HAIG TER-GHEVONDIAN WRITES – Pakistan’s flag is comprised of the colors green and white. The green represents the Muslim majority, while the white represents non-Muslim minorities. Together, they represent religious tolerance and unity – concepts on which the nation was founded. Such values are called into question, however, when cases…
Full Article PAKISTAN: Sentenced to Death for Sharing
NICK ARMER WRITES – U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry announced earlier this week that the U.S. strategy to defeat the Islamic State is “working”. It is hard to imagine how funding the organization’s expansion into Iran and Pakistan is helping to achieve national goals. Unfortunately, the American campaign to…
Full Article IRAN and US: Helping or Hurting?
In a nation where homosexuality is shunned, journalists rise up to defend the rights and dignity of gay, lesbian and transgender people against verbal and sometimes physical assault from invasive television media. Here’s the kicker: this nation is Pakistan. The country is known for having the highest Muslim population in…
Full Article PAKISTAN: The Rocky Road to Acceptance
AMBER VERNETTI WRITES: Sunrise Radio, the UK’s first Asian around-the-clock media corporation, celebrated its 25th anniversary this November. Founded by Avtar Lit in 1989, the radio station offers news about the Asian continent and the opinions of broadcasters who support its dissemination to the greater public. The London-based music station…
Full Article ASIA-AT-LARGE: East-West Megamix – British Radio With an Asian FlareAUSTIN SZABO WRITES – For years, news anchor and journalist Hamid Mir has been fighting for the cause of a free press in Pakistan. Now he’s fighting for his own life. Still recovering from an unsolved assassination attempt April 19, Mir, undaunted, issued a statement accusing the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI)…
Full Article PAKISTAN: Are Government Spies Behind Media Assault?AUSTIN SZABO WRITES – The Pakistani wing of the Taliban wants to do the seemingly impossible: Win public sympathy through improved PR. Surprisingly, it’s working. Since the election of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif last year, the Taliban has retooled its communications ops to project the image of an embattled and…
Full Article PAKISTAN: Taliban’s PR Blitz Divides and ConquersEMILY GOLDSBOROUGH WRITES – A drought that reportedly killed 238 people in Tharparkar District finally received attention from the Pakistani government, but only after extensive media coverage. Tharparkar, located in the rural south of Pakistan, experiences drought every few years, but this year’s drought has led to malnutrition, disease, and…
Full Article POVERTY PROJECT: Media Coverage Aids Severe Pakistani Drought ReliefAUSTIN SZABO WRITES: When you want to know the economics of a country, you usually look at its gross domestic product — the amount of wealth it produced over the course of a year. But GDP tells only part of the story; it leaves out how the wealth is distributed.…
Full Article POVERTY PROJECT: Measuring Inequality, How Asia Stacks UpAUSTIN SZABO WRITES – The deaths of three reporters at the hands of Taliban gunmen Jan. 17 is the latest in a series of terrorist attacks designed to silence anti-Taliban reporting in the afflicted country. On Friday, a group of gunmen on motorcycles shot into the van of three Express Tribune…
Full Article PAKISTAN: Death of Tribune Staffers Underscores Dangers of ReportingAUSTIN SZABO WRITES – Though they’ve reported on floods, bombings, wars, and protests in some of the most dangerous places in the world, female journalists in Pakistan and India are still threatened and mistreated at home. Despite repeated calls for change from groups ranging from the United Nations to the Women’s…
Full Article INDIA & PAKISTAN: Female Journalists Face Dangers in the Field and WorkplaceAUSTIN SZABO WRITES – Pakistani student and education activist Malala Yousafzai’s autobiography has been well received everywhere, it seems, but in her own country. On November 11, The Guardian reported that nationwide, Pakistani private schools had banned her book, I Am Malala, from being studied or read. Education officials point…
Full Article PAKISTAN: Malala’s Book Banned in SchoolsAUSTIN SZABO WRITES – With explosions and non-stop action, Pakistan’s first action blockbuster, Waar, is making waves. Indians are less excited: they are the bad guys. Reuters offered a summary of the movie: “Indian villains team up with Islamist militants to plot spectacular attacks across Pakistan. Pakistani security forces jump in…
Full Article PAKISTAN: Action Movie Paints India as the Bad GuyAUSTIN SZABO WRITES – Media darling or not, the Western press has largely ignored Malala Yousafzai’s stance against U.S. drone strikes — and capitalism. Malala has been praised for her efforts to raise awareness of the importance of education in Pakistan, particularly for girls, but her voice against drone strikes…
Full Article PAKISTAN: American Media Silent On Malala’s Stance Against CapitalismAUSTIN SZABO WRITES – The front page of Pakistan’s only LGBT support website, Queer Pakistan, reads “Don’t Hate Us, Know Us!” The Pakistani government said no. In another attempt to impede social progress in Pakistan, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (the PTA) censored the website, saying “Surf Safely! This website is…
Full Article PAKISTAN: First Gay Pakistani Site BlockedAUSTIN SZABO WRITES – If you live in India, expect a “friend request” from your local representative. The upcoming 2014 election will see an explosion of social media campaigning, according to The Times of India. India’s Bharatiya Janata and Congress parties are scrambling to woo internet users. From local politicians getting in touch directly…
Full Article INDIA: Elections Go Online, But Will It Matter?AUSTIN SZABO WRITES: You can’t trust your kids once the sun goes down. At least that’s what Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) officials say. The News reports that the Pakistani government has demanded wireless companies stop selling late-night cellphone packages to teenagers, claiming such deals will ultimately destroy the country’s culture. Their logic? Discount…
Full Article PAKISTAN: At Prices This Low, Teens Can’t Afford Not to be Immoral