Saima Sher Fazal

--------------------------------------------------------- "In the twenty-first century, observes Joseph Nye, Harvard professor and coiner of the term “soft power”, conflicts will be less about whose army wins than whose story wins. " This statement is taken from a research report by the Legatum Institute (an independent think tank) published in 2015. Link for the report is shared in the comments. Stories are spun by spin doctors. Words set in patterns create a cloak. A cloak of deception shrouding the truth. The report dicusses how those with power are “reinevnting our understanding of war” without firing a shot. The recent showdown between the TLP and the government and its coverage in the mainstream and alternate media brought home this realisation that much of what is called oppression is spun and percieved to keep the fear alive. As long as the fear lives, shots dont need to be fired. People are driven to self destruction out of fear and the war has already been won. To r...

When the Prophet Ibrahim AS questioned the validity of his fathers Gods he set a sunnah for all those who follow to question temporality. It’s this very temporality of cultures that make it very logical to question their spiritual utility. I coined this term to pun on the utilitarian culture capitalism breeds. The capitalist wand does magic when it reduces spirituality to a means of display and economic utility. A prime example of this magic can be seen in the western version of Christmas sales and decorations. Christians all over the world celebrate Christmas but the culture of celebrating spiritual happiness through increased economic activity is a special gift from Europe and the USA. The Middle East caught on to the trend set by these demigods of economy long ago and attached spirituality, celebration and happiness to Special Eid and Welcome Ramadan sales. It can be debated wether attaching economic activity to religiosity and religious rituals increases or decreases their spiri...

  ----------------------------------------------------------------- Early mornings in Lahore nowadays are quite. Silence speaks volumes amidst fear and death. Yet the whispers of the morning breeze kindle hope and life anew. Change a dimension of nature. So natural! So true! I love my morning walks. There is so much to learn from the voices we cannot hear inside our insulated houses, apartments and offices while making decisions about how to control and how to change. Nature shows us daily how its done. Change occurs outside control. We tend to take control. Nature teaches us to let go. Those who let go become a part of the whole. The whole will always have more power than the part. The flower beds, the rows and rows of green bushes opposite Jinnah Hospital, the big and small trees running along the length of the canal, the stagnated muddy water. The crows and eagles, the birds and squirrels. Everyone and everything has a voice and their conversations, a message. Its the message i...

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Over time I have learned how the Islamist and the Islamic narrative differ from each other. The reason its very important for the Pakistani intellectual elite to not ignore the difference anymore is because the harder it gets to sift the real from the false the harder it will get for the Pakistani Muslims to claim any contributive space globally. Be it moral, economic or social. Lets start from 'rights' as that still is and has always been a much debated and manipulated tool to validate international aid for Pakistan. Tracing the roots of international human rights movement, it becomes quite apparent that this organised movement was a consequence of changing power structures riddled with conflict and power struggle. Power changed its shape in the nineteenth century so did oppression. An apparent shift from absolutist forms of governance towards more...

( these are merely self researched musings) ————————————————————— “A key element is recognizing the limit of one’s knowledge or ability and then figuring out how to expand that knowledge or extend the ability. Those who know their strengths and weaknesses in these areas will be more likely to “actively monitor their learning strategies and resources and assess their readiness for particular tasks and performances” (Bransford, Brown, & Cocking, p. 67). I read this in an article and it stated that meta cognitive processes ( Metacognition includes a critical awareness of a) one’s thinking and learning and b) oneself as a thinker and learner) enable people to realise the limitations of their knowledge or ability and then expand upon it. This got me thinking on how often do we think about how we think and whether thinking faithfully would differ from thinking faithlessly. Which of course led my mind to wander through all the fiqhi debates I had read on different topics of my faith Isla...

  What she is not; when ‘WE’ define ‘HER’!!! —————————————————————— -The Pakistani woman is not a mystery waiting to be solved. -She’s not in need of being saved by the clutches of a villain. -Nor is she a person who would dance before taking a bite from a cookie. (It’s way easier to eat a cookie without having to dance a full song) -She is not a label which needs to be marketed. -She does not wear the veil or the hijab to show dependency or fear. Her veil and hijab are a symbol of her relationship with her creator. -She is not a robot that can be modelled according to people’s whims. -She is NOT a slave to anyone but Allah subhana wa Tallah. So quit trying to create moulds for her. Allah created her in the best of moulds and that is the most liberating feeling ever. Saima Sher Fazal

  —————————————————————— What else can be more confusing than seeing a soap brand which uses beautiful women in bathtubs and satins to sell their product, awarding strong women for their leading and strong roles in different areas of life. I just saw a clip of Hum Lux awards for strong women. Now I know the whole thought behind the effort sounds promising but what about the reality. None of these women themselves would ever endorse such ridiculous and degrading use of female bodies. Why is lux always supporting a specific kind of femininity in its ads. Please have a look at your ads again and reflect if they depict a woman of strength or sex appeal. What would a layman see? It’s even against Pakistan’s law to show women in such degrading ways. Are you promoting a specific kind of beauty? Are you saying that luxury is associated with a woman’s body? Are you ??? None of these leadership awards will ever impress me unless these people learn to respect women for being respectable huma...