Your honor she is not a virgin!!!
Posted on November 17, 2008 //
Muslims all over the world are part of the grand victem mentality. Although a lot of sinister stuff does happen to and around us we tend to raise a hue and cry at anything seen as remotely challenging what we consider normal. This is why we do not fit in anywhere as immigrants, regardless of what any of us keep telling one another, we tend to alienate the very society we are settled in. Consider for example this latest gaffe in France where a muslim couple had their marriage annulled because the girl turned out to be “not virgin”
Apparently the husband an engineer (can we get more cliche) got married to his bride who was a trainee nurse in 2006 because she assured him she had never had a boyfriend (lol). Upon discovering the grapes have been trampled the husband filed a case for annulment in a french court which granted it based on the french law of misrepresentation during marriage which allows this if “an essential quality” of a relationship has been lied about.
However french civil and woman’s rights groups raised a huge ruckus upon this judgment against the emancipation of french women and now the court has overturned its previous ruling. Now can someone please explain to me why a Muslim couple has to go through such ridiculous proceedings in this day and age to settle their ahem differences? I can only imagine if this was applied to our Pakistani society, oh but wait we do not bother with courts here we just feed the non virgins to the dogs. Plus why does the woman have to be a virgin, shouldn’t such a stipulation apply to both sexes, hello gender equality? hello?
If this was not enough the couple is upset now, having accepted the judgment and moved on with their lives they are finding it very hard to understand why they are still married. This is not the only remote incident however, we Muslims tend to routinely indulge in bizarre pushing the societies envelope sort of behaviour and then sit and whine when we are judged.
If the said case would have been overlooked after the first judgment it would have effectively provided a legal precedent for any man to reject a woman in France based on her virginity. Just one small step towards the Khilafat dream but hey every move counts. I think we should introduce this into the tea trolly discussion as well while stroking each others beards, imagine that!!
Boys parents : Umar kia hay in ki….
Girl : Ji 22 sal
Boys parents: Aur parhi kitni hay aap
Girl: Ji M.A kia hay
Boys parents : Acha aur inho ne kabhi kisi mard ke saath ummm..you know kisi mard ke saath errr
Girl : …. …
Boys parents : Sharmao nahi beta bata do.. koi baat nahi
Shoaib Akhter dancing away his talent?
Posted on November 16, 2008 //
Nothing makes me sicker than this guy, i think he should stick to dancing as they do not do drug tests before that atleast. What a fucking waste of talent.
Video posted by Tazeen
Best cricket catch ever taken!
Posted on November 15, 2008 //
I think this is it…. Jonty has been topped finally… Kemp just pulled off the impossible in an ICL match between the Lahore Badshahs and Hyderabad. Look at Inzi’s face, Alu is aghast!!! To top it all of the batsman was so shocked he would not leave the pitch!!!
Change hits the first snag
Posted on November 15, 2008 //
I have in the past spoken about the serious need for any new president elect in the U.S to take a good long look at foreign policy review, specially where their Israeli friends are concerned. It seems though that Obama the symbol of new found hope has stumbled on his first appointment by giving the job of his chief of staff to Rahm Emanuel.
Mr Emanuel although a fighter for democrats over some time does not have the cleanest of reps where people of other colors or lets just say descents are concerned. How could he? His father Benjamin Emanuel a staunch Israeli radical said the following when asked about his sons white house appointment.
He said: “Obviously he’ll influence the president to be pro-Israel. Why wouldn’t he? What is he, an Arab? He’s not going to be mopping floors at the White House.”BBC
Although Mr Emanuel has apologized and promised to meet the “very concerned” Arab American representative bodies at a “appropriate time” in the future he cannot soften the blow that has just been dealt to the diversity of Obama’s office. Change is about new things not a rehash of old hatred!
So whats next Hillary as secretary of state?
Phoenix in green
Posted on November 12, 2008 //
Well just as i had swept ODI cricket and specially Pak cricket under the rug of ancient “feel good” memories, the first match of the fortune cup in Abu Dhabi between Pak & WI turns out to be a smasher and a half. Lets face it Pakistan cricket has not seen a lot of errr cricket in the last few months.
First we had a team or two back out from the Champions trophy scheduled to be held in Pakistan, which eventually go delayed and then canceled. We did host a couple of series against the Zims and Bangla but even if we try to be polite we cannot exactly term those challenging. Off course Pakistan cricket being the weird and unpredictable place that it is went through a myriad of changes, Shoaib banned, unbanned (again), PCB chairman Naseem Ashraf resigns, team manager resigns, coach is kicked out everything is suddenly up for grabs from the national selection committee to the academy coaching position and blah blah. In the middle of all this the “boyz” as Alu used to call them are busy playing the pentangular cup (domestic competition) and this to my mind is what made the difference today.
West Indies came into this match slightly over confident due to their recent fame and fortune against England in the 20 20 Stanford cup and a good run of form of late. Pakistan on the other hand came into the match with a status that is I think permanent now “underdogs” again. When the Windies got off to a flier of a start ala Gayle force what with the speed merchant (pun intended) being “unfit” again I thought it was curtains. However Gul and Tanveer pulled things back nicely to end the Windies innings at 294, sizable yes, unachievable? Well let’s see.
I thought the new opener Khurram Manzoor was deft where Salman Butt was slow, he cut & stroked as Butt labored to get anything to the rope and he as a result made a brilliant 69. Obviously the Pak team had nowhere to go but all out with guns blazing as the RR required was like 8 from the first over. After Misbah disappointed Younis khan and Shoaib Malik gelled well to secure Pakistan into a position of attack. Younis paid the price of being bogged down but not before a good 56 off 62, Afridi came and went like he has for the last bloody year (why is he still here?) and it all went down to some excellent death bowling by Gayle and co to setup 17 runs to get by Pak in 6 balls.
Usually its at this moment that one of our players spears it up in the air and our chins droop but this time a slice came and the damn ball sailed out of the park, not once but TWICE and my mouth was open…staring in surprise at an unimaginable victory. How bad Gayle would be feeling right now for the no ball he bowled Kamran Akmal off in the 2nd last over I do not know. All I know is that Pakistan has proven once more that even though its team is termed as highly doubtful it can never be completely written off!! Even when the fat lady sings, or in this case does the bhangra. We may be starved of cricket folks but we certainly have a full stomach of talent, Moyo you bitch are you reading this?? We won yes, without your sorry ass!!!!
Well done Team Pakistan, you have made me proud today!!!!!
The eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month
Posted on November 12, 2008 //
The two minutes silence begins. Some of the people in the room stand, but I sit, head bowed, in a pose of solemn remembrance.
But all I can think of is the moment I crushed your little paper poppy when we hugged, and the feeling you are somehow as lost to me as the fallen were to them is bouncing around my brain and tugging at my heartstrings. That’s me all over though; even in the blog; I am so absorbed in the personal the bigger picture often eludes me.
I try to force my thoughts back to those who have given their lives for what they believe to be freedom. The three ancient soldiers at the cenotaph in Whitehall today; the 2,700 who needlessly died on 11th November eighty years ago as, knowing the armistice was coming, the gun crews pumped out ammunition they didn’t want to carry home. The needless slaughter in all corners of the world that continues today.
Instead my screensaver pops into my mind. You love it; you comment on it every time you see it; I would send you the picture, if only I could. It is a field of poppies.
“Don’t disappear on me.” It’s where we started, an endless, aching, six months ago. You never promised me that you wouldn’t and now I believe that you have.
Mustufa Kamal NOT declared 2nd best mayor in the world
Posted on November 9, 2008 //
FROM DAWN
“An award winning American magazine Foreign Policy, has chosen Nazim Karachi, Syed Mustafa Kamal as second among the three best mayors in the world for the year 2008. The magazine has included the names of Berlin Mayor Klaus Wowereit and Wang Hongju, Mayor of Chongqing as the other mayors of the moment, said a CDGK statement issued on Sunday.
The magazine said no city globalises on its own, but with shrewd investments and smart urban planning, a mayor can help turn a regional player into a global powerhouse. About Mustafa Kamal the magazine wrote that the mayor of Karachi is an unlikely poster child for innovative urban planning”
Personally ever since Mustufa has taken over as city mayor, we have seen developments in the length and breadth of this city. From bridges to cleanup drives to traffic police tickets he has done it all. The Mayor who stood in the pouring rain last monsoon season overseeing drainage made sure that this years rains did not bring this city to a standstill. He has in his tenure saved many parks from encroachment, created opportunities for the people of this city and has been extremely proactive in ensuring that the citizens have someone they can trust to do their job thoroughly!!
We might have our problems and heaps of difficulties but he is living proof that if the administration is given in the hands of locals we can work to make our enviornment a much better place to live in.
EDIT : Turns out the entire story was blown out of context by our local media. the superb institutions of journalism they are. Mr Kamal has been mentioned in the said article in FP but not awarded with any position
Karachi still owes you a debt though Mr Kamal, keep it up!!!
Obama—the view from Pakistan
Posted on November 9, 2008 //
There are only a few topics the media here in Pakistan is more obsessed with than India and its nefarious “unseen hand”. Foremost among these is ‘Amreeka’ our ally of good and useful times since Independence, and frequent ruler through various quasi governments here. Kindly referred to here by pundits and journalists alike as “Mai baap”, it came at no surprise that our press and TV went ballistic during Election 08 in the U.S.
It all took off during the primaries when we got pretty excited as a nation that Obama’s father was a Muslim, and so was his step father, and that (according Fox TV) he was religiously indoctrinated in some hush-hush madrassah in Kenya and then in Indonesia for four years. We went as far as to extol the virtues of him not being “one of them“. How cool it would be to have a Muslim in the most powerful seat in the world. Obviously in the world of today everyone is looking for a foot in the right door, and the White House is one hell of a door.
This was followed by echos of all kinds of allegations from Obama being in league with former terrorists and student activists, to him wanting to rain bombs into Pakistan on credible intelligence which dampened our collective spirits so as to speak. We then tuned our compasses in the direction of the softer candidate as per the Gallup poll taken on April 1.
To me though Hillary Clinton as a choice was surprising because historically Pakistan has been in bed with the Republicans for the longest time, obviously this has mostly to do with us fighting wars on their behalf first in Afghanistan in the Zia era and then later inside Pakistan in the Musharraf era. Suffice to say billions of dollars in aid was provided because Republicans like speaking to a one-man government and we were more than happy to provide that in the form of one military dictator after another. Plus the fact that Democrats tend to lean towards India was played up to a tizzy in our local Urdu press.
However with the dawn of the new democracy here in Pakistan, crippled as it may be, most people were looking for some sort of change in world politics to catch our breath as a nation, and perhaps this is why they were in favour of Hillary Clinton as the other two seemed a bit too aggressive in pursuing war policies. With that candle blown out by the democratic nomination going Obama’s way our press and media simultaneously decided to go completely rah rah in favor of Obama even though he promised to take decisive action against the people in them hills. This was aptly witnessed by articles such as this one which chose to justify him as someone who was in touch with the world more than McCain whom most Pakistani’s regard as something of a senile geriatric. No one does about turns like our media and they went to no end to discount his war rhetoric with pieces on his humanity his charm and what not On the blogsphere things were no different as most of Pakistani bloggers comprise of the elite literati. Liberal and free speaking they supported Obama hands down as “The One”, many even sported his badges and widgets on their web pages, assuring their readers of a new dawn of change trickling down to us if he was elected.
Well now that Obama has been elected. The initial “Yes we can” articles have suffered a rude shock by the appointment of Rahm Emmanuel, a Jew (read “horrible people with intent to blow us all to smithereens”) as his chief of staff. Right now the papers are desperately seeking any new snippet, any tidbit from his exercise regimen to his “alleged soft corner for Muslims” to keep the viewers and readers interested.
If only we as a nation knew just what to make of our fair weather friends through our long chequered history of them. Frankly, his appointment may lead to the fabled baseball diamond on the South Side White House lawn being replaced by a basketball court, but thats about the only “real” change it will bring in D.C. Even if he is The One, we know he is not the one for us, even if he promises to end the Kashmir conflict the ground reality is the people of Pakistan are fed up of the Kashmir conflict and various other conflicts we seem to be interested in rather than giving our 160 million inhabitants the basic necessities of life. As a rickshaw (auto) driver pointed out to me yesterday, what matters to him is the price of LPG he puts in his auto not the fate of a valley he will never see or be able to vacation in.
As published in The Hoot (9th Nov 2008)
