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Past present: The fragile state
History shows that a society can tackle political, religious, and economic crises with an active and intellectual response. Passivity and…
In letter and spirit
Activism is action for change. And if change is to result in progress and not chaos, the process must have…
The first spark
Hilda Saeed recalls the early days of WAF.
It was a routine meeting of the Shirkat Gah Women’s Resource Centre.…
WAF — the beginning
First meeting: September 16, 1981, held at the Shirkatgah office, Karachi.
Attendees: Zohra Yusuf, Hilda Saeed, the late Najma Babar,…
Women in the House
Naziha Syed Ali explores whether the increased presence of women in parliament has had any impact on the life of …
“WAF gave women the courage to stretch their boundaries” — Uzma Noorani, Women Action Forum
Though WAF was born as a result of Zia’s Islamisation, it has evolved to meet different needs and challenges over…
“Women are opposing the Taliban; they’re opposing extremism and violence.” — Anis Haroon (former Chair, NCSW)
“I think WAF’s major achievement has been in mainstreaming women’s issues; be it violence in all its forms, democracy, education,…
“When I chose to become a lawyer I did not face any resistance from my family” — Musarrat Hilali, first woman federal ombudsperson
Ms Musarrat Hilali, a familiar face in the field of human rights, especially women rights, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, was appointed…
“The most important achievement of the women’s movement is raising awareness, particularly regarding discriminatory laws against women, non-Muslims and other marginalised Pakistanis.” — Samina Rahman, Women Action Forum
“A blind girl was gang-raped but was charged under the Hudood laws for zina because she was unable to identify…
“Women-friendly laws have been achieved; now the biggest challenge is to ensure their implementation” — Khawar Mumtaz, chair, NCSW
“The biggest achievement of the women’s movement has been the raising of awareness regarding discriminatory laws, and bringing a lot…
Paying the cost
Ayear is often a long time in most spheres of life and cricket is no exception on that count. The…
Sent to the cleaners
There is nothing more mortifying than being heavily crushed by the opponents in every match of the same Test series.…
