Category: Uncategorized

  • A few links

    Here are some links to my recent work, pulled from various corners of the internet. Writing Why another high profile rape case in India will fail to tackle the root…

  • A few links

    Here are some links to my recent work, pulled from various corners of the internet. Writing Why another high profile rape case in India will fail to tackle the root…

  • Domestic slavery in the UK

    I’ve written a feature for the November issue of the New Internationalist magazine. It looks at the phenomenon of women, sent to the United Kingdom for arranged marriages from India,…

  • The “Islamophobia industry”

    I’ve written a long feature for the New Statesman exploring anti-Muslim prejudice in modern Britain. What do we mean when we use the term “Islamophobia”? Has there really been a…

  • Writing and speaking

    I’ve had a really busy few weeks back in the UK, so thought I would share a few links to some of my recent work. New Statesman Why are we…

  • Tragedy in Peshawar

    On 22 September, a huge bomb attack at a church in Peshawar killed more than 80 people. It was the worst attack on Christians in Pakistan’s history. I wrote a…

  • France’s trouble with headscarves

    I’m back in London, so have been covering some stories outside Pakistan. This weekend, I contributed to the National, the United Arab Emirates’ leading English language newspaper, for the first…

  • The other Guantanamo

    At Bagram prison in Afghanistan, prisoners are kept without charge, trial, or access to a lawyer. On 3 September, I wrote a blog for the New Statesman, The other Guantanamo, asking…

  • Pakistan’s new generation

    My long essay for Aeon Magazine was published this week. Aeon is a digital magazine which publishes one long-form piece every day of the week. There’s a really eclectic and…

  • Recent work

    When the New Statesman said they were running a themed week of posts on “transport”, the idea didn’t instantly grab me, but in the end, I really enjoyed writing this…

  • Recent work

    When the New Statesman said they were running a themed week of posts on “transport”, the idea didn’t instantly grab me, but in the end, I really enjoyed writing this…

  • The Twitter jihadis

    I’ve written a piece in the latest issue of the New Statesman about how banned organisations in Pakistan are increasingly embracing social media. It was an interesting piece to work…

  • The Twitter jihadis

    I’ve written a piece in the latest issue of the New Statesman about how banned organisations in Pakistan are increasingly embracing social media. It was an interesting piece to work…

  • Egypt and Pakistan

    On 3 July, Egypt’s first democratically elected president in six decades, Mohamed Morsi, was ousted in a military coup. One country that has had no shortage of military coups is…

  • Recent speaking

    Earlier this week, I took part in a Google Hangout for the BBC’s World Have Your Say. I’ve appeared on their TV and radio shows before, but this was a…

  • Pakistan’s war on polio workers

    Over the last seven months, nearly 20 polio vaccinators have been shot dead in Pakistan while delivering potentially life-saving immunisations to children. It’s a nihilistic and senseless campaign of violence…

  • “The new suffragettes”

    I co-wrote a profile of Mukhtar Mai, the gang rape victim who became an iconic advocate of women’s rights in Pakistan. The piece is part of the Independent’s “new suffragette”…

  • A historic election

    On Saturday 11 May, Pakistan went to the polls. It was the country’s first ever democratic transtion from one government to another, and many thought it wasn’t going to happen…

  • A historic election

    On Saturday 11 May, Pakistan went to the polls. It was the country’s first ever democratic transtion from one government to another, and many thought it wasn’t going to happen…

  • Minority report

    In the run up to the general election, I wrote a series of reports for the New Statesman about different minority communities in Pakistan and how they were approaching the…

  • Minority report

    In the run up to the general election, I wrote a series of reports for the New Statesman about different minority communities in Pakistan and how they were approaching the…

  • An equal playing field?

    Ahead of the general election, I wrote a feature for the Guardian’s G2 about Pakistan’s female election candidates. While there is a long history of female representation in the subcontinent,…

  • An equal playing field?

    Ahead of the general election, I wrote a feature for the Guardian’s G2 about Pakistan’s female election candidates. While there is a long history of female representation in the subcontinent,…

  • Political violence in Pakistan’s election

    As the 11 May election date approaches, the campaign of violence in Pakistan has increased drastically. I’ve been speaking and writing about the subject. Here are a few links. Pakistan’s…

  • Political violence in Pakistan’s election

    As the 11 May election date approaches, the campaign of violence in Pakistan has increased drastically. I’ve been speaking and writing about the subject. Here are a few links. Pakistan’s…

  • Press freedom in Pakistan

    I contributed a short segment to Monocle 24’s special package on World Press Freedom Day. The podcast is available here. I’m on from about 19 minutes in. Here’s the text…

  • Life after acid attack

    Acid violence is a particularly brutal form of gender-based violence, whereby acid or other corrosive substances are thrown at people – usually women – with the intent of disfiguring. The…

  • Tribal women to stand in electons

    Two women from Waziristan, the militancy plagued northern region of Pakistan, are standing in elections for the first time ever. I’ve reported on the story for the New Statesman. Pakistan’s…

  • Recent opinionating

    Here’s a round up of some of the opinion pieces I’ve been writing recently. New Statesman Manoeuvres and rallies as Pakistan’s election campaign heats up I wrote this piece after…

  • Saving Pakistan

    I wrote a long feature for the March issue of Prospect Magazine. It looks at the shape of militancy in Pakistan – and the efforts being made to counter it.…