Posts tagged pakistan.
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Prayers for Pakistan
Taliban is winning. They have successfully caused havoc across the country; before the May 11th elections they are trying to destroy the very foundations of the country by bombing key locations and political offices. The political parties are fighting amongst one another and we stand divided. Divided, as the country falls to ruin.
Malala Yousafzai, in a 2011 interview with CNN, discussing her activism on behalf of girls seeking education in Pakistan.
I’m bringing this back because this morning it was announced that Malala Yousafzai has been officially nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.
Congratulations, princess.
God Bless her. God bless her so much. With God’s grace she will recover and I have a strong feeling she will return to Swat Valley and continue her fight.
The media may not show it - but Pakistan’s frustration rises as the inner clash of extremist vs. liberal ideology comes to the very forefront of Pakistani society and threatens to rip the very foundations of the nation. The people are tired of a corrupt regime who themselves may not have policies that are similar to the Taliban, but their reluctance to remove the Taliban threat leads to the erosion of Pakistani culture and severe exploitation of those below the poverty live.
Malala’s story represents the stories of hundreds of children who have been demonized by the crimes of religious zealots - and I have little else but faith that the light of souls like Malala will lead to the eradication or at least alienation of extremist ideology.
A rickshaw driver, his vehicle adorned with a message of peace, makes his way through the slums of Karachi, Pakistan.
Malala Yousafzai, in a 2011 interview with CNN, discussing her activism on behalf of girls seeking education in Pakistan.
Pakistan’s children
Saira Liaquat, 22 yrs, burn victim and survivor, holding an old photograph of herself before she was burned with acid by her husband. There are presently over 300 cases of burn victims registered in Pakistan. Most victims are between the ages of 14 - 25 years old.
Pakistan International Airlines Advertisement
Oct. 12, 2012. Private school students pray for the good health of Malala Yousafzai in Karachi. Malala, who has been honored by the government with the National Peace Award, was injured along with two other girls when Taliban gunmen shot her while she was on her way home from school.
Prayers for Malala Yousafzai
Today, a 14 year-old heroine was gunned down by Taliban militants who attacked her on her way to school.
Malala Yousafzai, the 14 year old who rose up to defend her home - the beautiful Swat Valley in northern Pakistan.
Malala Yousafzai, a 14 year old who is now in critical condition.
Ya Allah, you tell us never to lose hope, but how can I not? When we face such barbaric enemies, how can we win? They care not for children, they care not for women, they care not for the sanctity of life. They have spat in every which direction, desecrated your disciples, and have left the Earth soaking with blood.
This is not Islam. This is not Pakistan.
The soil I was born upon cries out for justice - The valleys, the rivers, the mountains call out for justice.
All I can ask, is where was I when the bullets were fired?
Why did I not stop them? Indeed her life is worth much more than mine….
“ We did not know that America existed. We did not know what its geographical location was, how its government operated, what its government was like, until America invaded Iraq and Afghanistan. … We have become victims of Americans. We don’t know how they treat their citizens or anything about them. All we know is that they used to support us, and now they don’t. … We know that the consequences of drone strikes are extremely harsh. Our children, our wives now that our breadwinners — when they go out to earn a livelihood, they might not come back, and life may become very miserable for them in the years to come. … Now we are always awaiting a drone attack and we know it’s certain and it’s eventual and it will strike us, and we’re just waiting to hear whose house it will strike — our relatives’, our neighbors’, or us. We do not know. We’re just always in fear.
— a Pakistani elder interviewed in February for Living Under Drones: Death, Injury and Trauma to Civilians from U.S. Drone Practices in Pakistan, a report prepared by Stanford and NYU. (via washingtonpoststyle)
‘‘Each of these cultural change-makers has nudged the nation forward, and while they may be only a few out of legions of unsung heroes, this makes them no less heroic.’ VOGUE salutes eight Pakistani women for breaking stereotypes with their resilience and ‘true grit.’
And I love this even more considering how all of them are in Pakistan at the moment working on issues pertinent to the country. Meesha Shafi is a well-known figure in the entertainment industry (listen to her sing in Coke Studio), Zeb and Haniya have won Pakistan’s collective heart with their innovative music style in Urdu, Pashto and Farsi (listen to them here), Sherbano Taseer is the daughter of the assassinated Salman Taseer and continues to speak bravely about human rights issues in Pakistan, Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy remains a prominent voice on women rights issues in Pakistan and has fearlessly documented Taliban tactics in the region, Sarah Belal is a human rights activist and lawyer, Aysha Raja is a great entrepreneur and radio jockey, Huma Mulji remains ever efficient with her artistic prowess over design who once correctly said: “Pakistan puts no restrictions on me, no more than anywhere else. Every country has its own censorship. Here, it is self-imposed.” Saba Gul is a social activist and architect and works in rural areas with young women for economic and social change.
And the best part? There are thousands, not documented in this issue, just like them waiting to share their success story and contribution to Pakistan as Pakistani women.
Baluchistan, Pakistan
Baluchistan, Pakistan.
Female rickshaw driver in Lahore, she drives a rickshaw in order to support her family.
