My review of gender justice in 2021 for The News on Sunday. I talk about what went wrong, what must be celebrated and who must we attribute these victories to.
Closing the gap
I’m not going to say Aamir Liaquat’s death isn’t disturbing - but I will say - please do not make him a hero, and please do not start pinning the blame on someone else for his death. He was a grown man, fully aware of, and responsible for his own actions.
Leave granted by the Supreme Court of Pakistan in Meesha Shafi vs The Governor of Punjab to consider whether all women, including students, are covered under Pak's harassment law!
We're very proud today & for Mr. Khwaja Ahmad Hosain for the most brilliant advocacy!
The Assistant Sub-Inspector saying in front of the media that
#ZahirJaffer
"bohot kaabil larka hai ji" should be immediately transferred from the thana or removed from this case. He has indicated a bias and also reflects how police officials are apologists for alleged murderers!
Visiting a Jail in Lahore with my office was a common occurrence. But we were not allowed to visit the blasphemy convicts' cells. during one of these visits in 2017 and after much persistence, I met a woman who suffered from severe schizophrenia & had been charged with blasphemy
Had Asma Jahangir been alive, she would have not only humiliated CCPO on every channel there ever was, but she'd have approached every public office right up until the PMO,every court up until the SC to make sure that the victim & Pakistani women in general were guaranteed safety
Just want to know where Ansar Abbasi is today. I want to know where Khalil ul Rehman Qamar is. I see that video, and I see a Pakistan infiltrated by men who can't tolerate a woman dancing in a biscuit ad but will hide behind their sofas when women are mauled by Pakistani men.
Had to get my CNIC modified today. Certainly enjoyable to see my father's ownership in me being transferred to my husband.
Iss mulk kay PM, idaaron, LEAS kay mutaabiq agar mein kisi ki beti ya biwi nahi to meri koi shanaakht nahi 😞
Had the worst time checking in for my flight at Lahore Airport. Got stopped because the woman at the check-in counter refused to believe I was married since my husband's surname was different from mine. I repeat, women NEED NOT change their names after marriage!
Women retaining the right to divorce clause is NOT synonymous to wanting to break up a marriage later.
The Nikkahnama is a crucial form of security. Let's treat it as that.
Just because you add a termination clause in a contract does not mean you 100% intend to terminate it!!
There are bloggers on Instagram using
#NoorMukkadam
hashtag to promote how they looked on Eid and I refuse to buy from any brand which approaches such bloggers for its PR.
After almost 2 years of marriage, it is clear to me that my husband’s love language is making me watch Shark Tank India during dinner after a long day at work and explaining to me diligently what pre-money and post-money valuation mean.
Just graduated the LLM with an overall Distinction and with a Distinction in my Dissertation Thesis! Supremely thankful to
@cheveningfco
for this opportunity, to my parents and to my mentor Asma Jahangir. I love you and miss you, each and every single day.
It is so unsafe for women to sit on a motorcycle with both legs on one side. Any turbulence can cause them to fall & get into fatal accidents. Saw a woman juggling what seemed liked a new born baby sitting like this today & it genuinely seems dangerous. This should be regulated!
Got engaged this month and got a paper accepted for publication. My father decided to get pizza, gifts etc. and celebrate the latter with much more force. Nazar na lagay meray Pappa ji ko. 🧿🧿
Pakistan's relationship with Gilgit Baltistan is like a guy telling a girl constantly that he loves her but that he cant get into a relationship with her
My husband makes slides for a living. I just asked him to make some for me and he is quoting a fee. A FEE. I cannot believe that someone I married for his Excel and PowerPoint skills has forsaken me that bad.
Any sexual activity with a minor is illegal. Period. Please Moeed, have a research team to draft tweets for you. Your own drafting is tone deaf and makes you look stupid.
While video does not show him "drugged" or being exploited, it also fails to explain if he was in fact abusing the young man. Given new International norms of acceptability for homosexuality real question is if cleric controlled the young man or it was consensual act?
My father frustratingly calling the internet helpline: Jee dekhain mein Imran Khan k ilawa kisi ko gaali nai deta
Helpline guy: sir ye call recorded hai
Papa: Mein kisi se nai darta! Meri beti lawyer hai.....aur ab wo bhi mujhe daant rahi hai k Papa kya kar rahay hain
😭😭😭
My mother was an air hostess decades ago.
The fact that air hostesses have to keep passengers calm -- knowing fully well that the same fate awaits them -- is commendable bravery.
Rest in Peace, Ms Masood.
#PIAPlaneCrash
Rest in Peace, Aqsa Masood. The air hostess of the unlucky flight PK8083. And no, she wasn't elite. She was the resident of Dharampura
#Lahore
.
Thoughts and prayers.
Men getting turned on watching women exercise and then couching their own baygharti as the "woman's bayhayai" just goes to show how deprived moral censorship has made the men of this country.
She wrote these verses over and over again to prove her faith. And it broke my heart. Because beyond the people we already advocate for, are unnamed people who continue to languish in prison because use of this law has only furthered personal vendettas.
One of the first cases Asma Jahangir took me to in 2016 was a case where she was called to court for calling an order bayhooda on television. I was petrified. Swarms of men had crowded the courtroom to chant 'Shame' at Asma.
Got married last week and
@MMusings09
was right. I can't tell if I'm married or if I have a roommate who hogs hours of the toilet and switches off the AC without telling me
I mean I knew things were bad. But bad enough to turn my anti-Aurat March, anti-protest, anti-human rights, pro-military brother into a protestor vowing to show up at Liberty Chowk today??? I never knew.
People celebrating this like some victorious “surprise” by their Skipper is nothing less than ignorance, and a complete contradiction to the very values they think their Khan stands for.
As a lawyer who started off getting Rs 0 as a salary, it was extremely demotivating for me to stay on. I felt mediocre and I didn’t come from money so felt broken. Asma J offered me the respect I deserved as a new lawyer 6 months in and it changed my perspective.
Amma: Mujhe to ab Ali Zafar say ghinn aati hai. Dekho, koi aurat jhootay claim kay peechay adaalton mein iss tarah nahi jaati. Iss kay case mein bilkul sachayi hai.
Bus kaash baaki logon ki bhi ye samhaj hoti, Amma.
Malala haters are usually middle aged men who are so disgusted by their own mediocrity that they spew vitriol in jealously of a young woman doing much more than they could ever think of doing
She had been a principal of a school and the naats she would write had been rephrased, photocopied and distributed by people who wanted the land she had built her school on. Her cells were whitewashed over and over again, because she would write down religious verses on the wall.
Have been dropping hints for my fiancé since November about wanting a Bismah cake for my birthday.
One week to go and I sent the profile to him in his DMs just for good measure and he's left me on read.
Mein kya karoon marr jaoon, meri koi feelingzz nai hain?
The fact that they approached you of all people to represent her shows they trusted you to treat the matter in the woman’s best interest. The fact that you outed her to the world in such a distasteful tweet shows just how much regard you had for her privacy and dignity
"Her parents refused to give her "rishta" for me, and after 3 years, now, I charge Rs. 54 thousand for filling out the dissolution of her marriage through "khula." That’s the tweet.
the only way people are able to spend more time together in Pakistan is when they get married.
This country makes it completely unsafe for people to even date, let alone live together.
Then people will lament how the institution of marriage is being taken so non-seriously.
I think the sweetest thing I saw today was two guys standing right at the back distributing water bottles at the protest. That's how you stfu and not take the space women occupy.
If you see this, please know you both are cutoos
NGL my favourite part about the PTI government is when they decide to schedule excessive power outages in the blistering heat and then focus more on which govt to blame for this crisis 🥰🥰🥰🥰
I've held my peace long enough.
Saba Qamar doing a twirl in Wazir Khan Mosque is not novel. The mosque's administration has consistently lent the mosque for commercial shoots. I have been a frequent visitor since 2013. Kabhi kisi brand ka board, to kabhi kisi brand ki lights.
Regularly ashamed that an English medium education was provided to me at the cost of defaming Urdu as a lesser language. The inability to read/speak Urdu fluently has great implications, especially in legal practice.
A bit late, but I love about Aurat March is that has normalised the conversations people in my family or life wouldn’t even have fathomed having 3 years ago. That’s how change in any society comes about, and this the change we want to see for future generations.
2 issues:
1. Her seniors are at fault by asking her to clarify her position & plead an apology instead of standing firmly by & for her. Hence the threats.
2. Students like these are intolerant bcs they are taught that anyone who says non-Muslims are human,are committing blasphemy
Just learned from a very reliable source that Attock Asst Commissioner Jannat Hussain Nekokara, a very competent officer, 3rd position holder in CSS-2014, winner of President's Gold Medal, & her family facing threats because she spoke about
#Ahmadis
. Govt must ensure her safety
We are living under a regime which has NO regard for its women's safety. Police officials ruthlessly discard complaints, the Prime Minister slut shames them, and every Pakistani man takes validation from the top to brutalize us.
We need a Violence Against Women Emergency NOW!
My Maamu passed away due to COVID today. Growing up we were always in awe of his assertiveness. And we somehow just believed he would cheat death.
Hard to digest that a man as lively as him bid us goodbye with 3 people surrounding him.
the OLMTP was never meant to make profits. Public transport exists to facilitate the public. Actual repayment and revenue are completely absurd to calculate and/or compare with govt. costs.
actual ridership should also never be a deterrent for maximizing public transport use
What a disaster Orange Line Train is for the people of Punjab
Monthly expenditure = 60 Crore
Monthly Revenue = only 7 Crore
Per Year subsidy = ~8 Billion
Repayment per year = 30 Billion
Per Day Ridership
As per Showbaz Feasibility = 255k
Actual = 50-60k
Literally what about the time people were picked up in Vigos, slapped around/went missing and you either a) conveniently ignored its very occurrence or b) your party thought it was propaganda??
My fiancé, born in Karachi but relocates to Lahore when he's one years old:
oMg yOu LaHorIzZ aR3 sUcH tRaSh tHiS iS noT hoW uS kArAchIitEs eAt oUr SaMosSay
Lahori debaters are vile. They are a disgusting boys club. Will sit together, shame women debaters, will crack sexualized jokes at their expense, will be condescending. And most importantly will be gaslighters par excellence.
My fiance and I were playing charades and it was his turn. I'd guessed the first word, 'three'. But then he kept pointing at me to make me guess who I was. After guessing all possible pronouns, I gave up.
Turns out he was trying to make me guess the word 'idiot'. 🤡
I don't know why there is such pressure on women to IMMEDIATELY call out men in cases of sexual harassment. Can you put yourselves in that position and do the same? Can you immediately get over the shock and the power structure you operate in and slap your boss across the face?
Most days I wake up extremely thankful for my husband. He's seen me at my worst, for who I am, for my career choices and what they represent, in sickness & in health - and his love for me has never faltered. My respect for him is renewed every waking day. Thank you
@MuneebNaseem
.
"I ask no favor for my sex. All I ask of our brethren is that they take their feet off our necks."
This quote by
#RuthBaderGinsberg
has always inspired me. Such a loss.
Maligning women who fight for a cause by saying their integrity is compromised is the oldest, dirtiest game in the book.
You did it to Asma Jahangir then & today you're doing it to women like Nighat Dad & Women in Law.
But sadly this doesn't deter them, it makes them stronger.
I have never in my life gotten myself an expensive gift, let alone a birthday gift. All my life spent on budgeting, finding ways to be smart with money (and often failing). Today I got myself an early birthday gift for making it this far in life, and it feels pretty damn good.
So conflicted. I do have a problem with the rave that happened in Hunza just because I feel that people unreasonably exercise their entitlement over the North.
But I also have a problem with white women deciding that they should speak for the community.
Just submitted my LLM dissertation and OH MY GOD, I'M DONE WITH MY MASTERS.
Can't believe it's been 1 year since I came to London, anxious out of my mind, thinking if I could do it. Today, I am humbled and so grateful. This is for my mentor
@Asma_Jahangir
and my parents.
#IDidIt
Travelled alone on the motorway several times at night, often in buses full of men. This time I travelled alone to Isb in a Careem. I was petrified. Called the helpline a 1000 times to ensure my safety. Often times I've wondered how I have nothing but just lucked out.
If there was a video being recorded, it was probably because there was an identified pattern to this Faysal Bank Manager's abuse. And that identified manner had to be put an end to.
Suddenly feeling devastated at what has happened to this country in the span of 24 hours. This is our home, this is a country we want to give our all to. No current politician is worthy of ruling Pakistan or its inimitable and indomitable people.
Let’s also not forget the unspoken practice that most Pakistani law firms don’t issue ANY kind of contracts let alone employment contracts to associates. Presumably treated as independent contractors, most lawyers have zero social security, access to labour benefits etc.
Fully judge women who judge / mock other women for being stay at home women / leaving their careers for whatever reason. Belittling women for the choices they make? Come on sis, do better.
Happy birthday to the woman who was fearless to the world, but just as kind & compassionate towards those she knew & loved.
Today marks 3 years since the last birthday we celebrated with her.
The world is darker without you in it, and we miss you everyday
@Asma_Jahangir
.
90 percent of Hum Kahan Kay Sachay Thay is different angles of Mahira Khan crying and the OST playing in the background. 10 percent is the actual drama.
SABA QAMAR IS NOT THE PROBLEM. If you do have a problem, it is with the mosque admin that allows this and profiteers from it. Not with a woman who is being paid for someone else's venture.
And pissants who are upset about missing their picturesque Nikkah, please sit down.
You can be as educated as you want, you can be as well travelled as possible, you can even be as woke as you like - but all of it is useless if you are unable to challenge the societal bullshit you are fed day in and day out. If you are them, you are complicit. You are vile.
I have a question: is it SO DIFFICULT for us Pakistanis to simply flush before leaving a public toilet? Like what happens when you have to flush? Do your hands break? Do you die?
Are we really going to forget the economy in which young lawyers are getting paid nothing? It is privileged to assume young lawyers should wait it out - not everyone has that choice. And then to be judged by the masses for choosing to ‘go in house akh thoo’ or quit law is unfair.
My past tweet goes out to every Lahori debater I have known minus 2-3. Every single one of you has been disgustingly vile.
I know u will share this tweet in ur little boys club & make fun of me. Its happened before. But just know. No one cares about ur 76 spkr points. Its over.
Found out yesterday that 32 yr old Mohammad Ali Jinnah had, successfully represented Bal Gangadhar Tilak, infamous Indian freedom fighter, in his sedition case in 1916. Tilak was booked under s.124-A IPC and Jinnah had secured an acquittal for him before the Bombay High Court.
The judges in the courtroom were livid.
The presiding judge had said to her, "Aapko lagta hai aap humaari paghriyan uchaal sakti hain?!"
I still remember how calmly Asma responded,
"My Lord, agar aap apni paghri humaray haath mein nahi dein gay tou hum nahi uchaalain gay".
In light of harassment allegations surfacing at LGS 1-A/1, Alumni and current students met with the Director today to present a Charter of Demands requesting robust reforms.
Below is a joint statement by the LGS 1A1 Collective & the school & Charter of Demands presented.
1/
My dad to me on my birthday when I got a 12 am surprise cake: Yaar paagal hogayi ho! Apnay liye 12 bajay cake kyun mangwaya hai?
My dad to my cats on my birthday while putting my birthday hat on their heads: Mein to inki Happy2U karoon ga 31st March ko. Aap Meri bday babies hain
.
@TherapyWorksPak
threatening legal action against people who are legitimately afraid of the quality of therapists you produce, is immature to say the least. You should be ashamed.
I met someone at your org, & can confirm many of your 'therapists' are not fit for accreditation.
It changed my world view on how seniors must treat young lawyers. Yes, salary is key. But other things which Asma J made a priority;
1. Calling a 21 year old inexperienced girl her ‘colleague’; I felt respected.
2. Trusting me to get the job done, not micromanaging.
How many more declarations of faith does one have to sign to prove they are human? Saddening to see Islamabad Bar Association's priorities are this skewed.
Senior lawyers seriously need to set a precedent on client confidentiality and legal ethics for young lawyers. Senior lawyers’ exacerbated use of social media to discuss their cases has blurred the lines on what one can and cannot share about their clients.
In 2021 I realize that there is a new breed of adult lahori female bullies: the same women who were bullies in school but now power charged with mental health as a weapon 💕💕💕
Yrs of convincing parents to let me travel for work, to be in public spaces. Now every single time I try arguing that I can ensure my safety, I'll know I have no ground. Because the State has visibly forsaken me.
And that's why I'm protesting this Saturday.
#RemoveCCPOLahore