Feature Articles
On the Frontlines: Policing A City Under Lockdown
“When I joined Punjab police I swore that I would lay my life for the country and we (police officials) must be ready to do our duty anytime, anywhere.”
On The Frontlines: Sanitary Workers
With the lockdown, people have been pushed back inside their homes. No one wants to risk being outdoors, for fear of contracting the Coronavirus....
“Sajid Baloch: In Terra Incognita?”
Journalist Sajid Hussain Baloch suddenly vanished from a Swedish city, without leaving any trace behind him. While his family is deeply concerned, there are absolutely no suspects at present,...
Against My Will, In The Land Of Pure
Yazman Mandi a gateway to the great desert of Cholistan, was a scene of kidnapping of a young girl. A pretty 15-year-old Hindu girl, Bhambo Mai was kidnapped and...
Axed to Death
Three women killed for honour in 24 hours in Khairpur
By Xari Jalil
Four year old Sohnan seems to have retracted into her shell as she watches people pass by, busy...
Whose Body, Whose Will?
By Xari Jalil
With the Corona virus (COVID-19) making the headlines this week, Aurat March that took place only last week, seems to have faded away into the background,...
قبر میں بھی ماں نے شیر خوار بچے کو سینے سے لگا کے رکھا
غیرت کے نام پر اکیس سالہ لڑکی اور ایک ماہ کا بچہ قتل
کوٹ ادو کی رہائشی صغری بی بی اپنے ایک ماہ کے پوتے حسین علی کے کپڑے آج...
A Girl Has Died, and No One Cares
By Xari Jalil
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LK-4KMbOu_A
LAHORE: For Afshan Latif, the death of Iqra Kainat came as a grim foreboding at least twice before.
It was after the whole Kashana sexual abuse case had...
Free To Be: Do Women Feel Safe In Public Spaces?
When Sana* bought tickets for the recently held Solis Festival in Islamabad, she had no idea what she would end up encountering. From being groped, to having her cell...
Rare Glimpse Into the Kashmir Valley
16 years ago, in October of 2004 the Congress government in India and General Musharraf who ruled Pakistan at the time decided to open their side of Kashmir to...
Will the Zainab Alert Bill 2019 Champion the Basic Rights of Children?
It was not until after the second anniversary of Zainab Ansari's rape and murder that the National Assembly finally passed a child protection bill to ensure the basic rights of...
Faulty Policy at the Core of Pakistan’s Medicine Crisis
Since a few days, Pakistan has been hit with a sudden and acute shortage of 60 essential medicines - some of them life-saving.
Hospitals, especially the Out Patient Department (OPD)...
In the Name of Faith
KARACHI: Nagina Bibi cannot sleep properly, not knowing where her little girl is. Huma Younus, 14, a student of the eighth grade was abducted on October 10, 2019, and...
Women’s Right of Inheritance: Patriarchy Still a Hindrance
LAHORE: When Rang Elahi – a landlord based in Lahore passed away in June 1990 - it was discovered that he had not made any will about the distribution...
Will the Zainab Alert Bill 2019 Protect Pakistan’s Children?
It was not until after the second anniversary of Zainab Ansari's rape and murder that the National Assembly finally passed a Child Protection Bill. The Zainab Alert, Response and Recovery...
Will Pakistan Remain Neutral in the US-Iran Tensions?
The escalating tensions between Iran and the United States have raised serious concerns globally. After pulling back from the brink of war, leaders in the United States and Iran...
The Brave Heroes of 2019 – Pakistan and India’s Students March for Rights
In India, massive crowds of young people took to the streets to join protest against their Government’s controversial Citizenship Amendment Act, which grants citizenship on the basis of religion...
Pakistan’s “Sewper Heroes” – How Sanitation Workers are Fighting Back Against Prejudice
In June 2017, Irfan Masih, a sanitary supervisor from Umerkot went down the sewer only to choke on poisonous gases, and faint. Doctors at the Umerkot Civil Hospital refused...
PIC Clash – An In-Depth Story
December 13th, Lahore: At the Lahore High Court lawyers chanted slogans against the PTI government. The media had been banned from court premises – lawyers were livid over coverage...
Justice Qazi Faez Isa’s Case Revealed the Underbelly of Dirty Surveillance Tactics
Background
Pakistan has a history of covert operations carried against governments, politicians, activists and even common citizens. In 1998, the Supreme Court held that covert surveillance of judges and information...
Blood, Sweat & Tears: The Plight of Bonded Labourers in Pakistan
Village near Manga Mandi: Rows of green bricks are laid out early in the morning, the workers toiling away in the biting cold since daybreak. Their bent bodies and twisted...
“They Forced Me Down, All I Did Was Pray”: the story of a rape survivor
LAHORE: It was four in the evening when 15 year old Maria Jalal, was alone at home, and she heard a knock at the door. Making her way to...
The Attack on Dawn is More Complex than it Appears
ISLAMABAD: It was the second time this week, on Friday, when journalists at the Dawn Islamabad office found themselves stranded inside their office building. Outside, an unruly mob chanted...
The Young Of Pakistan March With A Conscience
By Asra Haque and Ayesha Nazar
Let down by successive democratic governments and banned by military dictatorships for over 35 years, the students of Pakistan came out on the streets,...
DEMAND FOR STUDENT RIGHTS ECHOES ACROSS THE NATION AS PAKISTAN’S YOUTH TAKE TO THE STREETS
ISLAMABAD: Hundreds of students from 20 different student organizations, under the umbrella of the Student Action Committee, gathered at the National Press Club on Friday to march towards Islamabad’s...
The Bold and the Young: Marching for their rights
In the season of right wing, all-men politics, a video of a young woman enthusiastically singing a famous poem written against the British Raj at the Faiz Festival 2019 became viral....
Children of the Kiln
LAHORE: Twelve year old Shehroon Riaz wants to run away from the brick kiln. It is where he is destined to work, just like his father.
Smog – A Human Rights Issue
LAHORE: When Afshan Bibi, a resident of Lahore’s Chungi Amar Sadhu - a factory area – had her child, she was alarmed to see how underweight he was. The...
When Brute Force Attacks
By Xari Jalil
LAHORE: “These people should be taught such a lesson that they never do this to any woman ever again,” says Amrit Shahzadi. Her voice is heavy with...