JUNE 7-13 2015
JUNE 7-13 2015
JUNE 7-13 2015
Travel
Sacred Waters
Cover Story Courting justice The Justice Pakistan Project represents the marginalised and the vulnerable in court
The Katas Raj complex beckons to Hindu pilgrims and tourists alike
34 Feature
Well Kept Amir Maqsood Hameedi proves to be one of Pakistan’s biggest cricket aficionados
26
4
38 Regulars
6 People & Parties: Out and about with beautiful people
42 Reviews: Movies and TV 46 Society: TCF Canada contributes to the 141 Schools for Peace project
Magazine Incharge: Dilaira Dubash. Senior Subeditors: Sanam Maher and Ali Haider Habib. Subeditor: Komal Anwar Creative Team: Jamal Khurshid, Essa Malik, Mohsin Alam, Talha Ahmed Khan, Hira Fareed, Maryam Rashid, Eesha Azam & Sanober Ahmed Publisher: Bilal A Lakhani. Editor: Kamal Siddiqi For feedback and submissions: magazine@tribune.com.pk Twitter: @ETribuneMag & Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ETribuneMag Printed: uniprint@unigraph.com
PEOPLE & PARTIES
Sehba Musharraf
Bushra Ansari
6 JUNE 7-13 2015
The cast of Ho Mann Jahaan gather to promote their movie at Frere Hall in Karachi
Asim Raza
Huma Adnan
Nadia Mistry
Ayesha Omar
PHOTOS COURTESY CATALYST PR & MARKETING
Sheharyar, Mahira, Adeel and Arshad Mahmood
PEOPLE & PARTIES
Shifa Imam
Sonia Nazeer
PHOTOS COURTESY LATITUDE PR
Deepak Perwani launches his 2015 Spring/Summer Zeniya lawn collection in Lahore
Mira Hashmi
Anila Puri and Farheen
8 JUNE 7-13 2015
Nida and Nazish
Taniya
Beenish
Maryam and Saba Qamar
PEOPLE & PARTIES
PHOTOS COURTESY LATITUDE PR
Saif and Areeba Magsi
Sara, Sehr and Amina
Sana Adil and Amna Bashir Tanya
Faraze and Sania
10 JUNE 7-13 2015
Faiza, Sarah and Naureen
PEOPLE & PARTIES
PHOTOS COURTESY FAISAL FAROOQUI
Mulghalar Hassan, Sonya Khan and Tooba Siddiqui
Amaan Ahmed and Mira Ansari
L’Oréal Paris Excellence Crème and Nomi Ansari celebrate their ‘Ambassador of Fashion’ collaboration at Café Verde in Karachi
Nomi Ansari and Mehreen Syed
Ekra and Abeer
12 JUNE 7-13 2015
Saba Ansari, Frieha Altaf and Nadia Hussain
PEOPLE & PARTIES Amina Rashid Khan
PHOTOS COURTESY FAISAL FAROOQUI
Moazzam Ali Khan and Adeela Liaquat Ali Khan
Areeba Habib and Sadaf Kanwal
Tapu Javeri and Shaneria Akram
14 JUNE 7-13 2015
Shazah Ayub and Natasia Khalid
Amna Babar
PEOPLE & PARTIES
Sarah Amer and Amer Aman
Mr and Mrs Yasser Anees Sheikh Aimal and Sidra
PHOTOS COURTESY REZZ PR
Yasser Anees Sheikh launches his flagship store in Islamabad
Baleena, Guria and Raheela Khan
Saroor Malik and Nadia Inam
16 JUNE 7-13 2015
Shazia and Amal Asim Tiwana
Anum and Farheen
Shumail Abbas and Kulsoom Jafar
PEOPLE & PARTIES
Nazim Sheikh and Yasmin Nazim
Tom, Mehreen Syed and Hassan Sheheryar Yasin
Kashif Chaudhry and Mehar Gillani
Ali Majeed and Saeeda
Waleed Khalid, Sadaf Kanwal and Fahad Sheikh
Rabia and Lubna Farhad
Rabia Rabbani and Hina Salman
18 JUNE 7-13 2015
Sabika Imam and Fia
Onaza and Ali Moin
PHOTOS COURTESY BILAL MUKHTAR EVENTS & PR
Nazim Sheikh and Yasmin Nazim host a dinner at Cosa Nostra to celebrate Ittehad Textile’s finale at PFDC Fashion Week
PEOPLE & PARTIES
Hassan Ibrahim, Deepak and Ali Pervaiz
PHOTOS COURTESY TAKE II PR
Deepak Perwani launches his 2015 Spring/Summer Zeniya lawn collection in Karachi Mulgahar Hassan
Anoushey Ashraf
Sanam Chaudhri
Sanam Agha
Nadia Hussain
Anoushe Shahid
19 JUNE 7-13 2015
COVER STORY
BY SARAH ELEAZAR DESIGN BY HIRA FAREED
Justice is not always blind and not everyone is equal before the law in Pakistan. And poorer prisoners and convicts often bear the brunt of this injustice. They are accused of crimes they did not commit and face greater persecution in and outside jails. It was the summer of 2001. Sohail Yafat, a student of intermediate level at Cathedral Higher Secondary School in Lahore Cantt, was trudging back home from his evening job at an IT school in Gulberg, where he worked to fund his education. He arrived home to find the police waiting for him. “They had implicated me in a murder case... a murder that had taken place in Sahiwal,” he says. His family, poverty-stricken, could not afford to hire an expensive legal counsel or appeal in superior courts. “It took 10 years to prove my innocence,” he says. The case was suspended, not dismissed, by the Lahore High Court. “It’s been 15 years and though I’m free, the sword still hangs over my head.”
No one was willing to hire me when I was released. I had been proven innocent; yet, I remained a murder accused with limited education and a gap of 10 years on my resume Investigator at JPP Sohail Yafat
COVER STORY
The family of a migrant worker in Saudi Arabia who is being represented by the JPP. PHOTO CREDIT: SHAFIQ MALIK
The decade spent in prison was traumatic for Yafat. Those who have served time or are currently in prison would tell you they wouldn’t wish it on their worst enemy, he says. To cope with the trauma, Yafat, who’s had a Catholic upbringing, became a counsellor and a teacher of Christianity at the prison he was incarcerated in. “I would talk to all inmates about interfaith peace and harmony, and human dignity,” he says, adding that he told prisoners, even those on death row, to know that this was not the end of the world. “During my time in prison and later outside of it, I’ve seen countless convicts reform and earn an honest living,” he says. Several of his fellow inmates, who were later released, set up fruit carts or started dyeing fabrics for a living. 28 But the disparaging treatment JUNE 7-13 2015
meted out to ex-cons is sometimes worse than the life they leave behind in prison. “No one was willing to hire me when I was released. I had been proven innocent, yet I remained a murder accused with limited education and a gap of 10 years on my resume,” says Yafat. But fortunately for Yafat and others like him, some organisations, such as the Justice Project Pakistan (JPP), have come through to help those who find themselves on the wrong side of law. They offer free legal services to those who cannot afford it and secure their right to a fair trial.
Innocent until proven guilty A few years ago, JPP, a Lahore-based non-profit human rights law firm established in December 2009,
Reprieve, a UK-based legal action group, and JPP conducted a study based on a sample of 30 prisoner profiles across the country and discovered that every three of the 30 prisoners they interviewed had been sentenced to death when they were juveniles organised a workshop on Criminal Law where Yafat spoke about his experience as an ex-inmate. That was when advocate Sarah Belal asked him to join her organisation. She offered him a platform to work with the people he had left in body, but never in spirit. Now a senior investigator at JPP, Yafat says, “The best part of my job is that I get to return to the prison and exhort the inmates there. I offer them words of comfort and tell them that they are not alone. We (JPP) stand by them.” He believes God has been kind to him as there are thousands of prisoners still languishing in dark cellars across the country, fighting a justice system that appears to have abandoned them. To highlight the issue, Reprieve, a UK-based legal action group, and JPP conducted a study based on a sample of 30 prisoner profiles across the
country and discovered that every three of the 30 prisoners they interviewed had been sentenced to death when they were juveniles. The March 2015 report titled ‘Juveniles on Pakistan’s Death Row’, states: “Should this figure hold true for prisoners across the country, there could be more than 800 child offenders among the 8,261 prisoners currently sentenced to death.” Moreover, there is an ominous ticker on the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan’s website that reads, “139 convicts have been executed since December 2014,” though the actual figure is now higher. While conducting a detailed study on Pakistan’s death row prisoners in 2013, JPP came across Shafqat Hussain. He is shy and smiles a lot, Belal reveals. Convicted of murder when he was reportedly a teenager, Belal discovered that Hussain has a learning disability, which he hid behind that smile. Hussain’s case, she says, was fraught with complications: His confession was forced through torture, his body still carrying marks of cigarette burns, and the defence had little to prove his juvenility at the time of conviction. JPP took on the case and put its lawyers, investigators and advocacy team behind it. “We highlighted Shafqat’s case in the court of law and in the court of public opinion,” she adds. Hussain was named among the first prisoners to be executed after Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif removed the moratorium on death penalty
Other NGOs providing legal aid to the marginalised Legal Aid Women Trust Provides legal support to women, especially those who are imprisoned. Center for Legal Aid Assistance and Settlement Offers legal support to Christian victims of religious intolerance and blasphemy laws. AGHS Legal Aid Cell Focuses on rights of women, children and minorities in Pakistan. Pakistan Lawyers Foundation Not-for-profit organisation that provides legal services to those who cannot afford it. Sanjog Provides legal aid to children in jails and also works against child trafficking.
Inside the JPP’s office in Lahore, where the staff meets guests and clients. CREDIT: SHAFIQ MALIK
PHOTO
following an attack on the Army Public School in Peshawar. January 14, 2014, was decided as the date for his execution. Since then, Hussain has been to the gallows and back at least three times. On March 18, 2015, dressed in a white uniform, Hussain wrote his last will: “I am innocent. They want to hang me for a crime I have not committed, to save others who have been freed.” Then, he was told that his sentence had been postponed, only to have a black warrant issued again on May 6, which was, once again, put off. On June 1, an anti-terrorism court in Karachi issued another death warrant for Hussain and ordered his execution on June 9. If he is hanged, it will be a big loss for JPP and Reprieve. The recent shift in public opinion, favouring capital punishment, has a lot to do with how one sees and perceives prisoners. Society thinks prisoners are the scum of the earth, says Yafat. “They cease to be considered human beings as soon as they’re behind bars.”
One law for all
Along with those imprisoned in Pakistan, JPP extends its services to citizens locked up abroad. Saqib Mushtaq, an investigator with JPP, has been working to gather all possible facts and look for channels of advocacy to highlight the issue of Pakistani prisoners on death row in Saudi Arabia for allegedly smuggling drugs into the country. Representatives of drug barons visit villages, mostly near Faisalabad, Khushab and Sargodha, and target the poor, says Mushtaq. Posing as representatives of employment agencies, they lure people with promises of jobs and a better life in Saudi Arabia. The unsuspecting victims are told they don’t have to pay a commission until they arrive in Saudi Arabia and start work. These agents arrange for passports and visas for them and call them a few days prior to their departure. 29 JUNE 7-13 2015
COVER STORY “Some are forced to ingest capsules filled with drugs, others are given packages to deliver to ‘relatives’,” shares Mushtaq. They almost always depart from the Islamabad Airport, since it has the least amount of security checks and eight out of 10 of these unwitting drug smugglers are caught at the Saudi Arabia airport. What happens to these prisoners then is a travesty of justice, Mushtaq says. They are assigned translators to ‘plead’ their case. Most of these translators are from Balochistan, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Bangladesh and India. Mushtaq says the JPP has been working on getting the government to enter into an extradition treaty with Saudi Arabia, similar to the one that exists between Nepal and India.
The other Guantanamo Abandoned by their own government, some 43 Pakistanis imprisoned in Bagram, Afghanistan, reached out to Sultana Noor, an investigator with Reprieve, through the International Committee of the Red Cross a few years ago. JPP went to court over this in 2010, demanding that these prisoners be brought back to Pakistan. “Most of the Pakistani prisoners were Pukhtun farmers and businessmen who had crossed the border for work... Some were going about their daily business when they were picked up without warrants or charge sheets or even a chance to say goodbye to their families,” says Waqas Aziz, a case investigator involved with JPP’s efforts to repatriate prisoners. US
30 JUNE 7-13 2015
authorities at Bagram were not legally required to explain why they detain prisoners for years without charge. It was only after several months of incarceration that they were allowed to call back home, and it took years before they could finally return. Several Pakistani prisoners in Bagram have a similar story to tell. Fourteen-year-old Hamidullah was running an errand for his father, bringing the family’s belongings from their house in Ladha, South Waziristan, prior to a military
operation, when he was picked up and whisked off to the ‘other Gitmo’. Six months later, when he called to tell his father that the detainee review board had cleared him of all charges, he couldn’t stand up because of the shackles on his legs. But it would be another 10 years before he would be allowed to enter the country and another several months of incarceration in a Pakistan jail before he could meet his father. Cases such as Hamidullah’s have been in court for two years and in January 2012 the Lahore High Court directed the government to negotiate the release of all prisoners. Belal, who was representing the prisoners, says the motivation to represent Pakistanis illegally detained by US forces in Bagram Prison was the same as it is for most of their cases. “We want to stand up for the marginalised and the vulnerable. Having fallen through the cracks of indefinite detention, these Pakistanis had been completely abandoned by their country and left to the whims of US forces,” she says. “Our petition in the Lahore High Court was to compel our own government to realise its duty towards these
CAPITAL PUNISHMENT
139 convicts have been executed since December 2014, according to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan's website.
citizens and their fundamental rights.” The prisoners were brought back in groups in 2012, “but they are being held in various prisons across the country without access to legal counsels or their family,” says Zainab Mehboob, a lawyer at JPP. The JPP, therefore, went to the courts again, seeking details of the number of prisoners being brought back and requesting that they be given access to their families. Aziz reveals that the first batch of prisoners who returned were detained for about a month before they were set free, but the rest of the
loved ones go through. And when we finally met them, it was like four years of hard work coming to fruition,” says Aziz. According to Belal, it was one of the happiest moments for her and her entire team when they took the families of six detainees to Peshawar. “It was a great sense of fulfillment... The joy on their faces is what drives us and keeps us going.” Belal was in law school when she attended a talk by Reprieve Director Clive Stafford Smith. At the talk, a former death row inmate spoke of his experience and
‘‘
Our petition in the Lahore High Court was to compel our government to realise its duty towards these citizens and their fundamental rights
A talk on the criminal justice system and death penalty organised by the Justice Project Pakistan at University College Lahore. PHOTOS COURTESY: JPP FACEBOOK PAGE prisoners were detained for 90 days. “The ones we know of have been repatriated, but we have reason to believe that there might be others and we’re pushing the government to give us an exact number of Pakistanis detained there,” says Mehboob. The notorious facility was eventually shut down in December last year. For Aziz and Mehboob, the closing of Bagram Prison marked a lifetime achievement. “We had been working for these prisoners. We had seen the pain and trauma their parents and
Director of JPP Sarah Belal
“that changed me,” she recalls. At the end of his lecture, Smith said, “You are some of the best legal minds of the future... It is your responsibility to raise your voices for the vulnerable and the marginalised.” Sarah knew that she had found her calling: “I knew then that this was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.” T
Sarah Eleazar is a senior subeditor on the Lahore city desk of The Express Tribune. She tweets @saraheleazar
31 JUNE 7-13 2015
A view from the balcony of the main temple.
Sacred waters The pond surrounding the Katas Raj Temples is the main attraction for Hindu pilgrims and tourists in Punjab TEXT AND PHOTOS BY MOEBIN KHURRAM HAFEEZ DESIGN BY SANOBER AHMED
34 The pond is bright green, something that can leave anyone in awe. JUNE 7-13 2015
Hindu pilgrims bathe in the pool in an attempt to seek forgiveness.
Legend has it that the pond at Katas Raj temples was formed by the tears that Lord Shiva shed after the death of his wife Sati. Hindu pilgrims from across the world visit the temples during the Maha Shivratri festival and bathe in the sacred pool to seek forgiveness, while some even believe the water body holds healing powers. Dedicated to the Lord Shiva, Katas Raj temples are situated in Punjab near Choa Saidanshah, in Chakwal district. The site originally housed the Satgraha, a cluster of seven ancient temples, along with a Buddhist stupa and the home of a warrior. However, only four of the seven temples and the warrior’s residence remain intact today. Although the smaller temples were built around 900 years ago, the earlier ones date back to the latter half of the sixth Century AD. Katas Raj temples had always been on my list of places to visit. One night I got a call from a few friends, asking if I wanted to go with them to visit the site. It was 4:00am, and they were leaving almost immediately. To get there, we took the M2 Motorway from the Kallar Kahar interchange. After travelling for 24kms, we reached the town of Choa Saidan Shah and as we went further down, we crossed a cement factory after which the temple complex gradually became visible.
The main temple looms over the green pool.
With the temples looming over the sky, the first thing one sets their eyes upon is the emerald pond. The temple behind it does not seem to be any less magnificent
Tourists frequent the site to witness its beauty firsthand. JUNE 7-13 2015
35
FEATURE
A panoramic view from the roof of one of the temples. Upon reaching the site, the anticipation seemed to have been worth it. With the temples looming over the sky, the first thing one sets their eyes upon is the emerald pond. The temple behind it does not seem to be any less magnificent. We were almost immediately overawed by the size of the complex. While photos may showcase the pond and temple, it fails to capture the other temples behind the main one. With the assistance of a tour guide, we were able to have an intriguing excursion. While the temples are closed to the public, the guide was kind enough to allow us to enter. As we walked, we were led into an architectural marvel. One of the temples housed a room with a complicated ventilation system, which allowed air to pass through, but prevented rain water or sand from entering. Another temple showcased a laundry chute, which led to the basement. While some carvings of the Hindu deity remained on the walls, most of the idols have been shifted to India. We were later led to the rooftops of the temples, also closed to the public. The view proved to be astonishing with the pond being the main focus of the entire complex. The tour ended, yet no one had the heart to leave. We lingered on, dipping our feet in the pool, watching the tiny fish frolic. The sun had now begun to set, but the temples did not lose their shimmer. Many only view such wonders in pictures, but rarely attempt to visit these locations themselves. Katas Raj temples, in my opinion, are a victim to this phenomenon. Pictures may give an insight to the site, but only a visit would give one its true essence and marvel.
36
Moebin Khurram is a law student at the Lahore University of Management Sciences. He blogs about his expeditions on the Facebook page Travel Diaries. JUNE 7-13 2015
People often only visit the main temple and the pond and not what is behind it.
FEATURE
Well Kept
Cricket aficionado Amir Maqsood Hameedi bowls everyone over with his massive collection of cricket memorabilia BY NABIL TAHIR PHOTOS BY ARIF SOOMRO
Amir Maqsood Hameedi has a collection of over 2,500 books on cricket.
Pakistan’s cricket craze is undeniable. Painted faces, glitzy posters and fancy headgear sported during the recently-concluded Pakistan versus Zimbabwe series at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore bore testament to that. But one man’s fixation with the sport has taken the meaning of ‘fan’ to a whole new level. Amir Maqsood Hameedi has never left Pakistan, but his assortment of cricket memorabilia, news clippings and books is not bound to a single nation or team. He has over 3,000 photographs, tickets from every Cricket World 38 Cup, key chains, caps and over 2,500 books. “I have never JUNE 7-13 2015
visited any other country, but people who are aware of my passion always bring back items for me. These include tickets, key chains, caps and books,” says Hameedi. Wellknown among cricketers, both national and international, Hameedi began collecting cricket related items, especially photographs and books, in the 1950s when he was only seven years old. Now 65, Hameedi is the proud owner of a roomful of priceless memorabilia from the cricketing world. Hameedi has always taken a keen interest in the sport. He started by listening to cricket commentary, closely following every match around the world, and then began collecting
I have never visited any other country, but people who are aware of my passion always bring back items for me. These include tickets, key chains, caps and books
Amir Maqsood Hameedi has over 3,000 photographs in his collection.
Collector Amir Maqsood Hameedi
A selection of souvenir key chains from various countries, along with those sold during the various Cricket World Cups.
photographs of various teams, mostly collectors’ items. Hameedi belongs to a well-known family in the country — his brother Anwar Maqsood and sisters Zubaida Tariq and Fatima Surayya Bajia are popular television personalities — making it easy for him to access cricketers in Pakistan. Since Bajia also worked as a journalist, Hameedi, a young fan back then, would often accompany his sister to the office and select from a wide range of photographs taken for print. “When I started collecting photographs, my sound knowledge of cricket impressed the people who had taken those photographs,” says Hameedi. “The people at my sister’s office would let me select the ones I liked from their photo library. Those action pictures were useless for news agencies after they had selected and printed one.” Hameedi also frequented the British Review newspaper office in Karachi which received press releases of matches with accompanying photographs. “Back then, my friend Baseer Ashraf worked as the editor of the British fortnightly paper. He would call me and hand me some of the rare photographs [he had received],” shares Hameedi. But once the Council General of UK, also incharge of photo archives at the time, found out about the missing photographs, Hameedi was called in and asked a series of questions to determine whether he was a true fan or not. “I was scared when I reached the office. The Council General showed me some photographs and started asking me about the players,” he says. He was also asked about his favourite team, batting shot and was asked to name shots played by batsmen in the pictures placed before him. “I gave answers right away and he was amazed by my [knowledge of the sport],” he recalls, adding that he never 39 faced any trouble obtaining pictures afterwards. JUNE 7-13 2015
FEATURE With a growing reputation as a global cricket fan, Hameedi was welcomed by cricketers who willingly autographed their photographs for him. “Back in the day, I invited players to my house to sign the images and books I had. They were so humble,” recalls Hameedi, revealing that every picture in his collection is carefully catalogued in his memory. “Saeed Ahmed (former Pakistani opener) even introduced me to many foreign cricketers, and he would tell them I was someone who knows and understands the game properly,” he says. His rare collection of photographs is documented in Omar Noman’s Pride and Passion: An Exhilarating Half Century of Cricket in Pakistan. With the emergence of the digital age, however, Hameedi has gradually lost interest in collecting photographs. “Since everything is available online, it is easy for everyone to collect photographs. Now, I mostly collect books on cricket,” he explains. He has also amassed a wide collection of news clippings and pasted them in books concerning the relevant cricketer. It’s certain, as long as cricket remains alive, so will Hameedi’s passion for collecting everything that celebrates the sport.T Hameedi has a wide collection of tickets from every Cricket World Cup.
Nabil Tahir is a Karachi-based reporter for The Express Tribune sports desk.
A group photo of the West Indies cricket team during their tour to Pakistan from 1980-1981,
40 personally signed by all the players. JUNE 7-13 2015
Two cricket bats signed by former Pakistani cricketers, including Hanif Mohammad, Mushtaq Mohammad and Saeed Ahmed.
FILM
Running a chainsaw through clichés, Mad Max: Fury Road deconstructs our expectations of what an action movie should be BY SAIM SAEED
Perhaps, like Mad Max: Fury Road antagonist Immortan Joe’s wives (creepily referred to as “Breeders”), moviegoers have become accustomed to the corporeal (and corporate, in the case of movie goers) violence meted out to them over the past few years. We’ve almost taken for granted that the explosions, car chases and muscular heroes (never heroines) at their front and centre must come with product placement, a woeful script (“I don’t have friends, I got family”) and a Victoria’s Secret model in need of rescue. Fury Road is a dazzling reminder of how audiences have sleepily accepted their compromised, corporatised fate, trusting it blindly in the hands of plastic superheroes who line up, like we do, in movie theatres every summer. Fury Road doesn’t just deconstruct our expectations of what an action movie should be; it puts an explosive-laden spear through it. George Miller, the septuagenarian Australian director who made the original Mad Max trilogy with Mel Gibson, is back to direct Fury Road 30 years after the original, in what is a cross between a reboot and sequel. The plot belies the film’s title; it focuses on Imperator Furiosa (a marvellous Charlize Theron) and her attempt to get the Breeders out of Joe’s vaulted harem to safety, a ‘Green Point’ across the dystopic, orange desert where both fuel and water are scarce. Max (a lonely Tom Hardy) is simply a passenger (and occasional gun stand) who rides along, unsure of whether he’s the hostage 42 or a kidnapper. Incensed at his wives’ flight, Joe sends his entire JUNE 7-13 2015
army, kamikaze War Boys and a flamethrower guitarist, after the Breeders, Furiosa and Max. Miller eschews the urban battleground we’re accustomed to, preferring wide, desolate open spaces reminiscent of Lawrence of Arabia. He swaps corporate logos for a singular skull, appearing on steering wheels and Joe’s face, and replaces the muscular superhero with a bald woman with a prosthetic arm. The Victoria’s Secret model, however, remains in the form of Rosie Huntington-Whitely — better cast as one of Joe’s wives than she was in Transformers. Miller also runs a chainsaw through the screenplay, leaving a script as sparse as throats in his fictional universe. That isn’t to say it’s purely functional; even with such little dialogue, Miller inserts an emotional intensity in Fury Road, amplified by neologisms that
Must-watch feminist films A girl walks home alone at night (2014) In a crumbling Iranian city, a predator (Sheila Vand) prowls the dark streets. She glides through the night on a skateboard, donning a traditional black hijab and feasting on the flesh of men who disrespect women. Clueless (1995) A loose interpretation of Jane Austen’s Emma, Clueless boasts a strong cast of comedic women who are not only outspoken and confident, but also reflect on their choices and take responsibility for the course of their lives. Little women (1994) With their father away fighting in the civil war, Jo, Meg, Beth and Amy grow up with their mother in somewhat reduced circumstances. They are a close family which inevitably has its squabbles and tragedies, but the bond holds even when male friends start to become part of the household.
bring authenticity to this universe. “We’ll be McFeasting at the gates of Valhalla!” isn’t normal conversation anywhere except in and between The Citadel, Bullet Farm and Gas Town, where the War Boys equipped with their Blood Bags (humans) ask the others to ‘witness’ them before their chrome-sprayed faces are ripped apart by the earth-shaking explosions, bullets and sandstorms. The wives are also colourfully named: The Splendid Angharad, Capable, Toast the Knowing, The Dag and Cheedo the Fragile. Like in A Clockwork Orange, Miller doesn’t just open your eyes, he keeps them yanked ajar until long after they start tearing up. But in a good way. The cars, from Furiosa and Max’s “War Rig” to Joe’s souped-up, lowrider-inspired monster truck, are beautiful. And so are the shotguns, the chastity belts, the Polecats and all the other lethal trinkets that inhabit this world. Miller's imagination is as wide and beautiful as the film’s shots. As with the plot and screenplay, Miller is Spartan with the politics, keeping it simple. The poor, ragged masses with their begging bowls are at the bottom. They are at the mercy of the lofted Joe, a hoarder, who sits atop a well of water he shares only sparingly to remind the poor of his superiority. But Furiosa and the Breeders’ simple act of defiance is revolutionary, both on and off the screen. As Joe examines the empty vault where his wives were kept, the words “We are not things” were written to remind Joe,
and perhaps the audience and studios, of a woman’s worth, even in that masculine-est of masculine places — the big-budget summer blockbuster. Halfway through we’re introduced to the Vuvalini, a few senior lady assassins who never miss a shot, that assist in the film’s climax. I left the theatre, dazed, with a singular question about every aspect of the film: “Who would have thought of it?” Rating: Saim Saeed is a freelance writer. He tweets @saimsaeed847
The mother of humour Jane the Virgin is packed with drama and goodhearted entertainment BY NUDRAT KAMAL
We root for anti-heroes these days; the ones who sink to moral depravity to survive, such as the Cersei Lannisters and Walter Whites of the world. There’s nothing wrong with that; their moral ambiguity resonates in a world that is becoming increasingly complex. But in the generally bleak television landscape, the delightful and heartwarming Jane the Virgin stands out even more for its virtuous protagonist, who is trying to do the right things for herself and the people around her, despite the craziness that surrounds her. The show’s premise makes it appear silly, offering only cheap laughs and ridiculous plot twists: Jane (Gina Rodriguez), a kind and responsible young woman, visits the gynaecologist for a routine check-up when her frazzled doctor accidentally artificially inseminates her, setting in motion a series of events that will change her life forever. In lesser hands, the show would devolve into melodrama, but from the very first episode, Jane the Virgin grounds its outlandish plot with the down-to-earth Jane, her concerns and struggles and her wonderfully depicted relationship with her single mother (who had Jane when she was a teenager) and her grandmother. There’s also Jane’s long-time boyfriend Michael, who is a cop, and Raphael, a hunky, rich guy she used to have a crush on, who is the father of the baby. The inevitable love triangle is carefully and sensitively depicted, with both relationships given enough room to develop and deepen. To complicate matters further, there is Rogelio, Jane’s long-lost father who comes back into the picture and happens to be a big telenovela star (a TV genre which is the Spanish equivalent of Indian soap operas), an unlikely combination of vain and adorable. The show is fast-paced. It goes through nearly five seasons’ worth of plot in its first season, but never falters under the weight of all the action. The wackier plot arcs (a drug lord, multiple murders and conniving ex-wives) are always balanced by Jane’s realistic concerns (fulfilling her dream of becoming a writer, strengthening her romantic and family relationships and dealing with concerns of motherhood) and the show smartly allows plenty of room for character development and relationship growth. All the characters are interesting and multi-dimensional and the actors’ performances breathe life into them, especially Rodriguez’s, who has already won a Golden Globe for her performance. The show is also wickedly smart. One of its best aspects is the narrator, officially called the “Latin lover narrator”. Voice-over narrations don’t usually work, but here it is used perfectly, as the narrator not only keeps us updated on the rapidly evolving plots but also provides witty commentary — it’s like watching the show with your funny friend who reminds you of the plot points and keeps you entertained with snappy zingers throughout. Additionally, the connection to the crazy world of telenovelas allows the show to spoof the conventions of the genre. It also employs tongue-in-cheek on-screen text, complementing the narrator’s ability to revel in and poke fun at what’s happening on the screen. With its first season having concluded only a few weeks ago, Jane the Virgin has proved that it can deftly balance the deadpan absurdity and the intimate and personal drama with a consistently playful but self-assured tone. Even when dealing with the serious issues of death, murder, immigration and the trials of being a single mother, the show retains its humour and positivity, making it the happiest show on television at the moment. Rating: Nudrat Kamal is a freelance writr. She tweets @Nudratkamal
An
Academ ic milestone
The Citizens Foundation takes a giant step towards materialising the 141 Schools for Peace dream BY TEENAZ JAVAT DESIGN BY MARYAM RASHID
“Unthinkable terrorism has to be countered with unimaginable hope,” is written on a blood-red background on the online portal www.141schools. org. On a mission to build one school for every life lost in the December 16, 2014, carnage at Peshawar Army Public School, 141 Schools for Peace, a registered Canadian not-forprofit organisation, has partnered with The Citizens Foundation (TCF) to help a few of the more than 5.4 million children in Pakistan between the ages of six and 11 who are not in a formal school. The attack on the school happened in an already bleak landscape. After the outrage settled, the onerous process of rebuilding both lives and schools began in earnest. Zaki Patel, a Canadian citizen of Pakistani origin, came across a tweet about how the best revenge would be to build 141 schools for the 141 children and teachers who died in the terrorist attack and wasted no time in building a website. He approached TCF Canada and with their support the web portal was born. Although the death toll increased, they stuck with 141. Today, nearly six months and six schools later, this registered Canadian not-for-profit organisation is well on its way towards meeting its target. Patel has successfully tapped into the TCF donor network and money raised through the initiative is clearly earmarked for this campaign. “While TCF Pakistan remains the ‘mother company’, the fastest growing international chapters are the ones in Canada and the US,” says Lubna Sami, a director with TCF Canada, who is the face of the Pakistani diaspora committed to improving not only their own lives but those of the less privileged children back home. “In addition to the annual TCF gala where
we raised close to a million Canadian dollars last month, we have ongoing events with mainstream Canadian establishments to raise awareness and funds toward educating kids in Pakistan.” Leading automotive supplier Magna International, local rotary clubs in Ontario and Canadian children activist Marc Kielburger of Free the Children and the United Way of Peel Region are some of the local Canadian charities which are on board, lending their support to TCF Canada. “We’ve been spreading the word on social media and looks like it’s working — young second generation Pakistani-Canadians are taking a keen interest in it. We have tapped quite successfully into the university network with the help of Pakistan student associations at different campuses across Canada, with the chapter in Hamilton’s McMaster University being the most productive,” Sami adds. In its 20-year history, TCF has built 1,006 schools and counting, transforming the lives of over 300,000 children in Pakistan. The dreamers and shakers who started TCF in 1994 have come a long way. In the absence of government initiatives, they have filled the gap. For author William Dalrymple, supporting TCF is a no-brainer. At a recent speaking engagement at Toronto’s Aga Khan Museum organised in collaboration with the Canadian Community Arts Initiative, Dalrymple did not mince words. “This is the fifth event I’ve been involved in for TCF. I cannot think of any cause more important than building schools all over South Asia, particularly in Pakistan, where the government system is so tragically inadequate. The event in Peshawar only underlines the importance of continuing to fund good private education,” he said. Teenaz Javat writes headlines, news alerts, tickers and tweets for a living. She tweets @TeenazFromTo