Afiya Shehrbano Zia - openDemocracy

The ethics of feminist engagement: discussing feminism-as-imperialism

The responses by Saadia Toor and Deepa Kumar to Meredith Tax's article depend on a one-dimensional and tired discussion of a collusive feminism as the continuing source of justifications for imperialism.

By Afiya Shehrbano Zia

/ 19 Jan 2015

Being Malala

Recipients of humanitarian awards often invite controversy. In Pakistan, religious and political identities are valued more than the contributions of such recipients. Malala Yousafzai may have the Nobel Peace Prize, but she remains the target of criticism from Pakistani conservatives and also many

By Afiya Shehrbano Zia

/ 13 Oct 2014

Sceptical silence: Pakistan’s operation in North Waziristan

Will the latest military operation launched by Pakistan against the Taliban in North Waziristan expose and loosen the ties between the military establishment and their jihadi protégés? So far a sceptical silence surrounds the operations, says Afiya Zia.

By Afiya Shehrbano Zia

/ 23 Jun 2014

No sex, some lies and a video: Pakistan's Taliban impasse

It was not an act of violence against women but a macabre video that led to the abortion of this round of peace talks with the Taliban in Pakistan

By Afiya Shehrbano Zia

/ 3 Mar 2014

Pakistan: of peace talks and peace prizes

Pakistan has been locked in two key debates on the issue of peace recently. The first is whether there should be ‘peace talks’ with the Tehreeq e Taliban Pakistan. The second concerns Malala, the school-girl who survived the Taliban murder attack and was a nominee for the 2013 Nobel Peace Prize.

By Afiya Shehrbano Zia

/ 10 Oct 2013

War against polio or polio workers?

The Tehreeq e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) launched an effective and violent campaign against polio vaccination during their occupation of Swat. Apologists insist that this violence be viewed in the context of the 'war on terror', but refuse to engage with the connection, merger and impunity that the TT

By Afiya Shehrbano Zia

/ 2 Jan 2013

Taliban: agent or victim?

In their attempt to assassinate girl-activist, Malala Yousufzai, has the Taliban inadvertently rescued the narrative of violence against women?

By Afiya Shehrbano Zia

/ 30 Nov 2012

The political correctness of drone activism

Soft, anti-war interventions can end up endorsing conservative politics, if they are not strategically astute, says Afiya Shehrbano Zia

By Afiya Shehrbano Zia

/ 5 Nov 2012

The gendered cost of NATO in Pakistan

Pakistan's Domestic Violence Bill has become the latest fatality in the barter between women's rights, NATO, and issues of national security, says Afiya Shehrbano Zia

By Afiya Shehrbano Zia

/ 30 Apr 2012

Female suicide bombings in Pakistan - what's in it for women?

Islamic militancy in Pakistan appears to be mobilising women suicide bombers as part of its religious trope. This trend unsettles the conservative divide between the public and private roles of women in traditional societies, and also attracts an anthropological defense of Islamist women's agency.

By Afiya Shehrbano Zia

/ 4 Oct 2011

Two million dollars: a patriarchal bargain

The murder of two men by a CIA agent in Pakistan raised issues of masculinist national sovereignty and honour, and exposed the uncomfortable privilege that religious laws based on power, rather than religion, extend to men, says Afiya Shehrbano Zia

By Afiya Shehrbano Zia

/ 29 Mar 2011

Pakistan: the liberals’ dilemma

During Zia’s years, liberal forces presented the most radical opposition to the theocracy-military collusion and oppression. Today, we witness a liberal democratic government, with a secular alliance that is paralysed and besieged by its lack of vision and inability to govern, says Afiya Shehrbano

By Afiya Shehrbano Zia

/ 1 Feb 2011