Human Rights

In a small city in the municipal limits of Ludhiana district in India May 11 was a big occasion. People including intellectuals gathered to remember perhaps the most outstanding son of the soil—Sa’adat Hasan Manto and indeed the greatest Urdu/Hindustani short story writer of all times. The event was organized by Lekhak Manch Samrala which was attended by …

SUKKUR: As soon as they hear the word or see a transgender, a majority of the people readily start laughing and passing indecent remarks on them. They are treated as aliens as if they are from some other planet. They are taken an object to have fun with. Recently, Sindh Inspector General of Police (IGP) Kaleem Imam visited …

Pretty much every believer is familiar with the saying of the Holy Prophet Hadith: ‘Paradise lies under the feet of mothers.’ Mother’s Day celebrated around the world is to honor all the mothers, whose role is unique and whose love is unending. Around 1870, Julia Ward Howe initiated the call to celebrate Mothers Day in …

Student mental health is a completely neglected area. The lack of facilities in the campuses, poor or no career advice and the uncertain future regarding career prospects is leading to high degrees of anxiety and depression. This is taking high toll . Considering that young boys and girls in the universities are our future, this …

SHIKARPUR: Transperson. When one hears of this word, the image of someone singing, dancing or being used as a sex worker comes to the mind. Who is a transperson in Pakistan? Someone who is tortured verbally, physically and sexually in open places by people; someone who does not get a respectful way of earning due …

Islamabad: At the launch of its flagship annual report, State of Human Rights in 2018, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has noted that, ‘in a year of general elections, it was inevitable perhaps that the progress and observation of human rights issues might be suspended, if not forgotten. The elections themselves were plagued …

Peshawar: Women in a social gathering are carefully listening to the female girl standing in front of them with a mic in her hand. The speaker, in her mid-20s, has a polite tone coupled with energy and confidence in her words. These women are having a gender-based discussion; women empowerment, gender equality, and other women-related …

It was in 1968 that I came to London as part of eight journalists from Commonwealth countries given Commonwealth Press Union Scholarship for mid-age newsmen for training in advance journalism. Our stay here was multi-faceted, very well-choreographed and highly educational. Our group was taken around UK from London to Edinburgh and various places in between …

“Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers” — Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). In Pakistan, we love to give examples of people …

North Waziristan: His face is emotionless, and tone measured. “Don’t release my dad and brother but please take care of the sanctity of our home”. The teenage boy goes ahead explaining his ordeal in the footage. “They come and sit inside our home investigating us and making undue demands that are totally against our culture …