Interview: Justice (retd) Majida Razvi

Interview: Justice (retd) Majida Razvi, the first woman judge to the Sindh High Court Bench in 1994 broke the glass ceiling that had been firmly held by men for 47 years. But that distinction constitutes only a fraction of Razvi’s achievements. Along with her distinguished career as a judge and earlier as an advocate, she has been a tireless activist, writing extensively on legal rights and women’s issues. Her legal career spans over 35 years with the High Courts and later the Supreme Court.

The Good Samaritans: Volunteerism in Pakistan

By Deneb Sumbul There is dearth of volunteerism is Pakistan but, by and large, it is scattered and disorganised. . Last year, in one of the worst heat waves in living memory, 2,000 people died in Karachi due to dehydration and heat stroke in what was a massive civil administration failure. It was civil society – … Continue reading The Good Samaritans: Volunteerism in Pakistan

Mushtaq Chhapra: The Game Changer

By Deneb Sumbul A successful industrialist, Mushtaq Chhapra also epitomises the spirit of social welfare. As the Panama Papers scandal reverberated around the globe, it exposed in its wake the stashed millions of hundreds of Pakistan’s leading business/political figures and of their offspring in an offshore tax haven. That is one end of the spectrum. … Continue reading Mushtaq Chhapra: The Game Changer

Prisoners of Gender

By Deneb Sumbul   “Going by the statistics, each day 12 women suffer rape in the “land of the pure,” according to a statement released by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) on 18 April, 2016. Which means that a rape occurs every two hours in Pakistan. In April 2016, a jirga in the Ghulam … Continue reading Prisoners of Gender

Women of Fire

By Deneb Sumbul To celebrate International Women’s Day, Tehrik-e-Niswan’s conference themed, ‘No More Violence – Women Rising,’ at the Karachi Arts Council on March 8 was attended by a 700-strong, mostly female audience. The women – teachers, students, nurses, midwives, politicians and social activists – came from various parts of the city, dressed in orange. … Continue reading Women of Fire

Scarred Souls

There is little hope for timely justice for victims of acid crimes when provincial governments delay the framing and implementation of laws. It was Eid night, July 18. Raheela Kaziali, a pretty 19-year-old intermediate student from Gulshan Town, had just returned home from the market with her family. She and her brother were trying to open … Continue reading Scarred Souls

Interview: Dr Ghazala Rahman Rafiq

In her highly compact office, Dr. Ghazala Rahman Rafiq, Director of The Sindh Abhyas Academy (SAA), seems to disappear into the shelves, laden with books, looming large behind her. The petite, soft-spoken professor initiated the SAA and introduced the much needed, specialised subject of Sindh Studies in SZABIST in 2012.   Dr. Rahman Rafiq is … Continue reading Interview: Dr Ghazala Rahman Rafiq

WOW-ed Festival Karachi

WOW-ed Festival Karachi By Deneb Sumbul On May 1 this year, Karachi had the distinction of being the first South Asian city to host the Women of the World (WOW) festival, celebrating women. Held at the Beach Luxury Hotel with the support of The British Council and London’s Southbank Centre, the one-day event with free … Continue reading WOW-ed Festival Karachi

Death and Dignity

  This article was originally published in Newsline’s September 2015 issue. Text and photographs by Deneb Sumbul When entering the premises one is immediately struck by the whiteness of the Rahat Kada’s floors and walls and the immaculate uniforms of its nursing staff. Regardless of which locality it has been situated in, its facilities have always maintained the same … Continue reading Death and Dignity

The Tales of 15 Goths

By Deneb Sumbul Working closely with women home-based workers in their homes was one of the most interesting undertakings I’ve ever been a part of, or worked in.  It was Najma Sadeque’s Women’s Economic Empowerment project aiming to help one of the most economically exploited and marginalized women of the female work force in Karachi. … Continue reading The Tales of 15 Goths

Surviving Money and the Financial System

"Surviving Money and the Financial System - and What Women can do about it”  was a series of three-part video presentation prepared specially for the AWID conference in Istanbul in April 2012 on the demystification of money and banking and how they really operate. It was made for an in-depth economic session on how money … Continue reading Surviving Money and the Financial System

Why An Acre for Every Woman – Documentary

This documentary was screened last year in Lahore as part of "An Acre for Every Woman" campaign started by Najma Sadeque under the Green Economics Initiative, Shirkat Gah in 2005. Still not complete, it was  viewed with several of my other documentary-shorts and how-to films on environment and green economics through a women's perspective. I … Continue reading Why An Acre for Every Woman – Documentary

Revolutionary Women at the AWID Forum

The sudden and startling ring of a heavy hand bell reverberating across the massive halls, indicated to a sea of women to make their way towards the massive Halic Auditorium for the opening plenary. About 2200+ women activists from around the world had converged at Istanbul for the four-day international AWID Forum which commenced on … Continue reading Revolutionary Women at the AWID Forum

Realities from the Field with a Gender Specialist

During my travels in the interior, I came across many such women, many I felt were at the bottom of the food chain. Despite numerous efforts for their upliftment, the government hasn’t made much of a dent. Perhaps no one can tell us better than a Gender Specialist who has worked in the field with … Continue reading Realities from the Field with a Gender Specialist

2011 Year of the Forest – Critical for Pakistan – Urdu

Last month I'd uploaded a short by the same name which I'd originally made for a presentation last year. I received several suggestions that it would be a good idea to make it in Urdu as well. So here it is the Urdu version of the presentation "Year of the Forest - Critical for Pakistan." … Continue reading 2011 Year of the Forest – Critical for Pakistan – Urdu

“A People’s Untold History” my feature length documentary

My documentary "A People's Untold History was launched and screened in Lahore on the 2nd December, 2010 at the HRCP Auditorium, hosted by Heinrich Boell Stiftung and Shirkat Gah Green Economics Initiative. "An Untold People's History" is a full-length documentary on the story of the ordinary people of Pakistan and how successive policies impacted on … Continue reading “A People’s Untold History” my feature length documentary

Interview: Zohra Yusuf

“Win or lose, what is important is that you put up a fight” – Zohra Yusuf, Council Member, HRCP Calm and soft-spoken with a will of steel, Zohra Yusuf’s diminutive frame belies a towering soul that has covered immense ground as a journalist, an advertising guru and a human rights defender. In the early 1980s, … Continue reading Interview: Zohra Yusuf

Keeping the Flame Alight

  April 24 of 2016 will bring us to Sabeen Mehmood’s first death anniversary. The brutal murder of the creator/director of T2F – a prominent personality at many forums – left a loss felt deeply by civil society. Uncertainty prevailed after her passing and there was talk of having to close down T2F – one … Continue reading Keeping the Flame Alight