NOVEMBER 15-21 2015
NOVEMBER 15-21 2015
Travel Cover Story
The grand Budapest
The thin line between death penalty and gender-based violence
Delicious food and gorgeous sights of the Hungarian capital
Walking the tightrope
18
26
Feature
Engaging the East ‘Perform(art)ive’ in Philadelphia highlights South Asian performance art
32
Portfolio
Humans of Metro A closer look at the people we meet on public transport
36
Regulars
6 People & Parties: Out and about with beautiful people
42 Reviews: Documentary and movies
46 Health: Thawing it out
Magazine Incharge: Dilaira Dubash. Senior Subeditor: Ali Haider Habib. Subeditors: Komal Anwar Creative Team: Jamal Khurshid, Essa Malik, Mohsin Alam, Talha Ahmed Khan, Hira Fareed, Maryam Rashid, Eesha Azam and Sanober Ahmed Publisher: Bilal A Lakhani. Editor: Kamal Siddiqi For feedback and submissions: magazine@tribune.com.pk 4 Twitter: @ETribuneMag & Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ETribuneMag Printed: uniprint@unigraph.com
PEOPLE & PARTIES Mr and Mrs Danish Aman
Saleha Ahmad and Ali Ahmad
Irfan Muneer and Ayesha Irfan
Mr and Mrs Sanaullah Abdullah
Mr and Mrs Fahad Shoukat
Sehr Haris and Ahmad Haris
Mr and Mrs Sadiq Iftikhar
Mr and Mrs Mohammad Zaki Bashir
6 NOVEMBER 15-21 2015
Mr and Mrs Faizan Ghori
Mr and Mrs Rehan Shahid
PHOTO CREDITS MOIZ KAZMI
The Entrepreneurs’ Organisation hosts a dinner in Karachi
PEOPLE & PARTIES Mariam and Sarah
Saira and Nina
PHOTOS COURTESY QYT EVENTS
Super Cinema hosts a premiere of Swaarangi in Lahore
Malaika
Neha
8 NOVEMBER 15-21 2015
Saira Naseem
Amjad Islam Amjad and his wife
PEOPLE & PARTIES Junaid Khan and Vinny
PHOTOS COURTESY QYT EVENTS
Alia and Farzeen
Gharida Farooqui and Resham
Tina and Mona
Khawar Riaz, Ayesha and Muhammad
10 NOVEMBER 15-21 2015
Syed Noor and Nisho
PEOPLE & PARTIES
Mr and Mrs Cagri
Mr and Mrs Shahid Feroz
The Consulate General of Turkey celebrates Turkish Republic Day in Karachi Saira, Yasmin and Frieha
Shanaz and Samina
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Naheed and Tariq Huda
Mr and Mrs Ata Ansari
PHOTOS COURTESY NEW WORLD CONCEPTS PR
Murat Onart and Sule Onart
PEOPLE & PARTIES
Noreen and Ikhtiar Baig
Maliha Bangash
14 NOVEMBER 15-21 2015
PHOTOS COURTESY NEW WORLD CONCEPTS PR
Khurshid Hyder
Mahvash and Jehangir Siddiqi
Mr and Mrs Suwat Kaewsook
Rana Karim
PEOPLE & PARTIES
Tara Uzra Dawood hosts a dinner as a farewell to Gill Atkinson in Karachi
Moneeza Butt
Anisa Rashid Khan
Shafaq Habib
Shireen Anwar
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Charmaine Hidayutullah
Shamain Faruque
Nasreen Jalil
PHOTO CREDITS FAROOQ USMAN
Gill, Nadia, Tara and Sheema
Zeenat
Parveen Kangji
Afroza Bhamani
Sadia Khan
17 NOVEMBER 15-21 2015
TRAVEL
The grand
Budapest
From delicious food to gorgeous sights, the Hungarian capital has a unique charm
le t s a C a d u B
Just walk cross the chain bridge onto the Buda side and take the teleferik (cable car) up to the breathtaking palace. SHUTTERSTOCK/ARTUR BOGACKI
BY SARAH KHAN
DESIGN BY TALHA KHAN
Some things seem deceptively simple till you get down to executing them. One such thing is planning a family vacation which is feasible for everyone. It entails coordinating leave dates from work, deciding on a location, logistics, and making the trip easy and enjoyable for everyone. After months of planning, it was suddenly time for my family of six to get on a flight and make our way to the beautiful city of Budapest. Budapest came into being when the cities of ‘Buda’ and ‘Pest,’ lying on either side of the Danube, were united. The word Buda was Attila the Hun’s brother’s name and Pest simply means ‘oven’. Now the two cities have become one vibrant city connected by seven breathtaking bridges. Fascinating, right? Upon landing, we immediately felt like Budapest had a unique vibe. I have visited many European cities in the past, but this particular one seemed to have a different soul. So, we jumped into a cab which was actually a mini-van, considering we needed a six-seater with enough space for six suitcases! The drive was peaceful, with trees whizzing by, the air a crisp eight degrees Celsius and us brewing with excitement at the thought of exploring a city we
had heard very little about. It was also the first time I had ventured forth with very little research. Usually, I have an Excel sheet and a day-to-day itinerary every time I travel. Within half-an-hour, we had reached our destination, Kiraly, a central, artsy part of town flanked with cafés, a giant Ferris wheel, and markets selling local goods. The streets were cobbled, the stores were a cozy size with unique offerings, and there were vintage shops around every corner. With the aroma of coffee wafting through the air, we made our way to our fantastic apartment. At a surprisingly affordable price, it allowed us all to share a space but enjoy some quality time with our own selves too. Budapest has a lot to offer to anyone who is looking for good food, excellent local wine, live music, and maybe even a casino. Some of their must-try dishes are Chicken Paprikash, Goulash, Langos or bread with cheese, sour cream and onions, and strudels. A delicious street treat is the chimney cake or funnel cake. Baked on a skewer, you can enjoy this cake with chocolate or cinnamon flavouring. The delicious scent of freshly-baked bread will pull you to these cakes, casting worries of weight-gain to the cinnamon-scented wind. The streets are lined with bakeries, their shelves
The streets were cobbled, the stores were a cozy size with unique offerings, and there were vintage shops round every corner
uninterested. It wasn’t a good use of our limited time, so I wouldn’t recommend it. But we were happy knowing we had floated over a tiny part of the great Danube. You should definitely visit Vaci Utca, but beware of buying anything. The prices there are much higher and the same souvenirs can be found elsewhere, for much cheaper. This was also true for the food there which was average and overpriced. We also visited the Bazaar, which was overflowing with paprika and sausages but unlike bazaars all over the world, shopkeepers refused to haggle, getting annoyed at our audacity to ask for even a five per cent discount. Salesmen even waved us off telling us to go haggle in a bazaar in Istanbul instead. Quite disappointing and a bit embarrassing! Aside from the tough bazaar sellers, the people of Budapest are lovely. They will guide you, struggle to speak in English just to help, and go out of their way to make you feel comfortable and welcome. They will genuinely make your trip worth remembering. Sarah Khan is a writer and blogger. She tweets @sufipanda
Shopkeepers at Vaci Utca refused to haggle, getting annoyed at our audacity to ask for even a five percent discount. SHUTTERSTOCK/PHOTO.UA
adorned with baked pastries full of meat or cheese. They’re decadent, yet, irresistible and you won’t want to share. Kiraly itself has a lot to offer apart from the food. You can explore the Jewish quarter, venture into the church, or stroll along the ornate streets. You can shop at Andrassy Ave, the high-end designer street, which includes a variety of stores, such as Gucci. St Stephen’s Basilica is also a few metres away, and absolutely beautiful to explore. Everything is within walking distance. If you’re feeling adventurous, you can hop onto the Ferris wheel, which is something my family was keen on doing while I chose to sit it out and munch on some more funnel cake. A place worth seeing is the Buda Castle. Just walk cross the chain bridge onto the Buda side and take the teleferik (cable car) up to the breathtaking palace. There’s also a beautiful museum up there, showcasing some contemporary art, as well as the Hungarian greats. You can enjoy the beautiful chilly breeze and wondrous panoramic views from this vantage point. If you visit Budapest, you should take night walks along the Danube, stroll in the beautiful Margarita Park, or roll around on the three-person pedal bikes that are available. It can get a little eerie after sunset, but the beauty and the weather make it all worth it. One of our major regrets was taking a night-time tour 20 cruise. The fog was too dense and the tour guide was quite NOVEMBER 15-21 2015
The delicious scent of freshly-baked bread will pull you to these cakes, casting worries of weight-gain to the cinnamon-scented wind. PHOTO CREDIT: SARAH KHAN
COVER STORY
26 NOVEMBER 15-21 2015
Walking the tightrope The thin line between death penalty and gender-based violence BY ZAHID GISHKORI
DESIGN BY MARYAM RASHID
Kaniza Bibi has been languishing in jail since 1989. According to her relatives, she hasn’t said a word in eight years, since she was admitted to the Punjab Institute of Mental Health (PIMH) in Lahore due to her unstable mental condition. The resident of a small town in Kamlia, a sub-district of Toba Tek Singh, is among 47 women prisoners on death row in Pakistan, which has now made it to the list of the top three executioners in the world. Most of these prisoners are accused of murdering family members or husbands. They have been unable to hire lawyers to plead their cases because of extreme poverty, say interior ministry officials and representatives of civil activist groups. And sooner or later, the Punjab Home Department will hang them
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COVER STORY under the government’s National Action Plan, which was formulated in the aftermath of the brutal Army Public School massacre in Peshawar on December 16 last year. “Kaniza Bibi recognised me but could not speak or hear me. Police not only harassed her, but also brutally tortured her in jail,” alleges Kaniza’s cousin, 25-year-old Parveen Bibi, while speaking to The Express Tribune. Parveen says her mother told her Kaniza was arrested in 1989, before Parveen was born. Kaniza was sentenced to death for murder under Section 302/34 of the Pakistan Penal Code. Not a single member of Kaniza’s immediate family is alive, adds Parveen, claiming that jail authorities issued Kaniza’s black warrant despite her long history of mental illness. She recalls the time when the President of Pakistan at the time, Pervez Musharraf, rejected Kaniza’s plea for mercy. She says the entire village mourned the decision at the time. Around 50 other women had filed for mercy according to the villagers, says Parveen, but none of them were granted clemency. “She (Kaniza) has always maintained her innocence,” says another cousin, 29-year-old Muhammad Munawar, who met Kaniza just before Eid. “Kaniza is almost dead now. Doctors say she suffers from severe schizophrenia.”
Framed? Kaniza was working at one Khan Muhammad’s residence in Kamila as a housemaid when her employer was accused of killing his entire family because he wanted to marry a girl from the same town, Munawar quoted the police as saying. According to the police statement, Khan allegedly killed his five children and his pregnant wife before running away, says Munawar. The police later arrested both Kaniza and Khan. Khan was executed in 2003, while Kaniza, who was sentenced to death for being an accomplice, still maintains her innocence, adds Munawar. Another relative of Kaniza, however, claims the real killers of Khan Muhammad’s family were Mohammad Habib and Allah Yar, who both died of natural causes soon after the brutal murders. Kaniza’s cousin Muhammad Akram, 47, claims Allah Yar had a family dispute with Khan Muhammad and ultimately managed to send him to jail. Akram also alleges that Allah Yar, who was a landlord in the area, was involved in the murder of two other villagers. “Khan Muhammad was innocent. 28 No one can kill their own family members,” he says. NOVEMBER 15-21 2015
States
with most number of
executions
1000+
China 700+ asofSept
Iran
Pakistan 260 SinceDec16, 2014 Kaniza Bibi recognised me but could not speak or hear me. Police not only harassed her, but also brutally tortured her in jail Kaniza’s cousin, 25-year-old Parveen Bibi
Women Death on
Row
pindi
6 1
1
District Jail Sahiwal
Central Jail Rawalpindi
District Jail Jhelum
ore
8
Central Jail Lahore
1
1
Central Jail Central Jail Sahiwal Gujranwala
5
District Jail Sialkot
The data of women on death row has been collected from provincial jail authorities across Pakistan
Other relatives of Kaniza are also of the opinion that both she and Khan Muhammad were framed for murders they did not commit. They say Mohammad Habib and Allah Yar were initially arrested for the offence but managed to obtain their release by bribing the local police and then filing a false police report implicating Khan Muhammad and Kaniza. The police, on the other hand, say there is no record of the case at the Kamila Police Station. Wishing to remain anonymous, police officers on duty said that since the case is two-and-a-half decades old, the file has perhaps been closed and the case gone to superior court. When approached, family members of Mohammad Habib and Allah Yar refused to comment, saying the case has been closed now.
Forced confession? One of the counsels for Kaniza, Justice Project Pakistan’s Namra Gilani says her client’s mental health is deteriorating with each passing day. She adds they are also planning to move a petition to incumbent President Mamnoon Hussain to review the case. Gilani says Kaniza’s health worsened after she was sentenced to death. Jail authorities and paramedics, too, are concerned about Kaniza, she says. “I visited her as her counsel but she is too ill and unable to record her statement. A fresh PIMH report prepared by a medical board also states Kaniza cannot be executed due to her poor mental condition.” Kaniza’s diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia has been confirmed by successive medical boards, claims Gilani. In the report sent to the superintendent of Kot Lakhpat Jail, the PIMH wrote that the patient has lost her ability to understand what is going on around her and is even unable to feed and clothe herself. The medical report also confirmed that Kaniza hasn’t spoken a word in the last eight years, says Gilani. Kaniza’s extended family claims she was tortured while in custody to extract a confession. They say she was tortured so brutally at one stage that she had to be admitted to a hospital. Although Kaniza initially challenged the confession, saying it was involuntary, the court relied on it while handing the death sentence 29 to her and Khan Muhammad. NOVEMBER 15-21 2015
COVER STORY
International concern Another woman prisoner on death row is Aasia Bibi, a Christian accused of blasphemy in 2009 and sentenced to death by a district court judge the following year. Her case has garnered a lot of international attention, with many rights groups flaying Pakistan’s government for failing to protect minorities. The Supreme Court of Pakistan has now decided to hear the appeal of her high-profile case after the Lahore High Court upheld her death sentence last year. Other cases of female inmates on death row are also pending in the Supreme Court. Unlike Aasia, these women have no legal assistance, with no one pleading their cases. Gilani said these women would have won their cases had someone been representing them. “Pakistan’s return to using the death penalty, an inherently cruel and irrevocable form of punishment, has been a tragic setback for human rights in the country,” says Andrew Stroehlein, European Media Director of the Human Rights Watch. Amnesty International’s Press Officer Asia/Pacific, Olof Blomqvist stresses that the government should impose a moratorium on the death penalty with a view to eventually abolish it completely. “Pakistan has gone from being a country that showed real progress on abolishing capital punishment to this year, becoming one the world’s top three executioners — a shameful club no one should aspire to join.” Research Director at Death Penalty Worldwide of the International Human Rights Clinic, Cornell University Law School, Delphine Lourtau fears the death penalty is being used against women as part of gender-based violence. “Many women are sentenced to death after being found guilty of killing a close family member, often their spouse, in a context of physical and emotional abuse. Only rarely, however, do courts recognise genderbased violence as a circumstance that should lead to lighter sentencing. Moreover, women facing the death penalty are often abandoned by their families and, having no wealth of their own in many cases, find themselves without resources and support required to ensure that they receive a fair trial,” she says. The government, however, is adamant the death penalty is the only deterrent in the country. “Both, lifting the moratorium and quick executions, are the need of the hour. We are waging a war against militants who are killing our soldiers, our children, our leaders,” stresses Minister of State for Interior Balighur Rehman. 30 “Hangings have not only discouraged militants, but also NOVEMBER 15-21 2015
bad
1
District Jail Shahpur
5
Central Jail jhang
1
Central Jail Mianwali
tan
13
Women Jail Multan
erabad
1
Hyderabad Women’s Jail
Pakistan’s return to using the death penalty, an inherently cruel and irrevocable form of punishment, has been a tragic setback for human rights in the country Andrew Stroehlein, European Media Director of the Human Rights Watch
remain a source for boosting the morale of our forces. We understand the concern of rights groups, but we believe that in war, execution is the right punishment for terrorists,” he said in response to questions from lawmakers in Parliament recently. Chairperson of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, Zohra Yusuf says they have taken the issue up with the Ministry of Interior. “But no one has listened to us. There are only a few prisoners involved in terrorrelated incidents who have been hanged. Deterrence is very low. We have even protested across the country. Bring the official moratorium back, if abolishment is not possible,” she urges, adding Pakistan should review the cases of individuals for lesser executions. “We wrote to the Ministry of Interior but their response is still awaited.” The representative for Human Rights Watch in Pakistan, Saroop Ijaz, concurs with Yusuf’s argument. He, too, thinks very few of those involved in terror attacks have been hanged. “It is a new low. Instead of making its citizens safer by reforming the criminal justice system to ensure prosecution and conviction of those involved in terrorist attacks, the Pakistan government went on a killing spree after the horrific Peshawar [Army Public School] attack. Only a small percentage of those executed were convicted of offences related to terrorism. And amongst those executed were juveniles and people with disabilities. The Pakistan government needs to reinstate the moratorium on the death penalty and devise and implement legislative and policy measures.” T
rPakhtunkhwa nkhwa
1
Haripur Central Jail
1
Karachi Women’s Jail
chi
etta
1
Qu Quetta Di District Jail
Zahid Gishkori is an Islamabad-based reporter for The Express Tribune. He tweets @ZahidGishkori
31 NOVEMBER 15-21 2015
Engaging
the East
‘Perform(art)ive’ in Philadelphia highlights South Asian performance art TEXT AND PHOTOS BY IMAN SULTAN DESIGN BY ESSA MALIK
Artist Monica Jahan Bose during her performance.
A
Bangladeshi woman unravels a pink sari, which rolls across the room. She flounces the yards-long piece of fabric, imitating the motion of waves and wind in a storm. As the sari unfolds, it sweeps confused spectators who are then forced to hold the garment and join the performance. A Dalit Indian man’s performance is as mesmerising as he changes out of his clothes and puts on a burqa, then changes into a sari, then jeans, then a dress, before stripping bare, rubbing ashes all over himself and shattering the clay jar that holds the incense residue. An African American woman dances on the steps of Drexel University’s Westphal College of Media Arts and Design, with Nas and Damien Marley’s Africa Must Wake Up playing in the background and Pakistani artist Shahzia Sikander’s animat-
Twelve Gates Arts team for perform(art)ive.
Indian artist and lawyer Sumit Baudh. ed artwork of swirling gold curlicues projected overhead onto the building. These were among the acts exhibited in ‘Perform(art)ive’, a performance art festival hosted by Twelve Gates Arts, which took place in October at the Drexel University in Philadelphia. The festival
exhibited South Asian performance art, a medium often dominated by the Western art world, according to co-curator Atif Sheikh. “I had to look for South Asian, non-Western artists and references,” he said, “And there’s so much out there.” Sheikh said he was inspired by the rich political tradition in South Asia that uses public demonstrations to trigger change, emphasising the role of Sufis and malangs. “Anyone can meditate and be a Sufi in the privacy of their homes, but people who choose to go out into the streets and dress up and be noticed are performing,” he said.
Sumit Baudh during his performance.
The festival highlighted several social and political issues like caste oppression, climate change, gender injustice, racism, and queer identities Curators Atif Sheikh and Mir Masud-Elias. NOVEMBER 15-21 2015
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FEATURE The festival highlighted several social and political issues like caste oppression, climate change, gender injustice, racism, and queer identities. In each performance, the artist lived the reality of their art. Monica Jahan Bose’s performance ‘Rising’ used a 216-foot long sari, which she made collaboratively with 12 female cyclone survivors from her village in Bangladesh. “These saris were worn by the women for eight or nine months. They bathed in them, cooked in them, they lived in these saris,” she says. Indian artist and lawyer Sumit Baudh brought a personal angle to his performance, ‘Yo no soy el’ or ‘I am not him’. He said his involvement in various social movements as a gay Dalit man affected his artwork. “There have been times when I’ve been part of those communities, part of those cultures,” he explained, “There have also been times of disassociation. I am part of this, and in some ways I’m not.” He said his work showed the pursuit of identity through denial, and how marginalised people challenge prejudice by asserting, “I am not what you think I am.” “Both Sumit and Monica are lawyers. They actually work and live their art. So activism is a part of who they are,” Sheikh said. Pakistani artist Shahzia 34 Sikander also creates art NOVEMBER 15-21 2015
A screenshot from Qasim Riza Shaheen’s video, Lost Passport. through social relationships, noting a performance piece she did for the Sharjah Biennial II in 2013. She said she worked with an abandoned cinema in the UAE. The guard of the cinema came from Pakistan and had a special connection with the architecture. “He came as a labourer to build the cinema in 1976. It was pretty incredible to come across someone whose entire existence was still linked to this building. As soon as the building is demolished, he would have to go back to Pakistan,” she said. Qasim Riza Shaheen, who was not able to attend the festival, remodeled his ‘Misplaced Memoirs’ into an episodic sound piece. Anonymous performers listened and responded to his intimate love letters while blending into the audience, denoting the often silent and overlooked transience of everyday love affairs. The final performance of the evening was a collaboration between Sikander and
Monica Jahan Bose’s Sari with audience pledges. Danielle Currica, a Guyanese-American dancer. Sikander’s gold silhouettes of Gopi hair were projected onto the building while Currica danced to Africa Must Wake Up. Currica said she’d never heard of Sikander before the festival. “I found out about the performance last week. The first person I got to speak to was Shahzia and it was amazing to sit and talk to her because she was very genuine and open about her background and her work,” she said. Currica said she enjoyed the multiplicity of Sikander’s work.
“The work is able to transform and go through much iteration. It isn’t held to one particular environment,” she said. Sheikh also stated that it was the eclecticism that made the festival successful. “We touched on many contemporary issues with the artists and their caliber has set the bar pretty high for the next exhibition,” he said.
Iman Sultan is a freelance writer and activist based in Philadelphia. She tweets @churayl
PORTFOLIO
Humans of Metro Journeys on public transport can bind people in a strange way TEXT AND PHOTOS BY HUMA CHOUDHARY DESIGN BY SANOBER AHMED
“Do you know my name means beautiful?” Missel is on her way to a park in Saddar, Rawalpindi. “I completed my homework on time this weekend because my parents promised to take me to the park. I haven’t been on the swings in weeks.”
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Public transport journeys can be fascinating. On a short haul to work, school or elsewhere, you meet people from all walks of life and varying sub-cultures, and end up having interesting conversations. Once in a while, you might even forge a new friendship that outlasts the trip.
Nadeem is a sanitation-worker at Islamabad’s PIMS station. “Work keeps me busy since I’m the only cleaning person deployed to this station,” he shares. The 22-year-old lives in a slum in Sector G-7 and walks to work every day.
Sometimes talking isn’t even necessary. Gleaming smiles, pensive faces and telltale wrinkles reveal stories that can keep one riveted throughout the journey. Public transport gives the traveler a quick glance into a city’s spirit and native culture. On a recent visit to Lahore, I hopped on the Metro Bus with a few friends to get to the inner city. I was lucky to have my camera on hand. We got on from the Ghazi Chowk station, crossed Model Town, Gaddafi Stadium, Muhammadan Anglo Oriental College (MAO) College, and got off at the congested District Courts station which was 13 stops away. While on the bus, I struck up conversations with a few people who intrigued me. Considering the fact that they mostly belonged to conservative backgrounds of small towns and villages around Lahore, I was surprised they let me photograph them. Despite some communication barriers, they were more forthcoming and open-minded compared to some people, working corporate jobs and living comfortable lives in the city. When the journey ended, I had already made up my mind to take the same trip around Islamabad upon my return. Photographing and conversing with passengers in Islamabad/Rawalpindi was a completely different experience. The buses were not as crammed as the ones in Lahore, making my task a lot easier. Since it was a weekend, most people on the bus were on their way to public spaces and shopping areas. My Metro experience was shaped by these interesting, warm people and the fact that they were comfortable with sharing bits of their lives with a complete 37 stranger. T NOVEMBER 15-21 2015
PORTFOLIO
Waqas and his wife Nuzhat are on their way to a mall in Islamabad. “My wife is from Peshawar and I haven’t taken her around the city since we got married,” he shares. “Now that our baby boy is one, we’re thinking of visiting a new place every weekend,” he adds.
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Safdar performed his first Hajj this year. “I’m here to visit my family in Rawalpindi and will head back to my village in Punjab tomorrow.” Safdar lives in Sargodha with his wife and three children and works at a hospital as an administrator during the day.
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PORTFOLIO
“I’m going to see my son who was jailed for dealing drugs eight days ago,” says 73-year old Sajda Bibi. Apparently, he had been involved with the drug mafia in Lahore for a decade but didn’t let any such information drop in front of his family. “I’m worried because he has little children and we’re not even sure if he was rightfully accused,” she laments, tears welling up in her eyes.
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Two-month-old Miral was born with a handdisorder and is on her way to a hospital in Islamabad. “My son is hearing-impaired and my other daughter is speech-impaired,” shares Hina, Miral’s mother. “My husband and I have a tough life but we’re willing to do everything it takes to help our children.” Huma Choudhary is an Islamabad-based photographer for The Express Tribune. She tweets @huma_choudhary NOVEMBER 15-21 2015
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DOCUMENTARY
What’s in a name? He Named Me Malala highlights an important subject but without the details her story deserves BY ALLY ADNAN
He Named Me Malala is going to disappoint a lot of people. Supporters of Malala Yousafzai are going to find the documentary shallow and lacking in new and personal information about the teenage activist. Malala’s detractors are going to view it as a revolting exercise in hagiography. The biggest disappointment, however, is going to be that of intelligent moviegoers who, after An Inconvenient Truth, expect more than a tepid, tiresome and shallow film from Davis Guggenheim. The youngest Nobel Prize laureate ever, the confident, brave and ambitious Malala has led a remarkable life. Barely into her teens, Malala started writing a blog about her life under the Taliban, for the BBC, under the pseudonym Gul Makai. Her popularity increased as she became more and more vocal about her support for the education of girls and her disdain for the atrocities committed by the Taliban. The young hero’s brave and tireless advocacy of female education made her the subject of the 2009 New York Times documentary Class Dismissed. Nobel Laureate Desmond Tutu nominated her for the International Children’s Peace Prize in 2011. Malala’s relentless crusade, and the attention it garnered, became a source of annoyance to the Taliban who made an attempt on her life in 2012. She survived the attack which resulted in a tremendous outpouring of support for her. From then on, Malala went on to become one of the world’s most famous and influential teenagers. The facts of Malala’s eventful life are well known all over the world but little, if anything, is known about her personal life. The source of her strength, her core beliefs, her motivation, her inner feelings, the pain and suffering she endured after being shot, and her interpretation of Islam, remain a mystery. The real Malala has always been obscured by a carefully managed public persona. That Guggenheim’s documentary is content with sharing publicly known facts of Malala’s life, and not delving any deeper is He Named Me Malala’s biggest weakness. The story deserves more than the highlycalculated, overly rehearsed and meticulously choreographed puff piece that He Named Me Malala is and should not be. He Named Me Malala is essentially a compilation of carefully selected events from Malala’s life, polished to a perfect shine with what seems to be 42 a singular desire to canonise a young girl whose NOVEMBER 15-21 2015
The director touches on a few topics of interests — her pain and suffering, her Pakistani detractors and the immense presence of her father in her life — but quickly moves on without making g any y attempt to elicit honest answers life, remarkable though it is, is still unfolding. The film is a failed exercise in beatification that leaves a bitter after-taste and raises a number of nagging questions and negative impressions. The weakest segments of the documentary are the interviews conducted by an off-screen Guggenheim. The director touches on a few topics of interests — her pain and suffering, her Pakistani detractors and the immense presence of her father in her life — but quickly moves on without making any attempt to elicit honest answers. His line of questioning is, at best, half-hearted and, at worst, disrespectful. One wonders why he does not treat the young lady, he so obviously reveres, with due seriousness and respect. The finest moments of the film show some glimpses from Malala’s life in Birmingham, which has become home since her assassination attempt. Her playful interactions with her brothers — who steal every scene they appear in — are brilliant. The Nobel Laureate doing card tricks, showing off an autographed copy of her bestselling book, I am Malala, giggling innocently while talking about handsome celebrities, worrying about fitting in with the rest of the girls in school, and arm-wrestling her younger brother are fresh and poignant. The film does offer a provocative and unintentionally negative portrayal of Malala’s father, the controlling, territorial and smug Ziauddin Yousafzai. The odd title of the documentary sets the stage for an unwarranted amount of focus on the father who seems to not only enjoy limelight, attention and money but also controls them with fierce shrewdness. In the worst scene of the film, the director gives Malala an opportunity to refute criticisms of her father and she responds dutifully with a carefully memorised, fastidiously rehearsed and patently artificial answer. Rote and memorisation may work in school but fail when acting. Malala’s relationship with her mother, who is living miserably in England, remains largely unexplored in the film. Malala is never asked if her public stance as an advocate of women’s rights is at odds with the life that her old-fashioned mother has been forced to lead out of Pakistan. Rating: Ally Adnan lives in Dallas and writes about culture, history and the arts. He tweets @allyadnan NOVEMBER 15-21 2015
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A friend indie Me and Earl and the Dying Girl steals the show with the right mix of humour and gravitas BY MOEEZ AHMED
Surfing through IMDB in the hope of finding a light comedy to counter my otherwise dull evening, I came across the indie movie Me and Earl and the Dying Girl. Even though it lacks a star-studded cast or a famous director, and isn’t a part of a popular franchise, it certainly is, in my opinion, one of the best films released this year. The story portrays the message of friendship in a comical and charming way, keeping viewers glued to the screen. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, released in June this year, is an adaption of the 2012 novel of the same name by Jesse Andrews and the directorial debut for Alfonso Gomez-Rejon. The elegant use of dialogue, highly original depiction of characters and a wonderfully crafted script piqued my interest and kept me hooked to the plot, involving the cartoonish antics of the main characters. The supporting characters also added to the theme of the movie superbly, creating a perfect ensemble. The main character, Greg Gaines, played by Thomas Mann, is a senior, gawky, high-school student who has a very lax approach to life and is obsessed with foreign cinema. He spends his days with Earl (Ronald J Cyler), who is his best friend or ‘co-worker’ as he likes to call him. Together they obsess over films and make short, home-made movies inspired by the classics they love watching. Although Earl shows great understanding of situations and the feelings of his friend, he is also just another teenage misfit in the school. 44 Olivia Cooke, playing Rachel, completes NOVEMBER 15-21 2015
this awkward trio. Rachel has been diagnosed with cancer and Greg is guilttripped by his mother into befriending her in her time of need. Nick Offerman, a favorite from ‘Parks and Recreation’, plays Greg’s dad while Connie Britton is the nagging mother. Together, they pull off a quirky yet considerate family. Shaun from The Walking Dead series also makes a cameo as the history teacher. The characters are unique and believable and provide great momentum to the otherwise simple plot. The movie beautifully captures how children make sense of realities such as ‘life’ and ‘death’ and the way they grapple with grave possibilities when facing a serious illness. It also explores relationships like the refreshingly platonic friendship of Greg and Rachel, and the bond between Greg and Earl. Viewers will be surprised by the laughter this movie offers despite the tough emotional situations depicted. The constant stream of witty, insightful jokes makes it easier for the viewer to get comfortable with the characters and be invested in their lives and issues. All in all, the film keeps the story grounded and is backed by a brilliant soundtrack. The sporadic, roughly-made, papier mache animations give it a homely touch and each character’s idiosyncrasies resonate throughout, making the film even more appealing. Premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl is a refreshingly moving film which tugs at your heartstrings and can be enjoyed with the whole family.
Other recent coming of age films A Brilliant Young Mind (2014)
A movie full of drama, raw elements, and a smooth plot, A Brilliant Young Mind is a story of an autistic boy who is learning how to deal with the world around him and the new relationships that come his way. With a great affinity to numbers, Nathan is the intelligent, autistic math prodigy who progresses to the International Mathematics Olympiad. Dope (2015)
Dope follows a group of geeks — Malcolm, Jib and Diggy — in Inglewood, CA. Obsessed with 90s hip-hop culture and living in a neighborhood full of drug-dealers and criminals, these teenagers manage to stay out of trouble. This is until they end up at Dom, a drug-dealer’s nightclub birthday party and wind up with a bag full of drugs. Paper Towns (2015)
After The Fault in Our Stars, John Green’s Paper Towns was met with much anticipation. A quirky movie following the lives of two characters, Quentin and Margo, it has moments which leave the viewers riveted. A little unbelievable and sometimes silly, this movie has the humour and charm to keep your eyes glued to the screen. Rating: Moeez Ahmed has majored in chemical engineering from NUST. He tweets @Moeez_Ahmed
Thawing it out There may be no known cause to a frozen shoulder but it can be cured with the right kind of treatment BY ISHRAT ANSARI | DESIGN BY SANOBER AHMED
F
rozen shoulder (also known as adhesive capsulitis) is a condition characterised by stiffness and pain in the shoulder joint. It occurs when bones, ligaments and tendons that make up the shoulder joint are encased in a capsule of connective tissue. When the capsule becomes inflamed, the shoulder bones are unable to move freely in the joint.
Symptoms Frozen shoulder develops slowly and in three stages: Freezing — any movement of shoulder causes pain, followed by a progressive loss of range of movement. Frozen — pain gets reduced but shoulder becomes stiffer, making it even more difficult to make any movement. Thawing — gradual return of range of movement. The symptoms begin gradually and worsen over time. “Most people aged between 40 and 60 years suffer from this illness and it takes almost 15 to 24 months for complete recovery,” says Dr Syed Imran Ahmed, a physiotherapist and assistant professor at the Institute of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Dow University of Health Sciences. He adds the pain worsens at night and it becomes extremely difficult for patients to even perform simple tasks like changing clothes or taking a shower.
Causes
Prevention
The main cause of the illness is not yet known. According to an estimate, it occurs in around 2% of the general population. “Frozen shoulder is common among patients of diabetes, stroke, postpartum infection and those who have had prolonged immobilisation of their shoulder, for instance after an arm fracture or surgery,” says Resident Medical Officer at Orthopaedic unit, Civil Hospital, Dr Habibullah Memon. Dr Memon refuted the misconception that stress causes frozen shoulder. “It’s a progressive illness as it has a slow onset of pain that increases over time,” he says, adding that men are more prone to the illness. It should be noted that frozen shoulder is not a form of arthritis and other body joints are not affected, stresses Dr Ahmed.
The best way to prevent frozen shoulder is through stretching exercises. “In some cases, nothing can prevent it,” says Dr Memon. However, for Dr Ahmed, the aim of such exercises is to reduce pain, increase extensibility of the capsule of the shoulder joint and improve strength of the rotator of cuff muscles. Warm up properly before exercising to prevent any injury. Your doctor or physiotherapist can give you the precise treatment tailored to your needs.
Treatment According to Dr Ahmed, patients should visit a place where all services, including painkillers, injection and physiotherapy, are available. Its treatment will vary depending on the stage of the condition and the severity of pain and stiffness. In many cases, people recover within 18 months, without undergoing any treatment, he adds. More than 90% patients improve with simple treatments to control pain and mobilise their shoulders. Painkillers reduce pain, while physiotherapy and specific exercises help improve shoulder movement. “Some people are also recommended a steroid injection to relieve the symptoms for several weeks, which is not a permanent solution as the symptoms may return,” says Dr Ahmed. T Ishrat Ansari works on the Karachi desk at The Express Tribune.