) and an Advocate of the High Court (Kenya).

TheWomenAnd A ForgottenCuisine

D r Tarana H usain Khan

One afternoon in the 1960s, Nasreen Begum, the daughter-in-law fromthe royal family of Rampur, sat on a stool with two other daughters-in-law chatting and pretending to observe the khansama (male chef) cooking in the palace kitchens Occasionally she was asked to stir a degh pot or sample the curry When dinner was served at the royal table the khansama informed Nawab Raza Ali Khan (ruled 1930-1949), the last nawab of Rampur, that the brides had prepared the meal The scene marked a significant shift??the late entry of the elite and royal women of Rampur into its culinary story By then the meticulously honed Rampur cuisine crafted by generations of over a hundred specialized cooks had entered its decline

For centuries, the women of Rampur, sequestered in the zenanas (female section) of the palaces and homes, had no role in developing the princely state?s renowned cuisine. The state?s gastro-diplomacy,exercised at grand banquets hosted by the nawabs of Rampur for their political guests, was completely male dominated The grandmasters of the cuisine were the khansamas fromAwadh, Delhi, Kashmir and other Muslimcultural centres working tirelessly to create and refine a distinctive Rampuri cuisine as a part of the broader policy of acculturation While men negotiated the shifting sands of colonial politics through wars, diplomacy and food, the women vanished fromofficial cisgendered histories Their contributions in politics and cuisine survived only in intergenerational oral histories, the details softened and blurred by decades of retelling.

Until the early twentieth century, the idea of royal women entering the domain of the khansamas was unthinkable The location of the kitchen in the male section of the Rampur fort made it inaccessible for the women Though large tiffins fromthe kitchens were delivered daily to the ladies of the harem, each palace and house in the

zenana maintained its own small kitchen.Princess Mehrunnisa records in her memoire,An Extraordinary Lifethat her mother, Talat Zamani Begum?? the third wife of Nawab Raza Ali Khan??was a great cook and prepared special dishes for her daughter?s visits. Bored with the rich khasa meals, and homesick for familiar flavours these women must have instructed their maids to prepare a lighter or seasonal fare. The zenana had its own specially appointed ecosystem. The local kaharis (maidservants) cooking away fromthe competitive atmosphere of the main kitchen incorporated their own subaltern flavours. In her memoire, ?Remembrancesof DaysPast Jahanara Begum, the sister-in-law of Nawab Raza Ali Khan writes, ?The zenana also bustled with women attendants? the toraydarniswho distributed customary portions of food and sweets on religious occasions and carried themon trays to the neighbours?Oral histories reveals that the zenana was a vibrant place where seasons, family occasions, nazar prayers, Muharrram, Eid, Nauroz and religious festivals and observances were celebrated through songs and distinctive foodsMonsoon brought pattey (pinwheels of Colocasia leaves) and pakodey (dumplings) while winter welcome drasawal (sugarcane juice kheer) and various halwas.Since the Nawab never dined in the zenana,the women only catered to their own taste-buds, allowing the two parallel culinary traditions to evolve in tandem.It is also possible that the begums fromother princely states who were married to the Nawab or into his family brought their own maids who looked after their mistresses and possibly prepared dishes fromtheir homeland

This culinary development was also reinforced by the complex social dynamics of the zenana.In her letters Lady Alice Reading describes her visit to the court of Rampur in 1923 where she met Nawab Hamid Ali Khan?s (ruled 1894-1930) wife, Her Highness Shahenshah Begumand their

daughter in law, Raffat Zamani Begum. She writes, ?Next to my room was a high brick wall, the zenana, and there about a hundred wives lived, each one in a little flat of about three rooms, with their own servant to prepare their food as each is afraid of being poisoned by the other?Tragically,these humble and unique dishes of the zenana never found their way to the royal banquets or written records

A significant shift occurred in 1930, when Raffat Begum, the chief

working with their khansamas, experimenting with recipes, setting their finer points, overseeing the kitchens and stores situated in or near the zenanas and passing judgement at the dining tables with the rest of the family. In many households, the kitchens had always been the domain of the begums but the transformation lay in their direct interactions with the professional khansamas These women played a crucial role codifying and preserving Rampur?s culinary heritage A new tradition emerged: brides were sent to observe the khansamas,to lean the

queen of newly crowned Nawab Raza Ali Khan, became the first royal woman to step beyond the constraints of the zenana She assumed control of the royal kitchen corresponding directly with the munsarims (administrators) and possibly the chefs This precedent continued with Sakina Begum, the wife of Nawab Murtaza Ali Khan (titled 1966-1982) who managed the daily menus and banquets.

Mirroring the change in the royal household, the women of elite families began instructing and

flavour matrix, the cooking procedures and the ingredient combinations of each dish This knowledge enabled themto instruct the khansama and evaluate their work at the dining table

This was the period when the culinary impact of women truly began. But while the gains of the nuveau ?haute?cuisine of Rampur was meticulously documented in the nineteenth century Persian manuscripts and preserved in the royal library (now the Rampur Raza

Library), dishes fromthe later phase lived solely in culinary memories. Jahanara Begum describes the dishes served at the royal table till the 1960?s??uruse bahri, gosh e feel, dar e bahisht etc.??names which are unrecognizable by the present generation and come with no corresponding recipes in the cookbook manuscripts. We come to know fromHunarmandan e Rampur (The Talented Personalities of Rampur) that the local women prepared kababs from vegetables??gular kababs, lauki kababs and khamkele ke kabab (unripe banana kababs)??but these and several other recipes passed down maternal lines, gradually disappeared.

The abolition of privy purses in 1971 marked another turning point As the family fortunes of most landowning families of Rampur declined, the women ??working with the khansamas and the maids??made crucial decisions about kitchen economies They determined which dishes to maintain and which should be dropped off the menu because they were too expensive; definitive changes in the recipes would have taken place at the time inevitably altering the traditional recipes The dominant role of the women in modifying the cuisine, innovating new dishes and changing the texture of old dishes remained in family intergenerational memories. One such innovation was the dahi qaliya described by a family member as a thick meat curry which is laid on a bed of curd Luckily,she still cooks this dish and was able to teach its intricacies to me

While no cookbooks emerged out of these collaborations in the now gender-neutral kitchen spaces, the women anticipating the end of the khansama era began recording recipes?? reluctantly shared by the khansamas??in their personal diaries and passed themdown to their married daughters and daughters-in-law My own mother-in-law called the royal cook Laddan to prepare his

specialities and noted down the recipes. Since she usually prepared the traditional dishes, the diary was lost. Princess Naghat Abedi still treasures her mother Sakina Begum?s recipe diary. Sakina Begumrequested the khansamas to teach the daughter and wrote the recipes secretly I got a glimpse of the diary with its detailed instructions The princess intends to pass it down to her daughter Nargis who shares her passion for cooking

A 2013 show on NDTV Good Times ?Royal Reservation?captures this evolution?s modern legacy. It features Princess Naghat Abedi cooking her innovation ?machhli-andacurry (eggs in fish curry), with her khansama, dressed in his dark blue achkan and cap. The dish, created to accommodate her vegetarian friends by combining fried eggs with fish curry flavours exemplifies the collaboration between royal ladies and the khansamas.

In my work to revive and reimagine Rampur?s forgotten dishes under the Arts and Humanities Research Council-funded project,?Forgotten Food: Culinary Memory,Local Heritage and Lost Agricultural Varietiesin India?(2019-2024), Irelied on cooking diaries, oral histories and the expertise of old khansamas. Rampur cuisine lost over a hundred dishes since the 1960?s. What survives today is what the women chose to preserve.

Dr Tarana Husain Khan isa writer and food historian Her writings explore the intersectionsof gender, history,culture and oral history.

Image: W ikipedia

The celebrated Pakistani novelist, Bapsi Sidhwa died in Houston, Texas on 25 December 2024 A recipient of many awards and accolades, she received the Sitara-e Imtiaz (Pakistan?s highest award) in 1991 She wrote five novels including The Crow Eaters, the story of a Parsi family which established her reputation as a writer of note. The novel had the honour of a David Highamaward The Bride, Ice Candy Man(published in America as Cracking India), An American Brat and an edited book City of Sin and Splendour: Writings on Lahore followed. Born in Karachi in 1938, Sidhwa grew up in Lahore and briefly moved to Bombay as a married woman, returning to Lahore after her divorce, remarrying and eventually migrating to Texas. Her novels have been translated into many languages As a writer she made a lasting impression with her novel Ice Candy Man first published by William Heinemann in 1988, a pioneering classic of twentieth century feminist Partition fiction fromPakistan Written fromthe neutral perspective of a Parsi writer, the novel plots patriarchal gender relations as warring conditions prevail during India?s bloody Partition I will argue in this essay that it offers a feminist interpretation of gender based violence through its strategic deployment of narrative voice, characterisation and form She mixes her prose writing with translated poetry, folktales and her own verse at various points engaging the reader both with nostalgia and empathy A decade after publication Ice Candy Man was adapted for cinema with the title Earth 1947(1998) by the Canadian director Deepa Mehta

The novel is poignantly translated in the film, its impact relying on contrasting visuals, soft lighting, music and the Bollywood actors Aamir Khan as Ice-candy-man and Nandita Das as Shanta. Narrated in Hindi and English and shot in Delhi the filmcaptures the

mood of the English language novel and the film-maker relies on particular tropes fromHindi cinema to deliver pathos with music composed by A. R Rahman and lyrics by Javed Akhtar Music and the use of language introduces an additional layer of empathy to the narrative As a Punjabi who used to travel between Amritsar and Lahore before Partition, Mehta?s filmic imagination was inspired by Sidhwa?s depiction of Lenny (played by Maia Sethna in the film) the Parsi child narrator.Her adaptation amplifies Sidhwa?s use of language and formin the novel capturing a complex web of painful emotions between friends that continues to affect communities on both sides of the border The process of making the filmalso illustrates the very real problems that border crossings and economic exchange play in cultural productions. This is evidenced in Mehta?s decision to bypass the challenging logistics of taking an Indian filmcrew to Lahore (the setting of Sidhwa?s story) by filming in Old Delhi (Qureishi 2017) Building on the autobiographical element of Lenny?s characterisation in the novel is the cameo role given to Sidhwaa in the film where she makes a brief appearance at the end as grown up Lenny fifty years after Partition. This markedly different ending to that of the novel initially bothered Sidhwa but she made her peace with it as Mehta?s ?cinematic vision?with its ?own intrinsic integrity and logic?(2000) The connection with Mehta remained a lifelong one and when the RSSraised objections to Mehta?s Indian production of Water, a filmabout Hindu widows in the 1930s, through attacks on the set and death threats, Sidhwa showed her solidarity by writing a letter to The Hindustan Timesin Mehta?s defence (2000) Sidhwa would later pen Water: a novel based on Mehta?s screenplay published at the same time as the film?s release in the US, a task she took on due to her admiration of Mehta?s work and their friendship (2006).

As heart rending stories of refugees and migrants and the effects of war on gender based violence continue to make news headlines in our conflict ridden world, I have time and again turned to women-centred stories of Partition in the novel, the short story, poetry,film, television drama and music in the classroom These are unique resources to reflect on the past and think about our present and the future In a quest to teach Partition froma feminist standpoint I have often relied on Ice Candy Man where women?s gendered trauma is plotted alongside

society the novel demonstrates the dramatic loss of identity and meaning amongst a group of communities of different faiths that had lived in some degree of cohesion before they were torn apart It is the Parsi writer?s self-declared neutrality through her Parsi characters, the Sethi family,that gives her the power of an authentic narrative

It is estimated that during Partition one million people died and over twelve million were displaced while 75000 women are thought to have been affected by gender based violence

feminist activismrecounting women?s experiences of labour, disability, mothering and physical violence. Sidhwa adopts a reflexive position relying on her privileged child narrator Lenny to convey how war normalises male sexual violence enabling men to rape women. They prey on vulnerabilities by creating an atmosphere in which women live in constant fear of being raped In one of her interviews, Sidhwa has described women as ?living objects on whose soft bodies victors and losers alike vent their wrath, enact fantastic vendettas, celebrate victories?(1990: 380)

Exposing deep scars in the fabric of

across communities(Khan 2017). Yet the high politics of Partition with its dominant narratives of the Congress, the MuslimLeague, and the last Viceroy of India have tended to overpower the cultural memory of Partition reproducing official narratives of militarisation and war (Gilmartin 1998). Thus official accounts of conflict can often ignore the stories of women but they are core to how we understand the dynamics of international politics (Enloe 2014)The historian Yasmin Khan notes that the hardest thing to write about 1947 horrors is the experience of raped women She notes, ?Armed gangs had started to use rape as a tool of

violence in Bengal and Bihar in 1946 but this now took on a new ubiquity and savagery in Punjab?(133) Sidhwa?s novel narrated fromthe self-declared neutral Parsi perspective of its child narrator Lenny encapsulates feelings of shame, dishonour and revenge as the protagonist Shanta (Lenny?s Hindu ayah) experiences sexual violence in silence Lenny witnesses the break-up of Lahore?s mixed society and its effect on Shanta, who becomes the object of desire for the increasingly hostile Hindu, Muslimand Sikh male characters It?s no coincidence that when Lenny first sees the women who are being kept in the makeshift camp next door, she thinks that they?re being imprisoned there. The very idea of a ?fallen woman?indicates that you must have fallen from somewhere, some great height For Indian and Pakistani women at the time of Partition, that height included the representative summit of their nation?s honour Through Lenny,Sidhwa narrates the silence of Shanta, whose experience of abduction and rape leads to life as a prostitute in Lahore?s red light district with the Ice-candy-man as her pimp before she returns to Amritsar Lenny?s account of Shanta?s experience in the city is contrasted with the rape of Muslimwomen by Sikh men in the village of Pir Pindo witnessed by Ranaa, the cook ImamDin?s great grandson and Lenny?s friend. Shanta and the unnamed women are survivors of multiple traumas, but their stories are effectively stifled and forbidden by the honour codes of South Asian culture. Shanta?s tale partly recalls those real life instances where women on both sides of the new border became victims of sexual violence but could not return home owing to the shame they were deemed to have brought on their families and communities. Many who were violated chose not to be repatriated to preserve the honour of the family. According to Yasmin Khan ?[o]fficial

government figures spoke of 83,000 women kept back, taken away fromtheir families, on both sides of the border? (135).

Shanta, has been ? as the termgoes ? ?recovered? , like scores of other ?fallen women? . She is to be repatriated and sent home to her family in Amritsar on the Indian side of the border; although, as Godmother warns her, there?s no guarantee that her family will welcome her back, given that she has been raped and forced into prostitution Yet, as readers we are aware that only part of her story has been told We?re never informed what actually happened to her during the most traumatic moments of her life between being abducted and reappearing as a prostitute and Ice-candy-man?s wife in the Red Light District of Lahore. As in reality,so in the novel, the deepest recesses of Shanta?s shame are never brought out into the open (In the text, this is partly explained through the fact that the focaliser is the child Lenny,so she ? and we ? are spared the details.)

The matter of focalisation, and thechild?s eye view can be read as part autoethnography as Sidhwa translates some of her own life experiences through Lenny?s characterization by inflecting her memories of Partition as a seven or eight year old and her experiences of growing up with polio froma young age She is home schooled and her body is often in pain fromthe various operations carried out to help improve her muscular strength and ability to walk without calipers Her ill health allows her to witness intimate moments between Shanta and her admirers and her parents Lenny?s vulnerability and her?innocent eye?are introduced to us early on (something

which makes the impact of her?guilty tongue?? when she gives away Ayah?s hiding place, later in the book ? all the more striking). Lenny is the one who comes up with the central image for Partition which gives the book its title when she says:?India is going to be broken Can one break a country? And what happens if they break it where our house is? Or crack it further up on Warris Road? How will I ever get to Godmother?s then??(92)

Through the book Lenny grows and develops, both physically as a female, and emotionally as she has to come to terms with the terrible events going on around her Her polio affected body fades into the background as the violence of Partition overshadows her emotional relationship with her primary carer Ayah. When the violence reaches Lahore, Lenny reflects on the change that affects the inter-ethnic group of friends that gathers regularly in Queens Park as it breaks up: ?It is sudden.One day everybody is themselves ? and the next day they are Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Christian People shrink, dwindling into symbols Ayah is no longer just my all-encompassing Ayah ? she is also a token A Hindu?(93)

As the violence escalates, it is no longer safe to meet in Queens Park or to walk the city so some of the friends come to see Shanta at the Sethi household and they huddle around the radio to hear the latest news. When the news that Gurdaspur is being allocated to India filters in, Ice-candy-man is already at the railway station ready to receive his fleeing relatives fromthere When the train arrives he is confronted with coaches full of dead people and ?two gunny-bags full of women?s breasts!? (149) Fromthis point on Ice-candy-man is a changed man. When he next visits Shanta he confesses, ? I lose my senses when I think of the mutilated bodies on that train from

Gurdaspur ? that night I went mad, I tell you! I lobbed grenades through the windows of Hindus and Sikhs I?d known all my life! I hated their guts ? I want to kill someone for each of the breasts they cut off the Muslimwomen ? The penises!?(156). Here we can see how war shapes gender and makes patriarchal gender relations the norm rather than the exception Sidhwa?s interconnected reading of masculinity and femininity through Shanta and Ice-candy-man offers a similar insight to Cynthia Cockburn?s analysis of ?Gender relations as causal in Militarization and War?(2010) underlining a ?patriarchal gender regime?that associates masculinity with ?authority,coercion and violence?Ice-candy-man embodies all three characteristics using his authority to coerce Lenny into betraying Shanta to reach his end goal of violence. The novel is also prescient in predicting the normalisation of the rape of women as a way of exploiting and oppressing their sexualities We see this in the numerous reports of rapes in post-Partition Pakistan, India and Bangladesh (2021) and the continued victimisation of women

One of the ways in which Sidhwa interweaves her feminist perspective with Lenny?s voice in the narrative is through her use of epigraphs and her inclusion of verse, folk tales such as the tragic Sohni Mahiwal and snippets of song fromthe popular chanteuse, Noor Jehan Urdu poetry is a prominent presence in the novel providing allusion, metaphor and symbolismto Lenny?s story. Sidhwa?s opening epigraph is from the poet philosopher Muhammad Iqbal?s poem?Shikwa?(The Complaint) (1909)

?Shall I hear the lament of the nightingale, submissively lending my ear?

AmI the rose to suffer itscry in silence year after year?

The fire of verse givesme courage and bidsme no more to be faint.

With dust in my mouth, I amabject: to God I make my complaint.

SometimesYou favour our rivalsthen sometimeswith usYou are free, I amsorry to say it so boldly. You are no lessfickle than we. (1).

Iqbal?s verse, written in the early twentieth century,resonates with the Sufi tradition of protest poetry and its appropriation and translation by Sidhwa underlines her reliance on symbol and metaphor in the novel, accentuating a nostalgic voice. Her story offers a stark contrast to the militarised masculinity that characterises large parts of ?Shikwa?She underlines the patriarchal aspects of war, violence against women by men and solidarities amongst women Iqbal?s poetic voice was torn between his passion for an ideal Islamic community and the idea of free will. ?Shikwa?was a fearless expression of uncertainties that cause faith to falter and doubt to come in Sidhwa chooses to borrow from?Shikwa? to articulate a feminist voice that is the conscience of a militarised Islamic nation in the 1980s It lends its force to Lenny?s testimonial account whose innocent eye observes and records history as she sees it. In her final chapter Sidhwa turns to Iqbal again and the epigraph is from?Saqinama? (The tale of the cup bearer) Iqbal?s poemis about Muslimself-realisation and uses the formof the sixteenth century Perso-Arabic genre of poetry to communicate his philosophy of khudi, the self He sees this as an essential component responding to a new period of Muslimsubjugation reflecting a necessary struggle over identity with the end of Ottoman and Mughal ruling

dynasties. Using this grand narrative as a backdrop, Sidhwa populates the chapter with the self-realisation of Ice-candy-man With a broken armhe patrols Warris Road and occasionally recites verses fromthe nineteenth century poet Zauq and couplets by Ghalib. We are told he has become a mystical ?moonstruck fakir who has renounced the world for his beloved? (!76) Haunted by the verses of Faiz, Zauq and Ghalib he flings flowers over the walls of the Warris Road house inhabited by Lenny and her family Nearby the Recovered Women?s camp is also covered in petals Eventually he too goes across the border to India presumably to follow Shanta to Amritsar Froma militarized seeker of revenge to a lovelorn man, he embodies the break-up of the community and the birth of the nation His morality is numbed by what he witnesses and in turn he embodies the ugliness that he sees around himin his acts of sexual violence. The novel bookends Urdu verses fromIqbal inflecting themwith a gendered consciousness of the politics of Partition and a hidden pain that repeats itself over and over again, dulling the sharp edged memories of war with the nostalgia of unrequited love and separation

Sidhwa?s novel is a stark reminder of the vicious cycles of history and the gendered trauma borne by women and men during conflict To me, she stands out as a pioneering Pakistani woman writer in English who wasn? t afraid to write about her community. She brought a unique angle to the story of Partition as a Parsi unflinchingly critiquing the patriarchal narrative of a militarised nationalism.Ice Candy Man encapsulates non-elite voices both women and children (Shanta and Ranaa) alongside the voices of

privilege It is a classic text of South Asian feminist fiction that speaks not just of women as victims of war but also as agents who made activist contributions to resist the status quo. Here perhaps the storytelling is kinder to privileged Parsi women with access such as Lenny?s mother, Godmother, Electric Aunt and Lenny herself who are able to make transformative changes in their lives. Amongst all this is the male figure of Ice-candy-man whose characterisation manifests the relationality of gendered violence and the crisis of masculinity that births the nation Sidhwa makes a feminist claimto narrativizing war by choosing to tell the story of an ordinary woman, Shanta who loses everything. She becomes a symbol of her religion and is dehumanised by mob violence and the hypermasculinity of Ice-candy-man We know little of what goes on in Shanta?s mind as she is interpreted through Lenny especially in the latter half of the novel where her silences are prominent. Her dignity and her ability to walk the city as a carer for Lenny is taken away fromher, instead she is trafficked into becoming a sex worker. Ice-candy-man?s role reversal and remorse at the end cannot compensate for the mental and physical anguish he has put her through in his desire for revenge The post-Partition view is gloomy and disaster ridden identifying women and children on the ground as the biggest casualties of a sudden war Sidhwa?s narrative is not there to heal the gendered trauma of Partition but to amplify it in order to remind readers of how militarised masculinities generate gender based violence displacing social relations between and across genders creating deep structural ruptures within society.

Works Cited

Amina Yaqin isa Professor of World and Postcolonial literaturesat the University of Exeter

She isalso the Director of Research, Societiesand CulturesInstitute, Director of EDI, English and Creative Writing, Co-Investigator,Empathy

Narrative and Cultural Values

Cynthia Cockburn, ?Gender Relations as Causal in Militarization and War? ,International Feminist Journal of Politics, 2010, 12:2, 139-157

Cynthia Enloe,Bananas, Beachesand Bases: Making Feminist Sense of International Politics, University of California Press, 2014

David Gilmartin, ?Partition, Pakistan and South Asian History: in search of a narrative? , TheJournal of Asian Studies1998, 57, 4: 1068-1095

Yasmin Khan,The Great Partition: the making of India and Pakistan, Yale University Press, 2017

Bilal Qureshi, ?The Discomforting Legacy of Deepa Mehta?sEarth? , 2017, 70, 4 https://filmquarterlyorg/2017/06/12/the-discomforting-legacy-of-deepa-mehtas-earth/(Accessed 02/01/2025)

Bapsi Sidhwa,Ice Candy Man[1988], Penguin Books, 1989

Water: A novel Milkweed Editions, 2006

nInterview with Feroza Jussawala, in Feroza Jussawala and Reed Way Dasenbrock (eds)Interviewswith Writersof the Post-Colonial World, University Press of Mississippi, 1992, pp 198-221

n?They are punishing Deepa for deflating their egos? , 19 May 2000 Letter sent to The Hindustan Times published on the World Socialist Web Site https://wwwwswsorg/en/articles/2000/05/dm2-m19 html

Rudabeh Shahid, Kaveri Sarkar and AzeemKhan, ?Understanding ?rape culture?in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan? , Atlantic Council, January 26, 2021 ht ps wwwa lant ccounc org/b ogs southasasource/unde stand ng-rape-cu ure- n-bang adesh-india-paks an/(Accessed 03 01 2025

Before her tenure at Exeter,she served asa Reader in Urdu and Postcolonial Studiesat SOAS, University of London. Her research spansmultiple disciplines, focusing on contemporary Muslimlife and the cultural politicsof Pakistan Additionally,she co-editsthe international journal Critical Pakistan Studies, published by Cambridge University Press.

Non-fiction in Pakistan has generally meant dry analysis through a political or strategic lens. Most of the discourse has centred around history,particularly the Bhutto era and Zia period and has been dominated by men This is not to say Pakistan?s history has not been addressed or written about The role of women in Pakistan?s non fiction is immense and the country owes them.

Zaibunnisa Hamidullah was the spark that created Pakistani literature and she was also Pakistan?s first female editor It was Hamidullah who opened up commentary for women beyond the realmof art and romance, insisting that women have the right to comment and write on anything and everything.

Ayesha Jalal became a staple, necessary piece of reading for anyone remotely interested in Pakistan?s history and she remains the only female Pakistani historian referenced and quoted extensively to date.

Writers such as Qurat Ul Ain Hyder, Khadija Mastoor and Bapsi Sidhwa took historical events and narrativised theminto works of fiction such as Aag Ka Darya and Ice Candy Man This does not decimate the value of their work but in fact, they need to be credited for decolonising the minds of readers and making the Pakistani people actually realise the weight of history, making the political personal.

With the advent of the craft revivalists consisting of women, new forms of non fiction began to emerge documenting cultural heritage. Notable works came in the formof photo books by Noor Jehan Bilgrami and Sherry Rehman who meticulously noted how rural artisans fromSindh and Kashmir used ancient crafts and techniques that respected nature to create items of clothing that stood the test of time and spanned generations

Then came the era of personal narratives as non fiction, the two most famous one being?Daughter of

Ayesha Jal al became a st apl e, necessar y piece of r eading f or anyone r emot el y int er est ed in Pak ist an?s hist or y and she r emains t he onl y f emal e Pak ist ani hist or ian r ef er enced and quot ed

ensivel y t o dat e.

the East: An Autobiography?by Benazir Bhutto and ?My Feudal Lord? by

Tehmina Durrani.

As the first female Prime Minister of Pakistan and the Muslimworld, Bhutto?s memoir mapped out her life and gave an insight into who she was beyond the world of politics Revealing her family life and sharing personal insights such as her love for peppermint flavoured ice cream, Bhutto became a daughter, a sister, wife and mother, humanising her existence beyond the glittering world of power where she carved

Wit h t he advent of t he cr af t r evival ist s consist ing of women, new f or ms of non f ict ion began t o emer ge document ing cul t ur al her it age.

various publications. Her most notable work is with Kamla Bhasin titled ?Some Questions on Feminism& Its Relevance in South Asia?Said also set up Pakistan?s first feminist publishing house, Applied Socio-Economic Research (ASR) Publishing as a career path was something more females would follow, picking up the publishing mantle post Indo-Pak breakdown of relations that affected Pakistani authors the most Afiya Sheherbano Zia?s authorship took Pakistan and broke it down in a scholarly manner examining gender in various contexts Her work set the standard for feminist scholarship, opened up space for thought and created avenues for the Pakistani feminist movement to expand and growZia also bravely took on other female non-fiction writers work and critically argued that it was imperative to ensure that any work by female Muslimwriters should not be used to criticise secular feminists and their work in Muslimcountries, marking an important distinction between secularismand the use of religion when being applied to women?s studies

out her role

Durrani?s wasa personal account of her turbulent life with the landlord and politician Mustafa Khar, Durrani bravely told her story baring the truth of a world that had been fictionalised in novels and depicted on television as dramas She provided the necessary authenticity of a world that had remained spoken about, privy to the privileged

Post Zia, there was also the rise of feminist literature, the two most notable authors being Afiya Shehrbano Zia and Nighat Said Khan, globally recognised as giants of Pakistan?s feminist movements Said authored many publications and contributed many chapters to

In fact, in 1995, it was through ASRthat Said and Zia published a joint tome titled "Unveiling the issues : Pakistani women's perspectives on social, political and ideological issues."

In 2005, Fatima Bhutto, already a published poet, documented the devastating earthquake in Azad Kashmir and KPK (back then referred to as NWFP) with her book titled ?8:50 AmOctober 8, 2005?

Applying her journalism, Bhutto was able to document the devastation through powerful storytelling, humanising the victims and capturing the dignified spirit of children who while facing overwhelming loss, remained hopeful

She later went on to write about her family,seeking justice for her

murdered father Murtaza Bhutto in ?Songs of Blood And Sword?Bhutto ventured into fiction before putting out another work of non fiction in 2019 titled ?New Kings of the World: Dispatches fromBollywood, Dizi and K-Pop?in which she documented the rise of Asian pop culture onto the global stage

A shift was beginning to take place with more female journalists delving into non fiction especially in English focusing on women and their place in society Academics continued to examine gender through a theoretical lens, but increasingly there was a temptation to document, discover and examine what being a female in Pakistan meant. Fromknowledge creation, the focus was on the realisation and more importantly,on the impact of the female presence

This was most evident with the journalist Sanam Maher?s book in 2019, ?The Sensational Life Of Qandeel Baloch? This was a fascinating case as Qandeel?s murder at the hands of her brother was hailed as an ?honour killing?- when in fact, Qandeel?s entire work on social media featured only her It was quite the opposite of what was defined as an honour killing as she had tired of her life and wanted to marry a man and gain custody of her son fromher ex-husband

other Pakistani women face, no matter what they do or where they come from.

Recently,a most stellar example of investigative work has been Saba Imtiaz and Tooba Masood-Khan?s ?Society Girl?With impressive archival work and extensive research Imtiaz and Masood-Khan delved into another part of Pakistani culture and re-examine a part of history many were happy to sweep under the rug

As more and more females enter the foray of non-fiction in the English language, there is a growing desire to unearth elements of history and to explain the present in what has emerged as a ?Pakistani?tradition of non fiction Taking fact and information and presenting it through rigorous examination process does not necessarily mean

On t he cont r ar y, it is impor t ant t o not e t hat wor k put f or war d by t he cur r ent cr op of non-f ict ion wr it er s is act ual l y an amal gamat ion of f eminist st r uggl es and awar eness, push f or cr eat ive space and a cl aiming of space in an indust r y t hat had been dominat ed by men.

it has no academic or scholarly value

An example of investigative journalismbeing applied in the form of a longformnon-fiction piece of work, Maher too joined the ranks of Bhutto with her documentation, piecing together a story that took Qandeel off the screen and humanised her a Pakistani woman who suffered the fate that millions of

On the contrary,it is important to note that work put forward by the current crop of non-fiction writers is actually an amalgamation of feminist struggles and awareness, push for creative space and a claiming of space in an industry that had been dominated by men

Creativity is also heavily utilised to explore concepts of identity, gender, patriarchy,misogyny,abuse and more. Aisha Sarwari?s ?Heart Tantrums?is one example of this where again, mining her own life, she questions the systems of oppression that are wielded against women on a daily basis. Having fought off the shackles herself, Sarwari?s explosive book took an ugly truth and laid it bare, empowering others to see themselves in her reality.

While the written word carries its own gravitas, other writers of fiction, screenplay writers, scriptwriters also must be mentioned for the written word does not work or evolve in isolation The volley between all these various areas of the media enables more women to come forth and explore new forms of non-fiction. As more and more women enter the foray,especially in today?s digital storytelling format in the formof reports, videos, film, documentaries and more, there is a strengthening of the female voice as a force to be reckoned with

Mehr F Husain isthe author of the non fiction book?Pakistan: A Fashionable History?and founder of Zuka Books

The Need for Gender Equality In Times of Crisis

In times of humanitarian crises, gender issues have often gone unnoticed and ignored Armed conflicts and natural disasters have profoundly different impacts on women, girls, boys and men Displacement can exacerbate already existing gender inequalities Applying gender equality programming in times of crises is an important step towards gender equality, which is not only a human rights imperative, but a step towards achieving sustainable development Using a gender lens, aids in greater understanding of how humanitarian crises emerge and entrench.

During times of humanitarian crises there should be no exception in achieving gender equality but the reality is that paying attention to gender issues is often ignored and viewed as irrelevant (IASC, 2006) To reiterate, man-made and natural disasters have profoundly different impacts on girls, boys, women, and men. Pre-existing gender inequalities can be exacerbated during humanitarian crises and therefore leads to increased discrimination, greater exclusion and disproportionate risks (UNICEF, 2012). The link between the role of humanitarian organisations and human rights approaches is an important one, as they are underpinned by protecting people from rights violations and are committed to ensuring that dignity is upheld and that safe spaces exist (IASC, 2006) A High-level Dialogue on International Migration and Development was convened by the UN in 2013 and the declaration recognizes that human mobility is a key factor for

sustainable development (UN, 2013) The declaration stresses the protection of the rights of all migrants, regardless of their migration status and the vulnerabilities of women and children is particularly drawn to attention in the declaration (Kojima, 2015) Implementation of gender equality programming during times of crisis such as armed conflict, natural disasters is not only a human rights imperative, but striving for gender equality is a critical step towards achieving sustainable development (IASC, 2006)

W omen are often susceptible to marginalisation, poverty and suffering, with existing inequalities and patterns of discrimination tending to be exacerbated during times of times of crisis

Women are often susceptible to marginalisation, poverty and suffering, with existing inequalities and patterns of discrimination tending to be exacerbated during times of times of crisis (DCAF, 2005, p 14) Crisis situations radically affect social and cultural structures, changing women?s and men?s status and thus these environments tend to exacerbate gender based discrimination and rights violations (IASC, 2006, p. 6). During humanitarian crises women and girls are at heightened risk of gender-based violence, abduction, exploitation, poverty and illness. Violence within families can be on the increase, due to breakdowns in social values as a result of displacement. The loss of the family unit and community can place women and girls at increased risk of violence (DCAF, 2005) Hindering women and girls? ability to participate in community-based adaption and mitigation strategies is the result of a lack of robust decision-making power for women and girls, which exacerbates vulnerabilities and insecurities

during conflict, extreme weather, droughts and floods (Nusseibeh, 2015) Thankfully however, issues of gender-related persecution and violence against women have been put onto the international agenda, largely thanks to diligent lobbying by feminist NGOs and transnational networks (Freedman, 2010, p 589)

Gender Discrimination and Refugee Convention

Problematic to humanitarian crises is that gender based discrimination is not recognised under the Refugee Convention and in refugee determination systems. It could be argued that the Refugee Convention was written from a patriarchal point of view (Ed: or without the presence of female voice), and therefore has exacerbated discriminatory practices, directed at women and girls, and that any refugee status determinations are dominated by patriarchal norms which further marginalises women and girls (DCAF,2005) Promotion of equality in livelihoods can be lost if humanitarian interventions ignore gender equality in planning and programming and this can lead to further harm (IASC, 2006) The reality is that during times of crisis, the needs and vulnerabilities of women, girls, men and boys are profoundly different and gender analysis helps to identify these differing needs (UNWomen, 2015, p 4) Gender roles can change over age and time, power dynamics change, women and girls bring different issues to the table, women, girls, boys and men respond differently in crisis (IASC, 2006).

communities Aolain argues that humanitarian emergencies are hard to predict and even harder to plan for, therefore a rigorous feminist analysis can tend to have a limited practical application on the ground (Aolain, 2011) Deep social and economic inequalities, including gender inequality, are structurally relevant to understanding how humanitarian emergencies emerge and entrench Some examples of harmful outcomes include health services that focus primarily on the needs of women and girls, can result in fewer men seeking medical assistance through lack of understanding and dissemination, women and girls

W hen a child is rescued and brought to the Rescue Centre, Sebastian ensures that the child comfortably fits into the St M arian family.

During the planning and programming process, it is imperative that women, girls, men and boys all have equal opportunity to participate in the decision making process as decisions made will ultimately affect their households and

who collect water in areas that are unsafe due to poorly lit areas and isolation can be at increased risk of sexual assault and rape (UNICEF,2012).

On Feminist Analysis on Crises& Emergencies

Looking at vulnerabilities as a frame of analysis, can underestimate the repetitiveness of human vulnerability and dependance in highly gendered ways for both men and women (Aolain, 2011) Sexual violence may be a deliberate attempt to attack the heart of a society,

demoralising and dishonouring the victims in the process (DCAF, 2005) The current refugee crisis in Europe also highlights how feminist analysis is vital, when a woman?s situation is so desperate that she is forced to engage in ?survival sex? to secure a male protector for her journey, that?s a feminist issue Heavily pregnant women with malnourished children forced to walk long journeys, early marriages because it seems the best chance of survival, being detained whilst pregnant and subjected to abuse and degradation, unaccompanied children because mothers feel they have no other choice (Pankhurst, 2016). Women who head their households alone,

The Importance of Gender Aggregated Data

W hen a child is rescued and brought to the Rescue Centre, Sebastian ensures that the child comfortably fits into the St M arian family.

families torn apart through the devastation of war, longing to go back to their communities once the war is over, that said whatever their circumstances they still had no choice but to adjust to an unfamiliar and often unnerving new environment Three in five Syrian refugee women were worried for their own or their children?s security (UNHCR, 2014, p 12) These are all issues that require gender equality programming and imperative that the use of a feminist lens and gender specific issues are considered.

Key to ensuring that gender equality programming is implemented in a systematic application on the ground is to ensure appropriate data collection such as gender disaggregated data Absent from positive humanitarian outcomes has been the absence of the collection of efficient and vigorous empirical evidence that highlights the inherent value of gender equality programming (UNWomen, 2015) Where gender markers were used in the past four years, fewer than two percent of programs coded had addressed inequalities that women and girls face. (Binetti, 2015). The lack of accurate gender disaggregated data in some cases has led to an overrepresentation of women, in an attempt to draw greater attention to their situation (Freedman, 2010). A gender marker is a coding tool that assesses whether or not a humanitarian project is designed to meet the needs of women, men, girls and boys equally, or advance gender equality in another way (Binetti, 2015) During crises, it is important to consider the key differentiators between women, girls, boys and men Girls for example, face heightened disadvantages compared to their male peers in family roles, divisions of labor, and access to resources because they are female and young Girls can be impacted in times of crises in devastating ways but they can also transform their communities and families in positive ways (WRC, 2014)

Inclusion VSSegregation

Important to consider when using a gender lens in humanitarian crises is that it can tend to go one way and this can dull the critical or transformative power of gender analyses and approaches (Freedman, 2010, p

593) Women are more than just victims in times of crisis and can in fact be agents of change, who are often an under-utilized resource in rebuilding their societies after the crisis strikes (Binetti, 2015) Too much focus on women and girls as special or separate group, can result in further marginalisation of women and girls by targeting them as a separate group and thus essentialising their differences and overlooking the relational aspects of gender that affect both women and men (Freedman, 2010, p 593) Effective programming, should be underpinned by the aspiration of meeting the needs of those affected by crisis and paving the way for sustainable outcomes long after International organizations have concluded

and operations is in fact an important aspect of protection and responsibilities In the spirit of the relevant bodies of law including human rights, humanitarian and refugee law, we must resist discrimination of any kind (IASC, 2006) First and foremost, protection is ultimately the responsibility of the state, however human rights and humanitarian actors also have a responsibility to ensure that the rights of women and girls are protected in accordance with the relevant bodies of law

Gender equality programming works to give women greater voice, both as providers and beneficiaries of humanitarian action (UNWomen, 2015). IASC explains that gender equality programming?s main goal is to ensure that the human rights of women, girls, boys and men are equally promoted and protected and that gender equality is achieved (IASC, 2006).

W hen a child is rescued and brought to the Rescue Centre, Sebastian ensures that the child comfortably fits into the St M arian family.

their work. Communities should be left better off and continue to enjoy the benefits of interventions (Binetti, 2015).

Gender

Equality Programming & Women?s Voice

Importantly, achieving gender equality is a human rights imperative and taking a gender perspective in policies, programs

Implementation of gender equality programming as a standard part of humanitarian and human rights thinking involves ensuring that one or more gender experts are deployed in the emergency situation, the establishment of gender networks, the collection of gender disaggregated data as a routine part of reporting, a gender action plan (IASC, 2006). Studies have shown that gender equality programming contributes to improving access to and use of services, increasing the effectiveness of humanitarian outcomes and reducing gender inequalities (UNWomen, 2015). Gender equality programming should extend to Western nations that take refugees insomuch as that women that have sought asylum in Western states have expressed that their specifically gendered experiences were not taken into account by decision makers and judges (Freedman, 2010) Other examples of gender equality programming include, leadership and mentorship programs that will benefit both girls and communities, holistic

approaches, targeting the most marginalised girls to ensure that programs are equitable and make the most impact (WRC, 2014) Designing programs based on women?s and men?s knowledge, skills and livelihoods ensures equal access for all (IASC, 2006)

Considerations

Without consideration of gender equality programming in times of humanitarian crises, women and girls will continue to face violations of their rights and remain marginalised. For example, Rohingya women and girls fleeing from intensified mass violence and increased risk of sexual violence

voices are heard Simply trying to shelter, cloth and feed these women and their children is simply not enough

This paper has examined the importance of using gender equality programming in times of crises. Relevant bodies of law articulate that we must resist all forms of discrimination. Human rights and humanitarians have a duty of care to ensure the protection of the rights of women and girls The Refugee Convention was written under the auspices of patriarchy, therefore ignoring the situations, interests and needs of women and girls Gender equality programming in times of crises helps to ensure that needs of women, girls, boys and men are considered and that achieving gender equality is achieved

targeting Muslim communities in Rakhine state have become victims of human trafficking for forced marriage in a thriving industry. They can be tricked by traffickers into believing that life will be better in Malaysia or Indonesia because they are Muslim countries, only to end up being held in captivity

Prostitution and forced marriage becomes a living reality for these women and girls (Kojima, 2015)

Or Reema, a Syrian refugee woman living in Lebanon whom is subjected to frequent verbal harassment from men in the neighbourhood (UNHCR, 2014) Everyone working in this field must ensure women and girls are given opportunities and ensure their

This article was originally written for Curtin Center for Human Rights Education ? Perth Western Australia

Melanie Bublyk,Ananke?sHuman Rights Advisor,waschosen asan Empower Women Global Champion for Women?s Economic Empowerment 2015/2016 and hasalso worked asan Empower Women Mentor 2016-2017. In addition to working with SeedsTheatre Group in Papua New Guinea, she isdedicated to advancing Women?sRights. Previously working asthe Editor-at-Large, at Ananke, Melanie holds a Bachelor of Artsin Community Development, and a Mastersdegree in Human Rightswith Curtin UniversitiesCentre for Human RightsEducation in Perth, Western Australia and received two letters of commendation for the same.

Towards A Global Convergence Of Women In Law

Nine years ago, when the first Women in Law Dialogue series was held in Lahore, Pakistan, its purpose was to initiate the conversation on the challenges and opportunities for female lawyers in public. What we all felt in our private spheres and spoke in whispers to each other, it was important to bring those concerns and challenges out so it could become part of mainstreamdiscourse Part of the intention also was to push back against the narrative that pointed fingers at women for not being committed legal associates and using that against them for either not hiring themat all or not giving themequal opportunities to grow in the profession, hiring themfor menial tasks instead

At that time, there was very little discourse on this aspect and hardly any literature or data, especially fromtheGlobalSouth and our own country(Pakistan)and there was also very little organization among women who were not able to network and socialise as easily as their male counterparts. Anectodal evidence and stories fromwomen?s lived experiences in the profession became the orgins of our inquiry into the systemic, structural, legal, constitutional, social and invisible barriers hindering women?s representation and advancement in law. The cause of lack of women?s visibility in leadership roles surely, could not only and soley be bacuse of women?s lack of interest and commitment! Our convictions about this stemmed from how we experienced the discouragment and discrimination and the weight of our social norms and gendered expectations daily,in our lives It was only when we spoke to each other that we were able to identify the common themes in our experiences that threw light on the systemic and other barrires; but in dominant discourse at that time, it was always us, the women who were not doing enough to succeed in the profession Something had to give and after the three part dialogue series in 2016, a dire need to continue this as a sustained and consistent initiative was felt This laid the foundation for the Women in Law Initiative Pakistan

One of the first things we did was to leverage technology to bring together female legal professionals on one platform and to create a space where they could seek support and opportunities and celebrate their wins without having to leave their homes It was empowering for us all to be connected in this way Sitting

in Lahore, we were able to connect with our colleagues in Quetta, Karachi, Muzaffarabad, Peshawar, Islamabad, Gilgit and Multan; and in turn to be able to connect each other to the opportunities in these cities whether they were speaking engagements or research opportunities, or whether they entailed referring clients to each other

The platformgave women lawyers the opportunity to connect and foster connections beyond the Women in Law banner as well Many of themfound partners fromwithin the group to set up their own ventures, committees or work for other causes they felt strongly for When required, we could collectively advocate for our own cause, for representation in the justice sector as one voice. We took firmstances against dominant narratives such as seniority to be considered in judicial appointments when it was not even a constitutional requirement, arguing that it increases the technical barriers for women and marginalised communities holding themback fromadvancement in law. We challeged the status quo in the justice sector and legal profession on many counts, identified lack of representation of women in all male sittings, meetings and bodies govering and regulating the legal profession

To be an authentic voice seeking fair representation in justice sector, we also worked on filling the data and research gap through our studies, both quantitative and qualitative that documented the gender disparity in the profession and also the systemic and other barriers that become the basis for the perpetuation of the inequality in the justice sector. Inequalities keep reproducing themselves because the systemenables themto be reproduced The numbers were harrowing with

women making up only 2%of the bar representatives in bar councils fromall across Pakistan, 12%as advocates, only 4%as advocate supreme court and only 15%as prosecutors in 2020-21 baseline report.[1]By 2023, only 17%women comprised Pakistan?s judiciary and 99%of these were judges in the subordinate courts This shows that only about 1% women fromthese 17%were part of the higher judiciary with some High Courts in the country having zero representation of women as judges[2]The first female judge to be appointed in the Supreme Court of Pakistan was only in 2022, after 74 years of its independence [3]In fact, Pakistan was the last country in the South Asian region to appoint a woman to the Supreme Court as a judge [4]

The number s wer e har r owing wit h women mak ing up onl y 2%of t he bar r epr esent at ives in bar council s f r omal l acr oss Pak ist an, 12%as advocat es, onl y 4%as advocat e supr eme cour t and onl y 15%as pr osecut or s in 2020-21basel ine r epor t .[1]By 2023, onl y 17%women compr ised Pak ist an?s j udiciar y and 99%of t hese wer e j udges in t he subor dinat e cour t s This shows t hat onl y about 1%women f r omt hese 17%wer e par t of t he higher j udiciar y wit h some High Cour t s in t he count r y having zer o r epr esent at ion of women as j udges.

Our findings resonated with our counterparts in South Africa. When our work got published and started creating an impact in the country,we had not realised at that time that it was also creating bridges for us to connect to our counterparts in other parts of the world. Before this, our focus was mainly inwards and internal but the correspondence with counterparts in Africa, i.e. with Institute for African Women in Law (IAWL), opened the world to us as we realised that the conversation and the efforts we were making inside Pakistan were actually similar to struggles in other regions as well including not just in Africa, but also in Vienna Through our liaison with IAWL, we were introuced to the Women in Law Initiative in Vienna which became the basis for our long-term engagement with our counterparts in Eastern Europe as well We have also been able to support and be part of the Gender Equality in Law Campaign (GELC) led by African Women in Law and all of this engagement has made us realise that there is a need for a global convergence of women in law at a much larger scale and to create space in the

international discourse and in the international forums for our common cause.

Increased regional interchange and dialogue is also crucial for putting gender justice at the heart of all legal reforms and to create spaces where we can learn fromeach other?s experiences and strategies

I see a lot of potential for women legal professionals and academics fromMENA region as well as the South Asia, East Asia region. With more south-south but also more global integreation, networking and exchange of ideas we can:

iFoster collective action and strategies for pushing for law reforms that address the historical injustice that has kept women fromreaching the upper echleons of justice sector and decision making roles,

ii.Increase more opportunities for research toegther at regional and global levels, iiiCreate awareness around gender disparity in justice sector and the impact this is likely to have on gender justice as a whole,

ivCelebrate each other to inspire future generations, and

v.Fight the erasure of women and their historical contributions to law.

I know that these conversations about fair representation and visibility are now happening in different regions in their contexts but I feel there is a need now to bring these efforts together towards a global convergence of women in law in a more consistent, accessible and comprehensive manner so that we are no longer wokring in silos and are able to connect with each other and learn from each other and advocate for our collective cause and shared goals as a global voice Accessibility really is key, especially for people fromglobal south Opportunities to engage are limited, as are resources and other logistical support, including visas and travel related limitations due to political or other

challenges. With more tech based solutions, some of these issues can be minimised but in-person interactions and exchange has its own value which must be encouraged and liberalised. This can serve as one of the key advocacy points at which we can begin our conversation.

At the Inclusive Justice conference held in June 2024 by Federal Judicial Academy in Islamabad, I had the opportunity to meet with participants fromNepal, Maldives, Phillipines and Thailand They shared their challenges and achievements for inclusive justice in their own respective countries which was a great opportunity to learn about how these countries addressed some of the barriers we also face here. Thus, such exchange of knowledge should be more common and consistent. There should be more opportunities to engage with female legal professionals in the justice sector from different regions because in our struggles and our successes, we are one. It is towards this end that we at Women in Law Initiative Pakistan would now be working. We invite all our counterparts and colleagues to join us in this endeavour towards a global convergence of Women in Law.

[1]Nida Usman Chaudhary,?State of Women?s Representation in Law? , Baseline Report 2020-21, Available at:https://gdpakistanorg/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Baseline-Report-Lawyherpk pdf

[2]Nida Usman Chaudhary,?State of Representation of Women in Judiciary 2023? , Pg 24 Available at:https://wwwacademia edu/115391601/State of Representation of Women in Judiciary 2023

[3]Pakistan?s First female Supreme Court Judge Sworn In? , BBC, 24 January 2022

Available at:https://wwwbbc com/news/world-asia-60110891

[4]Ibid

Nida Usman Chaudhary holdsLL.B Honsand LL.M (Law & Development) fromUniversity of London She isthe founder of Women in Law Initiative Pakistan and isan internationally puiblished and award winning professional with over 15 yearsof experience. She isbased in Lahore, Pakistan and can be reached atnida@learnpakcompk

When I first came across theBeijing Declaration and Platformfor Actionin 2002, 7 years after it made a revolutionary wave in the world, I had stars in my eyes. I was amazed at what was understood as the ?audacity?ofHillary Clinton as she declared in her historic statement, ?Women?s rights are human rights, once and for all?It felt like an epiphany to see this named in the international arena, for the first time, in so many words It felt like a powerful affirmation of the full humanity of a woman ? of course, not without a dull, sinking realization that unequal and unjust socio-cultural dynamics made such an affirmation necessary at all

With time, however, I would learn that the statement ? though seminal on the face of it ? did not do much for women and girls who looked like me, or who came fromparts of the world that were like mine I would learn that this statement would straitjacket the idea of ?woman?into one category of woman, and exclude anyone that didn? t fit into this category in terms of race, caste, nationality,ability,sexuality, ethnicity,indigeneity,and much more I would learn that this statement would leave out a key piece in the feminist movement that actions an ongoing commitment to equity: Intersectionality

This statement did not arrive overnight Over the span of two decades preceding the Beijing Declaration and Platformfor Action, there are historical records of how women of colour were silenced, sidelined, or talked over. Francois Verges, in her book A Decolonial Feminism, explains how, in theWorld Conference on Women in Copenhagen, in 1980, North African and Sub-Saharan feminists pushed back against the use of the terms ?save customs?and ?backward cultures,?used by western feminists to denounce female-genital mutilation She also explains that in the World Conference on Women in Nairobi, in 1985, women of colour opposed the occupation of Palestine and asked for a collective denouncement of the oppression These meetings surfaced the need to prioritize intersectionality and accountability even within spaces of feminist cooperation when women mobilized.

Some of these issues continue to endure in the run up to the thirty-year mark since the Beijing Declaration and Platformfor Action, albeit in different ways. They are, in sum, a call for us to reflect, introspect, and commit to doing better for our future

Arguably,with technological advancements, more and more feminists are able to mobilize actively and engage with each other in profoundly impactful ways And yet, we see that more often than not, these spaces continue to replicate power structures and systemic violence that produces inequities that are more heavily borne by those that are rendered vulnerable owing to their unique lived experiences as a result of multiple intersecting identities.

For instance,caste-based discrimination in South Asian countries represents a real power dynamic among women, making education, employment, healthcare, and other infrastructure inaccessible to women and girls fromoppressed caste backgrounds Caste-privileged women are able to get ahead with greater accessibility ? and the erasure of women fromoppressed caste-backgrounds has meant that these realities remain ignored

Similarly,women and girls from minority religions and indigenous communities are more vulnerable to sexual and gender-based violence across the Asia Pacific. However, the systemic discrimination targeting people fromminority religious and indigenous backgrounds has meant that several of these women and girls slip through the cracks without getting any support they need to live lives free of violence

Queer indigenous women in the Pacific Islands simultaneously experience discrimination based on indigeneity,gender, and sexual orientation, which renders them more vulnerable to harmfrom climate change And yet, the global rhetoric on climate change not only pays limited attention to gender dynamics, but almost entirely erases the implications and unique experiences that indigeneity produces to this gendered experience.

The writing is on the wall and it is time we acknowledge and action it: Movement intersectionality is vital.

A key component for its implementation is a commitment to accountability While most actors consider states and governments responsible for the implementation of international policy instruments ? including the Beijing+30 outcome document when it is ready ? it is important to note that accountability begins fromwithin the movement

Feminists with both positional and relational privilege must hold themselves accountable to the collective, redistribute their social capital, centre those that have historically experienced oppression and marginalization, and shift away fromappropriation, occupation, and extraction This calls for a deep commitment to reflexivity,and an ongoing desire to remain accountable to the feminist movement If we have made great strides in these three decades, it is entirely attributable to the giants on whose shoulders we walk ? and if we must make great strides in the time to come, it is our responsibility to step up by remaining accountable to ourselves and to our collective

Kirthi Jayakumar isa lawyer,feminist researcher,and WPSpractitioner. She founded and runsThe Gender Security Project, which workson the WPSAgenda and Feminist Foreign Policy through research, reportage, and documentation She obtained her MA in Peace and Conflict Studiesat CTPSR, Coventry University,and previously at UPEACE, Costa Rica. She isa member of the Working Group for the Every Woman Treaty and part of the Advisory Working Group for the Beijing+25 process.

Trigger warning: The piece contains graphic information that might upset some readers.

Water is considered the most significant necessity and blessing of life. Human beings can? t survive without waterfor more than three daysCan you imagine the same water or source of survival becoming the cause of death even in the 21st century?

Yes, you read it right Are you wondering how? I grew up and was raised in one of the many remote villages in Sindh, named Border Farm It is one of the smallest, located one to two hours from the city of Umerkot, which is roughly 1660 kilometers from the metropolitan port city of Karachi. Like most rural and underdeveloped areas of the Sindh province, we do not have access to clean water for drinking or other household use.

Pakistan?s rural areas have multiple challenges, including patriarchal belief systems and child labor As a result, it is always women?s and children?s responsibility fulfil home chores especially collecting water According to recent statistics, about 72 percent of household water is carried by women, while children carry 14 percent I used to collect water for eight kilometers daily with my mother, even if I was sick

Due to this, I started collecting water with my grandmother but only for a week My mother resumed her duties with me in tow right after seven days of giving birth I remember the day clearly, how she carried two earthen pots on her head and one around her waist We walked to collect water from a hand pump located at a distance of four kilometers She was too weak to walk, and her legs trembled Yet she managed to reach home

However, as soon as she placed the water pots on the ground and started moving toward the kitchen, she began to bleed and collapsed. Luckily, my father was at home and instantly took her to the hospital. Once again, it was her good luck to end up in the hands of good doctors who immediately stopped the bleeding and saved her life

W hile I was growing up, I used to think that things would change in the future and that people in rural Sindh would also have access to clean water at home.

Imagine, for a moment, what might have happened if she hadn? t been taken immediately to the hospital The worst could have happened if she had fallen into the hands of inexperienced doctors.

The women in my village often collected water, even when pregnant and immediately after delivery. I never thought about it or considered this a problem until I almost lost my mother. Let me tell you in detail how. I was nearly seven years old when my mother gave birth to my younger sister through a scissor operation

While I was growing up, I used to think that things would change in the future and that people in rural Sindh would also have access to clean water at home. However, things have only worsened over time. According to recent reports, eight of 10 people still don? t have access to basic water facilities in rural Sindh

Many women have lost their lives This suffering is not just limited to rural areas in Sindh but you can witness it in many parts of the world But as far as our region is concerned, sadly, no proper statistics or data is available Recently, one of my neighbors died on the spot when she went

to collect water right after the third day of giving birth to a baby girl.

The question is, when will people in Sindh be able to access clean water at home, if not now?

On this international of a girl child, I hope people in Sindh can access clean water at home so that no more women and children die while fetching water

The story has been lightly edited for clarity

Edith M acharia

She hurries up the ridge, with her fifteen-year-old pot balanced precariously on her head. The pot was a wedding gift fromher ?mama? . The older women said she would need it to feed her family; they were right, as the brown pot had been her companion ever since

It is 9am; it?s her fourth trip to the great river now quickly drying up She likes to fetch her water before the scorching sun is up Being a mother of three boys and a daughter, her youngest, getting enough water to meet their needs and those of her husband?s is a draining uphill task

In her community,women are tasked with going to the river and fetching water; it?s not a chore for men! Early on, her sons accompanied her to the river, but now they have been circumcised, they are considered men and are no longer allowed do ?a woman?s job? Her daughter is too young to accompany her to the river, so she makes the five trips to the river three kilometers away alone every day This is the same story for many other women in rural Africa

We are of the knowledge that all people, including women, are agents of change in their homes, places of work and community. Women play a critical role as influencers of decisions made with regard to climate change. Women plan ahead, they think in time horizons that span the lives of their children and those of their grandchildren. This makes them instrumental in dealing with the menaces of climate change.

In Africa, women are responsible for 60 to 80 percent of food production, but the now-unpredictable seasons, floods and droughts make it twice as hard for themto fulfill these roles The world is currently climate-constrained and people all around have to deal with effects of crop failures, water shortages and air pollution

women who have mouths to feed under tremendous pressure to provide To cook food, fifty percent of women around the world still burn wood, dung, coal and other traditional fuels for cooking

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), around three billion people still rely on solid fuels for cooking and to warmtheir homes. This results in air pollution in unventilated homes and in the production of black carbon. This makes air pollution a major challenge in Africa where about 600,000 deaths occur due to this invisible killer.

Air pollutants include black carbon and greenhouse gases, one of which is carbon dioxide, a major component of coal and charcoal used for cooking Charcoal produces black carbon and carbon monoxide Black carbon refers to the sooty particles produced when burning solid fuels, and it is a terrible pollutant leading to health issues such as asthma, low birth weight, heart problems and lung cancer. This leaves women and children quite vulnerable, as they are the ones who spend most of their time indoors.

Not dealing with climate change, therefore, leaves women and children vulnerable to disease Significantly reducing the use of charcoal and firewood as fuel will help reduce air pollution and avert the health consequences that come with carbon pollution

There needs to be a massive policy change as we focus on achieving agenda 2030 so that the world works on reducing the number of people (women) relying on solid fuels to carry out their daily chores. The use of polluting fuels is a major obstacle in sustainable development.

Climate change makes farming twice as hard for women, too. Scarcity in terms of food production due to flooding, drought, famine, etc., puts

Women (and children) who spend a lot of time gathering firewood can use the time to carry out other income-generating activities that would be a boost to economic growth Children can then spend a considerable amount of time at school for learning rather than working Thus,

the alleviation of climate change complements the achievement of the sustainable development goal on education.

Women are also vulnerable out in the fields while collecting firewood as they may be exposed to violence, kidnapping and, in some extreme cases, even to rape Dealing with the fuel problemwill not only prevent climate deterioration but can also impact the incidence of atrocities committed against women

Currently,the vulnerability of women to climate change is well documented, but their involvement in the formulation of strategies and policies on the adaptation to climate change programs is strangely lacking or insufficient. The world has yet to fully recognize the importance of women?s direct involvement in such talks and in

policy-making

During the COP21 2015 Paris conference, only 40 percent of the 160 participants in the COP21 made gender references in their Intended National Determined Contributions (INDCs), and most of themdid not include the developed countries who are the major global decision-makers. This tells us that even though gender equity is part of our sustainable development goals, the world?s nations are not taking it to heart, and women are still not included in decision-making.

Women have continued to remain the minority in climate negotiations both at national and international levels At the global scientific body on climate change, and the intergovernmental panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the percentage of women represented in

these establishments remains minor, and this is something that needs to change. This need was highlighted as early as during the COP7 in Marrakech in 2001, but is yet to be implemented. In Marrakech, the delegation realized that gender balance has an influence on decision-making, and the level of intelligence in a group increased with the number of women in a group; therefore, for the world to stop climate, change women must be included in policy-making

The spiraling effects of climate change must come to a halt, and this can only be accomplished if we recognize the fact that women are the ones at the center of the changing climate, deforestation, pollution and the loss of biodiversity which, in turn, affect their quality of life and threaten the survival of their families, us, their families. It is then, imperative that women be included in deciding on what needs to be done to curb climate change.

After all, it is women who need to walk kilometer upon kilometer to fetch water for their families? shouldn? t they,then, be given a seat at the head of the table to make decisions and help make everyone?s quality of life, better?

A former Ananke Intern, Edith isa Value-driven ProgramOperationsLead and Regional InitiativesCoordinator (based in AddisAbaba, Ethiopia), with a proven trackrecord of orchestrating successful execution of projects and effective management of operationswithin specific regions

W

omen have continued to remain the minority in climate negotiations both at national and international levels. A t the global scientific body on climate change, and the intergovernmental panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the percentage of women represented in these establishments remains minor, and this is something that needs to change.

O R D S

Everyt ime I become part of t he Ananke famil y f or a f ew days in t he year, I f eel inspired and encouraged t o carry on in every way - t o carry on bel ieving in t he power of women and more general l y, ot her peopl e f or whom t he decol onial st ruggl e is equal l y import ant as it is t o me The conversat ions I have st ay wit h me f or years. This is because t he Ananke t eam do not shy away f rom t he dif f icult subj ect s and curat e panel s t hought f ul l y and meaningf ul l y I have made a fair amount of onl ine appearances but Ananke f est ival has been t he onl y one where it f eel s t ot al l y easy. The conversat ions f l ow endl essl y. I al ways marvel af t erwards at t he experience. It f eel s l ike a rel ief t o have engaged wit h int el l ect ual s, aut hors, act ivist s and t hinkers t o 'undo' in a way t he burden of l iving in a societ y where col onial t hought st il l dominat es and is cent red I real l y do bel ieve t his is an import ant gat hering and I am very pl eased t o be penning t hese words t o cel ebrat e Ananke's anniversary!Viva l a revol ución!

Sascha A Akht ar

Sascha A Akhtar is an ACE supported writer, translator and educator Over a span of 20 years she has published six poetry collections and a collection of short fictions set in Pakistan entitled Of Necessity & Wanting (2020, The 87 Press) Akhtar has the distinction of being one of a handful of Pakistani women writing in English to be published in the experimental streamof UK poetries A Poetry School London tutor, her work is widely anthologised and has been translated into Armenian, Portuguese, Galician, Russian, Dutch and Polish Her translations of the work of writer Hijab Imtiaz(1908-1999), the first female pilot in the Subcontinent has been published by Oxford University Press, India

rchna

HOPE A

Sharma HOPE HOPE

It?s been a bleak year, and decade, for many: those experiencing the horrors of war, those living under severe economic constraints, those unable to access healthcare or education, the list could go on. When Sabin messaged me about contributing to Ananke?s 10th Anniversary edition in these distressing times, I was naturally drawn to ask: what value literature? I recalled a holiday to Cambodia Under Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge in just four years, up to 3 million people, almost 25%of the population, were killed I was horrified by the history, but what might seemstrange was what resonated with me once I was home: hope That is not to say that we are complacent, that we don? t protest, that we don? t use all means legally available to us to make the case for justice everywhere Rather that Cambodia?s recent trauma demonstrated we can overcome and rise above our bloody histories and dictatorships. And literature is key,if not to reconciliation, then certainly to enable us to lead an examined life, to explore and potentially reinterpret the past, or scrutinize and challenge our current world with varied lenses.

Literature does enable us to block out the ?now? , immerse ourselves in other worlds, other lives For many people witnessing current events, there is a constant and deep-seated unease, more pronounced, perhaps, for those in the Global South, or of it, at how easily humans kill and maim?the other? Daily events emphasize that, regardless of our ?advanced? technological ?civilization? , our core nature has not evolved over these millennia But what I believe to be to be true too, is that our collective human literature, through the ages, holds the power of transformation in a way little else does.

reminded of our capacity to endure and hope Literature is truly a profound force, helping us make sense of chaos, understand the breadth and depth of human emotions and actions, and guiding us to uncover the eternal truths that bind all of us on our ?Pale Blue Dot? Despite the darkness enveloping much of our world, the written word possesses the capacity to illuminate our path forward

Literature also reminds us that our struggles are not new. Arundhati Roy?sThe God of Small Things, shows the enduring consequences of colonialism, caste oppression, and economic inequality. She brings to life the quiet tragedies and moments of resistance through her characters, giving us not only a critique of systemic injustice but also a testament to human tenacity Hope in literature is often seen through characters who confront overwhelming odds yet find ways to persevere In Isabel Allende?sThe House of the Spirits, set against the backdrop of political turmoil in Chile, Clara and Alba demonstrate that personal agency and collective memory can counteract repression

I was instantly drawn into Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie?s Half of a Yellow Sun,which delves into the Nigerian Civil War. Her characters humanize the conflict, showing us how love, loss, and resilience persist even amidst the horrors of war. We understand not only historical context but are also

Poetry,especially,concentrates complex emotions into simple, powerful truths Warsan Shire, a Somali-British poet, captures the pain of displacement and the longing for home with heartrending precision in her poem?Home? : ?no one leaves home unless / home is the mouth of a shark.?These lines echo deeply with the experiences of many refugees and marginalized communities, offering a shared language of grief. And yet, despite experiencing the deepest despair, in Palestinian Professor Refaat Alareer?s haunting and prescient, ?If I Must Die?he says, ?If I must die / let it bring hope / let it be a tale.?We cannot but be galvanized and uplifted by his words

And of course, literature can inspire action Malala Yousafzai?s memoirI AmMalalais ultimately a story of activism Malala not only sheds light on the struggles faced by girls

seeking education but also inspires readers to believe in the transformative power of courage and advocacy.

Accessing literature creates a community As we read, we are no longer alone but rather conversing with the author and with countless other readers across time and space This communal aspect of literature is particularly important during political crises, which often isolate individuals and fracture societies In Tsitsi Dangarembga?s NervousConditions, her protagonist, Tambu, invites readers to empathize with the struggles of young women navigating a world shaped by oppression We connect with Tambu, regardless of our own backgrounds, and find our common humanity

Perhaps the power of literature lies in its permanence. Governments change, regimes rise and fall, and crises eventually resolve, but literature endures. In Woman at Point Zero, Nawal El Saadawi gives voice to Firdaus, a woman whose story of resistance and defiance against systemic abuse remains as urgent today as when it was first written. Even, and possibly more so, in our fast-paced, digital enabled, short-formcontent proliferation universe, books remain a steadfast repository of wisdom.

I hope in some small way,NeemTree Press, through its amazing authors, has contributed hope to our readers I?d particularly like to highlight AhlamBsharat, who was our very first author that we published and who has continued to write prolifically to encourage much needed imagination and hope to the children of Palestine

And of course there is the therapeutic power of writing itself, even for those who will never be published. In Toni Morrison?s words: ?This is precisely the time when artists go to work There is no time for despair, no place for self-pity,no need for silence, no roomfor fear We speak, we write, we do language That is how civilizations heal?

Archna Sharma isthe founder of NeemTree Press

a haze of r ed

blind

A Librettofor a wisp likesingle?being presenceshadow thought gestureabletofloat on toesmademovement madedancemadelight madeblur madeabsence. Or an odetoa grieving angel caught in the glare of spotlights a blind m oon steps on to the stage

som ething resem bling the ghost of H am let?s father shuffles past faint footsteps whisper walk red candle let sleep echo an anxious door

m idnight spills a glass of purple wine a grieving angel dragsher wings behind her the light changes from crim son to steel blue

speechless eyes locked in battle with eyes

overhead shower of red snakes slither the bolder am ongst them sucks his lip

the slum ped figure already a m em ory against the darkening blue blackout the trees lose their colour burnt stum ps as if som ething

errant sm oke above a barren stage wait listen rem em ber

enter Macbeth lying upon a stone slab naked in the cold blind riveted by his own nightm are shaft of cold light bursts

through doors furious as it clim bs up the wall raging with anger

trapdoors rise from the stage floor plunge world into fog backlit utter darkness the wom an stares into a twilight with em pty sockets drain the colour from the text

no longer flutter flags of defeat swiftly as it all began it ends bleeding white a past that continues to haunt defeated the figure trem bles heavy with m em ory whispers from an exhausted throat

enter Lear silhouetted against a darkening horizon m ultiple m ourners m ourn their own deaths shadow puppets relentless keening crisscross crevices swallow everything in their wake the m ountain hesitates before the earthquake before it tears its heart out an actor prepares feet anchored against the furies eyes balled up into fists against the wind the rain the snow the ice head neck shoulders and back taut the actor prepares steady flam e a hint of flicker like a m urm ur suppressed

the golden light lingers

listening to the footfall of leaves

pause

am ong the words strewn across the stage the stirrings of revolt an entire alphabet rising these fists gently opening fingers each thought in the act of erasing itself the m oon charred wood caught in the light of a candle?s flam e her throat sowhite from the edge of the stage stretched the vast and em pty heath a palpable em ptiness broken by m em ory her gaze as barren as the land lit by a chilly bleakness feet weighed down by afterthought the light reluctantly rises as if from the step-well of her anguish a scream the hour

when nothing but desire

m oves

a quiver in the air walking barefoot over the grave her breath a passing shudder tram pling the light

aluminum thunderclap beyond the swaying gauze the illusion of an entire city in flam es

under the guise of daylight the retreating shadows devour

arm ed with a fishnet she lay in am bush waiting to catch the first light advancing whiplash like ice exploding drowns

an entire winter scene whittled spikes hover overhead somany guillotines the sun drops orange against a sky washed by a bank of blue lights

m im ic rain walks slowly into a large doorway

sm oky white light engulfed in snow blends the salm on pink with golden am ber sparks fly in the wind fires yet to be lit hold their breath the dawn hesitates there where the shadows gather

a night bathing in a silver m irror row of red candles wait in the wings

tobelit

the dark halts in its tracks abrupt beam s of light scorch the earth

the wind transfixed taken aback at the bend solitary figure silenced Lear cloud of feathers

the angel

steps out of her wings in a play about paradise

a slow and im perceptible fall the light beginning to lose itself quivers and waits the shadows bob up and down drift seawards dazzle darkness

step into a forest of lights wires cables stands

a sea of thousand-watt lamps the storm dresses in orange light silver flashes deep rum bling blues thunder

unceasing cycle the black encircles the white encircles the black encircles white giddiness in slow m otion m iscued the m orning light caught in the act rem oving the hurriedly discarded night stum ps of wax at the foot of the cross burnt

offerings await the m iracle

the shadow sits hunched over em bers shivering

thefirelong burnt out nothing m ore devastating then an em pty stage awaiting footfalls

the stage bathed in red the bride picks her way am ong the dead collecting burnt candle stum ps surrounded by blinding light she shuts her eyes proceeds to interrogate herself

light changes

a pond a m irror a m irrored pond howl howl howl her death roots above their heads three wise wom en chalk his course

upside down om en blue and purple clouds separate the stage floor from the skies

floating on its back the yellow cardboard m oon

gazes fading in thedawn

light the air around them the actors so that they m ay drift in and drift out of the dark

the cotton snow sticks to the driftwood on hand-painted beaches as you im agine the ebb and flow of the corrugated sea

grieving she took her grief to the centre of the stage then let it slide on to the floorboards and here it lay this overwhelm ed grief and there where the sun l ay down roots for the night stood a wom an daring it to set

som ewhere at the bottom or just below lay the light waiting for the night to m ake a m istake

at the edge of the stage

soaked in beam s of white they refused to com e the tears

despite all the instructions in his book of acting

eyes m ist over sm oke so blue its edges tinged in lilac soon the lam ps will be lit

cold wind stifles the song of the flute from a forgotten poem as the drizzle turns to frost shadows hold the ground under siege brush the autum n leaves brush

the world spread open spilling its insides over a sharp-edged sword

riversof blood a haze of red blind spirals downwards into the earth

one big swirl wind light rustling leaves whispers the hush gathers

darken the stage for evil to enter

enter evil gather m urm urs sleep has been m urdered yet again speech piles up words cram into space as tiny as large as m em ory the sun scatters its em issaries soon the actor will find utterance his ability to separate sound from echo m eaning rising like the phoenix from between the lines words stretch them taut let them becom e voice stubborn words stricken with rem orse fearing the death of language unfettered

room flooded with light from a candle sinking into its wax

Naveen Kishore isa theater lighting designer,photographer, poet, publisher and founder of Seagull Bookswhich was established in1982 Under Kishore?sdirection, Seagull has published English translationsof more than 500 booksby major African, European, Asian, and Latin American writers. In 2005, Kishore launched Seagull Books London to reach a wider international readership Six years later,in 2011, he expanded the organization further,establishing the Seagull School of Publishing with the aimof training the next generation of publishers, editors, and bookdesignersin India For hiscontribution to publishing, Kishore hasbeen made a Chevalier de l'ordre desArtset desLettres(2014) by the government of France and received the Goethe Medal from the Federal Republic of Germany (2013). In 2021, he was recognized by WordsWithout Borderswith the Ottaway Award for the Promotion of International Literature He also became the first recipient of Cesare De Michelis Prize, awarded by independent Venetian publisher Marsilio Editori?in conjunction with the Ca? Foscari University of Venice for outstanding publishing projects Kishore'sworksof poetry Knotted Grief and Mother Muse Quintet have been published by Speaking Tiger with the former being translated and published in several countries

(Information source: WordsWithout Borders, World Literature Today)

When little girls ask too many questions their tongues drop off!

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