Ruling from the Grave: Colonial Impact on Gender Fluidity in South Asia

Hijra. Khwajasaara. Transgender. The label may evolve but the harsh reality of discrimination remains the same. With a past and present plagued with discrimination and violence, and an uncertain future, the transgender community of South Asia trudges forward to reclaim...

Madrasas to the Aid!

  “We call them Black crows. The girls who wear hijabs.” says 19 year Tina Razimi in an Al Jazeera documentary. She is talking about the girls who attend madrasas, the religious schools in Kunduz, a city that was once a...

Education, violence, and the White Ribbon Oath

Anyone can be subject to violence that deeply impacts their life and ability to function in society. However, approaches to ending violence in education often focus solely or majorly on violence against women and girls. There are of course extremely...

Women: A Tool for Economic Progress?

Recently, I came across this headline “Do you know how much money India is losing because of lack of gender parity?” This article essentially focused on the economic aspects of how gender parity would benefit the overall economic growth and...

The Science of Marriage

  The most popular career choice for women in Pakistan is undoubtedly is to pursue medicine. Being a doctor is a conscious career choice women make and girls have consistently out-performed boys when it comes to pre-medical board exams. This...

Rooting for Female Teachers!

Most affluent families in India send their children to private schools. These schools, especially in urban cities, mirror schools of the developed countries; there are more women teachers than men especially in the primary years.  It seems logical! Teaching has...

Skipping School – Can’t Buy Class

I doubt anyone would disagree with the statement that education is important and often creates a means of improving ones stature in life. If that is the case, how come so many boys and girls around the world are not...

A reality check

My early morning shot of coffee today was Emma Watson’s poignant short film about Gender Equality, ‘Hurdles’. Short, inspiring, a rise and shine kind of story! The kind that makes you believe in justice and equality, a conviction that we...