Wife inheritance is an affliction that has gripped the African society from eons of time. Widely practiced across the entire continent, it is a tradition where a widow gets inherited by relatives of her late husband. Once thought to be an honorable practice, the custom initially entailed taking care of the widow and her children...
Category: Articles
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Decimating Innocence: Child Marriage in Pakistan
Recently, clerics from Pakistan Islamic Ideology Council termed a bill that increased the girls age of marriage from 16 to 18, as blasphemous & un-Islamic. According to Girls Not Brides representatives in Pakistan; a global partnership of 500+ civil society organizations committed to ending child marriage and enabling girls to fulfill their potential; this bill shouldnt distract...
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Laboring on
Gender equality is the buzzword of the 21th century as is the very real struggle for growth of global economy. Surprisingly though, with such realities in plain sight, half of the population of the world being women are still unable to fully participate in modern economy. That said, those who are in fact involved in...
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Setting the rules for women
A few months after a law was passed in neighboring Uganda to ban women from wearing miniskirts, I sat in a bus keenly listening to a conversation between two elderly women. That was in mid-2014. The topic seemed to have been initiated by the sight of a young lady walking along the street, conspicuously clad...
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Silencing the Lambs: A Look At Domestic Violence in Pakistan
In an incident in Mingora (North Area, Valley of Swat) Pakistan, in May 2001, a woman was allegedly gunned down by her husband over a domestic dispute and then the husband escaped. [Gender Equality And Women Empowerment in Pakistan by Rashida Patel, published by Oxford University Press] **** Bibi Zadagai, wife of Amir Nawaz,...
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The Hera Syndrome
“Why do women hate each other?” An existential question that occurs in the mind of any woman in relation to her social and practical life; even in her participation in civil activities and charity work which is mainly based on altruism and cooperation. A few months ago, I met a lady working in an international...
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For the love of the game?
As women all over the world continue to demand that their voices be heard, the place of women in sports and fitness seems to be lost in a cloud of uncertainty Admit it, at least at one point in your life, whether you succeeded or failed, whether as a fitness neophyte, sports enthusiast, or an...
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Revisiting the second shift
Those already familiar with the concept of the second shift would know that the word revisiting in the title of this essay is actually a misnomer. And to those less familiar or uninitiated, let me introduce you, officially, to Second Shift. But in order to appreciate what the second shift entails, we must know what...
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Empowering Voices of Tomorrow
Children hold key to the future and their positive mental, physical as well as socio-economic nourishment is fundamental not only for healthy societies, but for sustainable development of nations. That said, children are also one of the most vulnerable groups susceptible to man as well as climate inflicted devastation and disasters. Childrens voices need to...
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Perfidy in the blood
As children, we are brought up to believe that the home is a safe haven we share with our parents and siblings, and perhaps even extended family and a few pets; it is a place where we are reared, cared for and protected so we have the opportunity to become the best version of ourselves....