Feedback & Comments
Author : Esteemed Readers
Really enjoyed reading the article on “academic mothers”. Being an academic mother myself, I could relate to most instances discussed. I suggest that when you have taken measures to include researchers from different major cities in India, questions on how they have...
EDITORIAL
Author : Editor's Desk
When Mary Wollstonecraft, the English writer and advocate of women’s equality wrote, ““I do not wish them [women] to have power over men; but over themselves”, she perhaps did not realize how long and complex this journey of self-affirmation would take for women who...
Women’s Freedom After Independence: A Political Lens
Author : Afreen Maniyar
Words like equality, freedom and liberty have become incredibly clichéd and are constantly being reinforced by media and society alike. However, the great profundity of these words is a far cry from how they are being publicized. Women’s equality and freedom seem to...
Hijra: The Journey of Hope and Women’s Role
Author : Rahamathunnissa A
Emigrations are a part and parcel of human history. Great changes in the lives of people are made by emigration throughout centuries. When the month of Muharram marking the beginning of a new year in the Hijra calendar begins, believers start talking about Hijra. The...
COVID 19 Handholding Project
Author : Aura Staff
The years 2020 and 2021 have left horrific imprints on our collective imagination. Visuals of COVID patients gasping for breath, people dying in want of hospital beds and medicines are still afresh and vivid in our memoires. This pandemic brought the life of millions...
Explainer Series: Democracy, Republic and the Nation-State
Author : Arshad Shaikh
We often use terms like strong democracy, weak democracy, ‘too much’ democracy. We know the names of countries such as the Islamic Republic of Iran or the Democratic Republic of Congo. We read terms such as the ‘deep state’ or ‘state sponsored terrorism’. However,...
Friendship Day Special
Author : Sufiya Tazeen
“ Man is influenced by the faith of his friends. Therefore, be careful of whom you befriend. ” – Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) Back in the days of school, friendship day was all about tying friendship bands to close friends. The number of bands on one’s hands decided...
In Restraint,They Found Freedom
Author : Tasneem Ataullah
Today, freedom is perceived as the notion to do anything one wants. This fact can be understood in many ways: for some, freedom is when people have the right to make choices free of bias, when one is granted basic amenities like housing and food or when one is simply...
Celebrating Freedom through Self-Acceptance
Author : Iman Shakeel
“Oh my God! There's a 60% off sale at the big store nearby...Now I can finally buy clothes from there and feel pretty and confident!” This was something that I heard from one of my peers. The question that bothered me a lot after hearing this was, 'Is it essential to...
Being (Muslim) Women
Author : Zainab S Qazi & Amna Mannan
Being women, we are told to keep up with the rigid beauty standards set up by society and are pushed to maintain a certain body image, or we are deemed unappealing, backward or odd. It gets even more complicated when our Muslim identity is adjoined to that of being a...
Azadi by Arundhati Roy
Author : Umama A Talha
“ Does a country fall into fascism the way a person falls in love? Or, more accurately, in hate?” Azadi-آزادی- a word, a feeling, a gesture, an intimate emotion, a soul of revolution, unbounded by language, unconfined by power, a cry of the oppressed and a nightmare...
Ask me Anything – Corona Third Wave: Don’t Panic, Be Alert
Author : Dr. Ayesha Begum
Q. What is the meaning of a wave? A. The term ‘wave’ is used to signify the rising and falling trends of a disease over a long period of time. In India, there were two distinct waves of Covid-19 infections, with the first wave reaching its peak in September last year...
Face to Face with Shibli Arsalan and Abdullah Javed
Author : Aura Staff
"The Joys of Fatherhood: A Conversation"Our society places great emphasis on the value of motherhood and the love and care a mother gives her children. But there is far less emphasis on the role of the father, beyond that of a material 'provider'. Aura spoke to two...
Ihsaan: In Pursuit of Excellence
Author : Sameena Afshan
Excellence is nothing but a continuous effort to be better than what you are. It is all about doing the best you can. Excellence is to appreciate the God-given skills and talents we possess, have a strong passion to pursue them, build the inner strength needed to...
Understanding Allah’s Plans
Author : Firdouse Khan
This universe is mapped out by way of the plans and decisions of Allah SWT that He makes for us. We will try to understand Allah’s plans in this article at 2 levels. • Creation plan. • Human level – at the individual level. Creation plan of Allah To understand this,...
Reflections on Education
Author : Ayesha Syed
“Education is not the learning of the facts, but the training of the mind to think” – Albert EinsteinEducation is the backbone of the country. Without educated individuals, a country cannot prosper. Education serves many purposes and creates individuals who are...
An Ode To My Daughters
Author : A'esha Subhan
If I could turn back the ticking clock,The doors of the past, if I could unlock;Given another chance to parent my flock,I’d reinforce their Faith in “The Lord of The Worlds”,For if you ask, you shall be heard.I’d reiterate the value of constant Prayer,For if you seek,...
Parents: A Source of Mercy
Author : Heba Shakeel Ahmed
All praises are due to Allah, Lord of all the Worlds and the Forgiver and Concealer of our faults. We know that Islam is a religion that stresses the qualities of mercy, tolerance and respect. In the Holy Qur’an, Allah says that you must learn to be respectful to...
Finding Tawakkul
Author : Hiba Farook
Marriage is a beautiful and emotional contract that Allah has decreed upon mankind. Prophet Muhammed (PBUH) encouraged believers to get married if they have the means and it provides a bond and companionship that allows for the building of a healthier society. As long...
Water Scarcity and Women
Author : Tania Nasrin
“Children of a culture born in a water-rich environment, we have never really learned how important water is to us. We understand it, but we do not respect it.”~ William Ashworth IntroductionWomen are always more vulnerable to most of the hazards and crises. The...
CHILDREN’S CORNER
Author : -Saima Sabreen
I seek Freedom from your idea of Freedom
Author : Sumaiya Zareef
I seek Freedom.From the prejudices of how the world percieves me to be,While fulfilling the responsibilities of being a mother, wife, and daughterDo not think that I'm enslaved, nor are these my burdens. I seek freedomFrom the hypocrisy that funds the cosmetic...
The Ethical Responsibility of Media
Author : Shayma S
An old adage goes like this – if person X says it’s raining and if person Y says it’s dry, is the journalists’ job to report both sides equally? Instead, it’s their job to look up at the sky and find out who’s telling the truth. This addresses the debate of neutrality...
