Now this is pretty depressing. Pakistan finally moves to overturn the atrocious anti-woman Hudood ordinances, under which women are punished for “adultery” if they report a rape. The Islamist opposition links backlash against this long-belated bit of progress with (legitimate)… Read morePakistan: rape laws challenged, Islamists exploit backlash
Freedom’s on the march in the USA’s closest South Asian ally. From the New York Times, Oct. 14: KABIRWALA, Pakistan — Pursuing justice is not easy for a woman in Pakistan, not if the crime is rape. Ghazala Shaheen knows…. Read moreVendetta rapes persist in Pakistan
Freedom’s on the march in the USA’s closest South Asian ally. From the UK’s Independent, Sept. 12, via Common Dreams: In a setback for women’s rights in Pakistan, the ruling party in Islamabad has caved in to religious conservatives by… Read morePakistan: Musharraf caves in on rape law reform
From AndhraVision.com, Sept. 11: Satyagraha movement completes 100 years A hundred years ago today, Mahatma Gandhi launched the historic Satyagraha movement in South Africa to fight racism and colonial oppression in that country. Later, he used the same principles of non… Read moreGandhians remember September 11… 1906
From the Sept. 9 New York Times, buried at the bottom of page 4 (below a much larger “profile” piece on a New Age self-help book written by Slovenia’s president). Links added. Explosions Hit Indian Mosque, Stoking Fear of Further Violence NEW… Read moreTerror blasts at Indian mosque
From India’s Zee News, Sept. 5: Baluchistan on strike over tribal chief’s killing QUETTA — Parts of the troubled southwest Pakistani province of Baluchistan were paralysed today by a strike called by opposition parties to protest the killing of a… Read moreGeneral strike shuts down Baluchistan
A big step closer to the destabilization of Pakistan. From Reuters, Aug. 29: QUETTA, Pakistan – Security forces and gunmen clashed on Tuesday in Pakistan’s Baluchistan province after prayers for a slain rebel leader and one policeman was killed, while… Read moreBaluchistan explodes
This report from India’s northeastern Bihar state is analogous to situations we have noted in Colombia. Caught bewteen the government and guerillas, self-governing peasant communities are finding a voice of their own via village-based radio. From the Christian Science Monitor,… Read moreGrassroots radio empowers India’s peasants
Hard to say if this is more bizarre or terrifying. Talk about the banality of evil. What about the evil of banality? From Reuters, Aug. 21: MUMBAI, India – A new restaurant in India’s financial hub, named after Adolf Hitler… Read moreIndia’s Jews protest Hitler-themed restaurant
India’s pro-secular website “Citizens for Justice and Peace” carries the following story on a July 27 fatwa jointly issued by a Muslim mufti (revered scholar) and a Hindu mahant (temple leader) in response to the Mumbai bombings. Chief Mufti issues… Read moreIndia: Muslim moderates declare jihad on terrorism
What a conundrum. The Pakistani state has long cultivated Lashkar-e-Taiba to make trouble in India-controlled Kashmir. But now it seems to have gotten out of control, and Islamabad, under pressure from Washington, has been induced to crack down. Yet every… Read morePakistan: Lashkar leader under house arrest
Note the highlighted section and sound off, readers. From the CBC, July 14: Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said Friday that Pakistan is still harbouring “terrorist elements,” jeopardizing the peace process between the two countries as tensions remain high in… Read morePakistan’s ISI behind Mumbai terror?
