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Subscribe to RSSKhalida Brohi, 23, helps women in a remote part of Pakistan to "unleash their own potential" and battles against honor killings and for women's rights. "I want to change how people perceive women in Pakistan," she says.
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- Khalida Brohi's new life began when another girl's life ended.
Born and raised in Pakistan's remote, conservative province of Balochistan, Brohi was 16 years old when the community's traditions collided with her own personal beliefs.
"I found out about a girl who was murdered in the name of honor," she recalls. "I knew her and why she was killed. She wanted to marry someone she liked and she was killed just for that. When I found out about this girl, I knew that was the turning point in my life."
While still a teenager, Brohi founded Sughar Women's Program, a nonprofit organization with the mission of educating women about their basic rights. In many conservative communities across Pakistan, a woman's world extends only so far as the walls of her home. Their social interactions are restricted to family members and opportunities are defined by husbands, fathers and elder brothers.
But training and micro-loans provided by Brohi's group have resulted in CDs, books and embroidered handbags the women produce being sold across the country as well as at a flagship Sughar store in Karachi.
Now 23, Brohi is somewhat of a veteran in her field, and she's not alone.
In Pakistan's largest city, 'Old Glory' is flammable and profitable
All over Pakistan, where the majority of the 180-million-strong population is under the age of 30, members of Brohi's generation are striking out on their own to work toward change in their country, at an age when most are still finding their footing in life.
These social innovators, "change-makers" and "new radicals," as they've been called, represent an increasingly influential segment of civil society, in a country where the decision-making power has always been confined to limited circles.
'Demographic disaster'
Born, raised, and educated in Pakistan, but increasingly connected to the rest of the world through affordable telecommunications and readily-accessible social networks, many members of this generation are flexing their muscle in unprecedented ways when it comes to shaping Pakistan's future.
Ex-ambassador: US, Pakistan should 'divorce'
Their emergence, in some part, is a reaction to their circumstances. A 2009 study on the attitudes and needs of Pakistani youth, conducted by the British Council's Pakistan office, predicted a looming "demographic disaster," if social and economic changes weren't made to support the next generation.
Muhammed Muheisen / AP
Images of daily life, political pursuits, religious rites and deadly violence.
Half of Pakistan's population is under the age of 20; two-thirds have yet to celebrate their 30th birthdays. To meet the expectations of this group, the study found the country would need to create 36 million new jobs by 2019. Fifty percent of those surveyed felt they weren't qualified to secure a good job; 79 percent felt Pakistan was headed in the wrong direction.
Growing importance, declining reputation
Many members of so-called Generation Y grew up under a military dictatorship or watched the same two political leaders bounce in and out of office. Their formative years were spent watching Pakistan's importance grow on the world stage, while its reputation has declined. They've come of age under the specter of war, watching a burgeoning and aggressive media fill the headlines and airwaves with stories of terrorism, corruption and political crises.
Red Cross halts most Pakistan aid in wake of beheading
After watching previous generations succumb to disillusionment, Brohi believes her peers are uniquely positioned to make lasting change.
"My generation is amazing. It's energetic. It's filled with anger," Brohi says. "They want something new in this country. And they want to take the reins in their hands now."
Happiness over 9/11
Ali Abbas Zaidi knows all about that anger. When he went to school on September 12, 2001, he was shocked by what he found.
"Some of my friends, they were congratulating each other," Zaidi says. "They were like, 'Congrats -- 3,000 people have died in America.'"
Zaidi, a soft-spoken 26-year old who was studying to become an aeronautical engineer, smiles in disbelief as he recounts the story.
Ali Abbas Zaidi is founder of the Pakistan Youth Alliance, a group which campaigns against extremism. "Something is wrong with the way we teach our kids," the 26-year-old says. "A lot of the youth population in Pakistan have extremist tendencies ... and we challenge that."
"That was the changing point for me," says Zaidi. "I was like, 'How can you be so sick,' you know? Being a human being that you're happy on the death of 3,000 innocent people?"
Zaidi worked to trace back the dominant collective mindset he saw in so many of his peers. He found elements perpetuated early in life by the educational system, and reinforced at various stages by religious, social, and political leaders. It is a mindset, he says, that glorifies violence and conservatism, and leaves the country's youth vulnerable to manipulation by ideological and cultural forces.
Veiled women in Pakistan rally for the hijab
Zaidi says his generation -- roughly 100 million people -- has become walking, talking "time bombs."
"If you don't correct them, if you don't guide them to being more peaceful citizens of this country and as a global citizen it will be disastrous for us, and for the world," he warns.
To balance the prevailing narrative and work to engage members of his generation, Zaidi founded the Pakistan Youth Alliance (PYA) in 2007.
Counter-terrorism workshops
Besides mobilizing some of his 50,000 Facebook followers for social welfare and relief work, Zaidi taps into this network as he seeks to change the dominant national dialogue. He and his fellow PYA members hold counter-terrorism workshops across the country, inviting local community members to debate them on religion and politics. They organize marches to peacefully protest policies with which they disagree. They've even organized street theater performances in parts of the country's rural and volatile northwest, with the goal of provoking local community members to engage and discuss.
"The older generation didn't realize that their voices mattered," Zaidi adds. "I think my father's generation was very apathetic. And they're responsible for what is happening in this country now. So our generation, we have to be responsible for what happens next."
Aid workers become targets in Pakistan
Blogger Sana Saleem, 24, has been writing for as long as she can remember. But it wasn't until 2008 that she realized how easily her voice could be quieted.
A controversial event called "Draw Muhammad Day" appeared on Facebook, drawing the ire of Muslims worldwide, many of whom object to any imagery of their prophet. Pakistan's government censorship agency leapt into action, banning Facebook and thousands of other websites, including Saleem's blog, all deemed to be in breach of the government's controversial blasphemy law.
Sana Saleem, 24, campaigns against "controversial issues that are not talked about" including Internet freedom and minority rights. "I want to see a Pakistan where diversity is thriving," she says.
"We've seen how social spaces can be constricted by using these laws, and this was just a side step of doing something similar in cyberspace," Saleem says. "We just felt that this was a dangerous precedent the government was setting."
'Rape threats'
She and a group of fellow journalists founded Bolo Bhi, which means "Speak Up" in Urdu, to organize and protest the government bans. The reaction was swift and fierce.
"A lot of hate we got was based on the claim that we were favoring porn, that we were favoring objectionable content, that we were somehow trying to spread immodesty," says Saleem. "Because a lot of our members were women, most of the threats were really vile, and they ranged from acid attack threats to rape threats."
By lending her face and name to the cause, Saleem became a target for the vocal, conservative forces in Pakistan that often bully and harass dissenting voices into silence.
"It puts you in a spotlight where it's either you're with them or you're against them," Saleem says. "What really scares me is the polarization here; the two ends have become such extremes, where the one hand has much more power and guns, and we have only our voices and the motivation to make change happen."
An embattled minority: Christians in Pakistan
Over the years, Bolo Bhi has become a safe space where controversial issues – like gender-based violence, minority rights, and Internet freedom – are given a forum. The seven core members of the group use the platform to raise awareness, enable discussion, and advocate for change on matters traditionally not acceptable for public discourse.
For Saleem, an effort launched to preserve her own voice in society, has grown into a mission to help her generational peers find their own.
"The youth [in Pakistan] is sort of suffering from an identity crisis, trying to battle between what Pakistan was in the past, and also moving forward," says Saleem. "How do we create the society that Pakistan was meant to be, and that was lost in those decades?"
NBC News' Waj Khan contributed to this report.
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Leave a Comment:
Pakistan is the enemy.
Its not these kids fault who grow up to be the way they are. This stuff is taught to them in school at a very young age. I watched videos of what the teach to little kids at the age of 7 ish, telling them how evil america is, and burning and killing americans. Shooting with toy guns, or even letting them have their hands on a real gun pretending to shoot and kill americans.
These kids would have a chance in life if they could get out of the environment, or if a new generation of kids grew up to be adults with out the influence of the adults, then there could be a chance for a huge change.
Then again on the flip side of the argument, who are we to tell them how to live ? How can we define anything that do is evil. From their point of view, everything we stand for is evil.
Thats why I always state in any argument, there has to be a point of reference to go back to , where an absolute of truth and morality needs to come from. If you leave it up to man alone, then you get all kinds of beliefs going on.
The people in overpopulated countries will be desperate to immigrate to western countries which allow them to practice their religion. Our immigration policy allowing immigrants to bring in members of their family has to stop, one immigrant opens the door to hundreds simply using this method. Instead allow immigration based on education and success. Bringing in poor uneducated people to our country is creating a permanent underclass and is overpopulating our own country.
No stupidity is the enemy ...and you are its secret weapon.
Pakistan are attention getter's and we are gullible.
Square Dude hit the nail right on the head. As a former immigration officer, I've seen the results of chain migration first hand. Square Dude's numbers are realistic. Since when is the Amercian taxpayer responsible for supporting the overpopulation of the third world?
Wreck
and your point is?
This article is about change in that country something we should support and encourage. If one only looks at another as the enemy and do not try to find good and encourage growth of that good then we go no where.
And if you were really an immigration officer, you would also know that the sponsor is required to have an income capable of supporting every one of the the immigrants he or she sponsors at a level 25% above the poverty line. If I sponsor a 100 people, I have to be making roughly $1,000,0000 to sponsor this horde, and I will have to continue doing it for 10 years.
The American taxpayer is not involved. Spare us your diatribes.
Hey Square Dude, ever hear of the Statue of Liberty?
"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
Perhaps we should simply tear her down and put up a wall. Since this is what America was founded upon; once you successfully do away with her, what do you replace her with?
But that first person has to know someone who is already here who can sponsor them in.
That's a lot of the reason why there is such a problem with 'anchor babies'. Back when Ellis Island was open, when my husband's grandfather came in just prior to WWI, each prospective immigrant had to list their skills and what they had or could do that would benefit the US. Yes, if you knew someone who was already here it was helpful, but not a requirement. Today you have to know someone who is already here and can sponsor you, whether it be a private citizen or company or health institution.
I've thought that one of the possible fixes to our current immigration problem is to get rid of that sponsorship requirement. If you can emigrate based on your own merit, it would be open for anyone, there would be no incentive to sneak in to have a baby who would be considered a citizen on virtue of 'jus soli' who could sponsor you in when they grew up.
And if we reopen Ellis Island and have biannual 'immigration fairs' where anyone could show up for the chance to be considered, we could probably eliminate a lot of the paperwork backlog.
And while you're talking about that...what about military servicemembers who met someone while posted overseas, and wanted to bring them back to the States when deployment was done. My father was a second generation Irish immigrant whose father settled in IL and he was born there; he met my Mom during his service in Korea and brought her back to marry after the war, defying his own father to do so (according to Dad, his father didn't understand why he would have brought back a Korean woman to marry when he'd been over there fighting them, and Dad was disowned over the decision, which is why I never met any extended family.) Years later they adopted me from an international orphanage there.
Would you have a problem with this?
Well.... somewhat touching story. I am an immigrant too and came over as a soldier's wife. He was my sponsor and I/we had to jump through hoops to get me here. It's been 40 years last month and I am a rpoud citizen of the US for 35 years. Immigration laws are fine as they are, however, they could use a little tweeking. I am not for anchor babies. That is an abused law and has NO validity. But I am for giving a GREEN card (do they still do that) to children of illegal immigrants that have been brought to this country. Also a better law has to be enacted for migrant and temporary workers. I don't think the average American is aware of the impact they have on the economy and work force. They are not taking jobs away from anyone, because they do the jobs no one wants, that's why they get them in the first place. Working for low or lower wages? Guess what? What do you think your food bill would look like if the worker's demanded union wages? Make immigration easier as they do for very well qualified and educated workers, support those folks in conntinuing their education and we will have a more viable workforce anf stronger economy.
These are just a few people that want change. Most of them hate us and want us dead. To hell with them.
@berliner49 - I agree with you about putting an end to anchor babies, but that is about the only thing we are in agreement on. You buy into the liberal talking points about about illegals doing the jobs no one else wants to do and what increased wages would do to food prices. This is crap!!! If the jobs paid a decent wage with benefits instead of the below minimum wage and no benefits that they pay illegals there would be plenty of people lined up for the jobs. As for the impact this would have on food prices, it would be negligible. If you knew the first thing about the industry you would know that labor costs for harvesting the food is a minuscule portion of what you pay at the grocery store. The price of oil has a bigger impact on what you pay in the supermarket than the wages of the farm workers. This is because the cost of oil affects everything from the cost of fertilizers used on the farm to grow the food to the costs of transporting the produce from the field to the supermarket. Even allowances for spoilage between the field and the supermarket has a bigger impact than the labor costs for the farm workers. This idea that paying a living wage to farm worker will cause massive increases in food prices is liberal pap to try and sell their amnesty and other loose immigration policies. And then if you give all these illegals amnesty and make them citizens or establish a guest worker program for them they are no longer going to work for below minimum wage when they can then legally demand higher pay. This means that all you would get is a new crop of illegals in the fields because until the government starts seizing the companies that hire them, it will still be more cost effective for them to hire illegals than to pay a decent wage. As for giving green cards to kids who were brought here by their parents when they were young, this will only serve to encourage more illegals to sneak across the border with their kids so that their kids can get to stay here legally and eventually make them legal as well.
As for the subject of the article, it is good to see that there are some young people in Pakistan who are trying to make a difference. Unfortunately, I do not give them very good chances of actually making changes. As soon as they become any real threat to the ruling cabal they will be quickly silenced. It is going to take more than a small handful of people to make a difference, it is going to take a large popular uprising. Unfortunately, the indoctrination into the existing ways starts at such a young age that this is not likely to happen for some time. All you need to do to see the evidence of this is to watch the interviews that have been done with boys as young as seven or eight and listen to their attitudes about the ways of western civilization and the rights of women. It is scary to hear what comes out of the mouths of children who are so young. They are indoctrinated early in the religious schools and brainwashed so that by the time they are even 12 or 14 it is so ingrained that there is little hope of altering their views.
@Wreck: You are your own worst enemy.
@Terry-753375: That's OK, most of you want them dead, too. You should all get a room.
We would be well served to heed Ali Zaidi's warning of a population time bomb waiting to go off. Look at the tale of the tape on Pakistan and the tale of the tape on China. You will see that they are natural allies. Young men like Ali and young women like Khalida and Sana are the last line of defense against that becoming a reality.
Pakistan has a population of 180 million; 2/3 is under age 30, with 50% of the population under age 20. China has a population over 1 billion. Males under age 20 outnumber females of the same age by 32 million; males ages 21 to 30 also outnumber females of the same age. Two other factors to watch in regards to China are birth rates and women choosing not to marry. The ratio of boys age 4 and under to girls the same age is 123 boys to 100 girls; at the same time, birth rates in China are declining. This ties into an increasing percentage of young Chinese women choosing not to marry or, if they choose to marry, it will probably be outside their race. The reason is Hukuo, and the flood of young country boys moving into cities.
Hukuo is the Chinese caste system, and it follows you for the rest of your life. Under this system, it is simply a bad lifetime move for a city girl to marry a country boy. The city girl is entitled to free health care and education for her and her children while the country boy is entitled to pay the whole nut out of his pocket. On top of that, these country boys are poorly educated and will never find work beyond day laborer or factory worker. There's zero benefit for a female to marry one of these guys. So what you end up with are cities flooded with young men who have zero prospects in the economic department and fewer prospects in the pussy department. This is a population that can quickly and readily be primed for war because war is an option where they have everything to gain. And there's no greater chance for economic opportunity and pussy opportunity than war with India.
Think about it. The numbers say they are natural allies. They have a common enemy in India, which also happens to have loads of gold. And they have plenty of extra young males that must be put to use somewhere, unless they want major domestic social problems. Within 5 to 10 years, China will go to war with India, and Pakistan could very well be an ally, because China absolutely has to and Pakistan will figure out that it also must go to war with India.
Uh, - - - rodentwarrior, is it?
While I agree that the engineering and culture have created a situation whereby tens of thousands of young males are being denied their natural, biological function, I can't agree that:
Thousands and thousands of young men are horny so let's go invade INDIA? ??
Nah, I ain't buying this. There needs to be an outlet and their nations' gov't. will need to address this, but I hardly buy the argument that India needs to be attacked because of frustration.
I'd like to think our species has evolved at least to a point where we no longer react to frustration with violence. Wishful thinking, of course, and, with individuals, it will still occur with regularity. But nations going to war because of this? No.
Other reasons, perhaps, but not this one. Or are you saying that they'd come up with another motivation to cover this one? Again, I'd disagree. We haven't seen India agress against other nations of late, and short of that, I can't think of any other "reason" to start a war. Especially with the World Stage watching.
"I want to change how people perceive women in Pakistan," she says.
Good luck young lady, your in for a long long road. With the mindset like males in Pakistan have, it's going to take centuries.
Paki males young and old are hopeless, all they care about is Islam, Koran and Mohammad. They have no use for women other than for cooking, cleaning, beating and birthing. One day their Allah will surely punish them for their wickedness.
The writer tosses around terms like "Generation Y" as though the present generation of Pakistani women is going to live any differently than the last 100 generations has.
China promotes and encourages atheism and has serious, ongoing problems with the Muslim population of its far west. How does that make it a natural ally of Muslim Pakistan?
It is only here in the US, where Islam is useful as a tool to scare people that we perceive the issue in religious terms. We are told that Muslims are unreasoning, unthinking fanatics hellbent on taking over everything and anything.
In reality, the conflicts and alliances are over geopolitical issues. Pakistanis won't have any trouble getting together with China if it is in their best interests.
Muslims don't hold the exclusive rights to those beliefs. I can't think of any religion who's fundamentalists don't hold the same views.
But they already are. With the advent of social media and the awareness of the kinds of freedom women in other countries enjoy, there's a kind of genie-in-a-bottle situation happening. These young women and men are struggling for their right to voice their opinion and change their society. In her grandmother's time, she would still have been wearing the head-to-toe veil and forced to be silent and uneducated; today, she can speak on TV, she can read and write and use a computer.
The Olympics this past summer was the first one in which each competing country had women also. Afghanistan was the last country that did not allow women, even if they could physically qualify, to compete. This year there was a woman marching and competing for her country for the the first time, and if we continue to support these brave young people, it will not be the last.
I am rooting for these kids. Instead of emigrating to a different country for a better life for themselves, they are facing death threats and personal injury threats to make their own county better, to defy the stereotypes, lean into the wind, and try to bring their country forward into the 21st century instead of taking the easy route and bending to the status quo.
funny thing kate, I knew one that immigrated here, started his own business, married a white, non-muslim woman, and while he was a muslim (obviously a rather "liberal" one), hated the fundaMENTALists in his country.
rodentwarrior is correct that we should be encouraging those enlightened individuals in Pakistan to try to bring their country into the modern age. but we need to be careful so as not to give any propaganda ammo to the fundaMENTALists in Pakistan
Call me back when they actually do change their society.
Liberals who blame the religious, fail to see their role in polarizing the debate. The problem is intolerance from both sides.
Sage, I would strongly recommend doing your homework on China. I gave the abridged outline for why China will go to war with India, and why Pakistan could likely join them. No one is going to go to war with India for the sole purpose of getting laid; thousands of years of history prove this only to be one of the fringe benefits of victory. When one country conquers another country and, make no mistake about it, China would conquer India without even breaking a sweat, the females of the vanquished are how the victor leaves his signature on the vanquished.
Here's another point to make no mistake about: there's only one country out there which stands between China and its ambitions of a gold-backed global reserve currency, and that country is India. Year in, year out, India was the largest buyer of gold on the planet. The reason is cultural; families store the family wealth in gold. China has only surpassed India in the past few years. And this requires an understanding of the rules regarding gold in China.
Any Chinese mining operation, domestic or international, is required to sell its gold to the Chinese gov't at current market prices. Domestic mines produce 300 tons per year; don't have the exact figure on international production by Chinese mining companies. While substantial, this does not give China enough gold, year after year, to meet its currency ambitions. Any Chinese individual can walk into any bank or exchange facility and purchase gold bars (try doing that in the US); once again, the Chinese gov't has the right to be first in line to buy it back at market. It's still not enough in the grand scheme of their currency objectives. Where does the rest come from? India.
How is gold a pretense for war with India? Do you homework on Hukuo, and do it in detail. This caste system is a domestic time bomb waiting to go off. China has millions of young men moving from the country to the city every year. These young men have just enough education to become day laborers or factory workers. There are no jobs in the countryside, and the farms are becoming engulfed by the Gobi desert; they have no other option. Under Hukuo, your status based on birthplace travels with you for the rest of your life. If you're born in a rural area, you are not entitled to free health care or education for yourself or your kids. You must pay the whole nut out of your own pocket. And you are prohibited from any school or medical facility that is designated for people with urban birthplaces (these facilities are licensed); the only schools or medical facilities available to you are unlicensed boiler-room outfits. The shortage of females, which this system unintentionally produced, is being compounded by the fact that increasing numbers of unmarried females are choosing to stay that way because they know the rules of Hukuo, and they know the odds of finding a male who is an economic liability increase by the day.
War with India, and the acquisition of gold, will be the great equalizer for these young men. The government is going to have to militarize these young men to difuse a domestic time bomb. How will it work? These young men will most likely be allowed to conduct house-to-house raids to get their share of the gold, and there will be plenty of it available. In three to six months of invasion and conquest, provided it takes that long for China to conquer India, these young men can haul in more money than they will be able to earn through a life time of factory work and day laboring. And then comes the fringe benefit of the female population in India. There will almost certainly be a policy of China-fication, whether it be overt or covert; the only question will be how many Indian females per soldier will be allowed.
The question of war between the US and China now lands squarely on the table, because you'd have a gold-backed currency rivaling the dollar; it's not out of the question that the US ends up at war with China to defend the global standing of the dollar. The main reason why the US is walking around with a title belt around its waist that says "pre-eminent superpower" is because no other country right now, and I mean right now, has a currency that has the combined economic and military strength of the US dollar. China is half way there; they have the military and unquestioned manpower advantage over anyone, but they need the gold to seal the deal. Once that happens, and the Chinese reserve currency gains favor, the US is looking at an uphill battle in the face of a big numbers disadvantage. I could give you an outline of every Chinese move in this hemisphere that says something big is coming out of China, that it's coming within 10 years, and that the US is being encircled at its weak point right under the noses under most of its population.
Hmmmm.....maybe we'll get "lucky", and a nice plague will come along and kill off all of the Evil White People (And you thought I was gonna say "the racial slur that you feared I'd use most", didn't you?!?), since, as you know, we're TO BLAME FOR EVERYTHING (The BP Execs who overrode Gertrude Bell? Joe McCarthy? Youssef the Terrible?) - Right?!?
or maybe a nice plague will come along and kill off all the freaking stupid people
You hear the voice of reason on occasion coming from Pakistan, but the voice of ignorance seems to speak much louder and with more anger certitude delusion and threats.
Even in America there are both voices spoken, but the laws and bill of rights does not allow the ignorant to intimidate or attack their opponents. In a land where religion is the law, this is not the case.
At least there are some in Pakistan who are trying. Let's hope the rest begin to listen before it's too late.
Sounds like they are at a crossroad and that pesky Male Macho thing is going to be in the way for a long time. My feelings on this same crossroads in our History is men didn't want to be civilized but was nagged into it by Women. We were once Rootin-Tootin Gun Toters to. I see the same thing happening over there. It's a lot easier going to work everyday when you don.t have to drag around the ol' AK-47 along with your breifcase.
Aaaaaah......I don't know about you, but every time I see, or hear, "Pastor" Terry Jones, I start hankering to SURRENDER My Own Freedoms!
Maybe, in this, there is a 'Clockwork Orange-like lesson' (Read the Book itself, or you'll surely have NO IDEA what I'm talking about) for all of us!
interesting that Pakistan Youth Alliance facebook page has no mention of the little Christian girl framed for blasphemy by a muslim. they only demonstrate against violence against other muslims it seems
Wrong, this may be headline news in the US, in Pakistan it is one issue among many, what is wrong with them working for what issues they chose? Why do you have to find fault with everthing?
they said they are trying to change their country and this is not true. they are trying to stop muslims from murdering muslims. that is all . end of story. they want to make the country safe for muslims. i am not saying that is bad i am saying they are mis-representing themselves by saying they are trying to change pakistan. they aren't, they are trying to change one thing and one thing only.
Sickandtired, It also has no mention of my dog taking a crap in the front yard. What's your point?
Hummmmmmmmmm .. Ignorance & Intolerance? .. Absolutely! .. they go hand in hand ...
But as Americans ... we need to look inward ... Our desire to control the "standards" & mores of other nations is destructive long term ... we need to be the "guiding light" that they see to find the values themselves, not the cudgel to beat them into submission ...
Before we decide how others should live we need to clean our own house ... we are turning into a repressive nation of intolerance ....
Time to practice what we preach .... others will see the way ... if you let the light shine ...
"Our desire to control the "standards" & mores of other nations is destructive"
you are so right. if they want to murder women and ignorant infidels it is none of our business
You may or may not have a point, but it does not belong here. This article is not about the US doing anything -- it is about young Pakistanis trying to initiate change in their own nation. This is a good thing and a movement we in the US should be apprised of, as the future of Pakistan will inevitably have an impact on the world, us included, and because our attitude toward the country does influence our nation's policies toward it and if there is a reason to not think of Pakistan uniformly as "The enemy," as so mindlessly typed above, we need to know about it.
sickandtired-1089442
If you want to go to war with every nation that has a different set of morals than you...knock yourself out. No really, gear up, ruck up and move out smartly. Good luck...keep your head down...and remember, you don't represent the American people.
saddened, so YOU are the judge of whose opinions belong and whose do not? I happened to agree with sick and tired.
these are the only diamonds god adours and holds high for show to all
good luck and god/allah bless same god same love
all with abraham
This article shows the problems with population growth yet we continue to allow large immigration into this country, most immigrants coming here are of low education and have high birthrates. This is a recipe for disaster, we are creating a large uneducated underclass who in todays world will be a drag on our society. Personally I think our country is already overpopulated and we need to change the tax code which encourages kids.
I agree there, and we had what's his name (republican guy running for the nomination early against romney) proposing a huge tax credit for having as many kids as you could pump out. (really bad idea)
So The "right wing" wants to silence and control women, has guns to bully people around, and takes away rights. Oh! wait, I think Iv'e seen that movie before. I think it's called "the republicans". Now playing in a state near you.
You have it wrong George. Historically, the most oppressive regimes have at their center government control which in our country is what the democrats believe in.
Look at Venezuala - socialist. Look at Cuba - socialist/communist. China, USSR, North Korea - all have one thing in common: the government in absolute control of what their population does. Which, by the way, is where we are unfortunately seem to be heading.
Even the acronym NAZI stands for, in German, The National Socialist German Workers Party.
It is amazing to me how many uninformed liberals try to connect dictaorships with the right. They are not. They are the epitome of the left.
They can call themselves whatever they want but be assured these autocratic regimes are generally as conservative as you can get. There's no liberal thought involved in controlling everyone's actions. And which side is more controlling? The right, which is currently digging deeper and deeper into religious fundamentalism and demanding religious law be imposed on all, regardless of the beliefs of the citizens? Yeah I'm going to say it's them.
I am a Conservative...
I will defend what I am told to defend by my Corporate Masters. My enemy is whoever I am told is my enemy be it Muslims, homosexuals, brown people, liberals, labor unions, teachers police or even other Conservatives. I will obey because to do otherwise promotes uncertainty and change, the little death.
I will do what is necessary to maintain power. If my kind does not reproduce quickly enough or in great enough numbers to control the elections, I shall pass laws restricting those who can vote. The truth is only my friend if it agrees with my ideology. A strong lie is as desirable as the truth and I shall repeat it often.
The poor are my are my fodder. I will use them until they are no longer useful, then they may die quietly and out of sight. I will provide them with just enough hope as to pacify them...and no more.
Does the name "Democratic Republic of Korea" make North Korea either Democratic or a Republic?
Just because you are a conservative you don't have the right to change history and make up facts! The vast majority of dictatorships have been right-wing. While there have been left-wing totalitarian governments, the majority have been right-wing.
"Nazi Germany was a fascist state. To quote another well known fascist: Fascism should more appropriately be called Corporatism because it is a merger of state and corporate power." - Benito Mussolini
That doesn't sound very left-wing to me - roflmao.
Pakistan's Gen Y just needs to look east to their neighbor's Gen Y. They are the same people in many ways, but just see how thir neighbor is transforming their country. The youth of both countries need to interact better and steer their countries to focus on economic growth.
Conservatives with power/guns versus reasoning, peaceful gen-y...Hmmmm sounds very familiar.
This is the exact same for Americans... I am 26 in America and have been brought up the same way! Just replace the word Pakistan with America.
All one can say is good luck to these young folks, it is a difficult path to travel in a country such as Pakistan but it is the right road to travel and will not only mean good things for them and the future generation but for the rest of the world as well.
I think these are very courageous young people. I'm surprised they are even able to do this. But let's not forget slavery ended in the US 150 years ago, woman fought for the right to vote and got it around 100 years ago and the civil rights movement was only 50 years ago. The last lynching of a Black man in this country was in 1968. It took us a while to find our enlightenment. I hope these young people can make a difference in their generation.
Sure wish I could give you five thumbs up Den!
Den - I really don't think we're there yet. In fact, I see a great deal of "backsliding" in this country right now.
I forgot to add to my comment that we still have a ways to ago so I agree with Ol_Doc
I also agree with Ol_Doc.
Rational thinking among the masses rarely sits well with those in power.
When these women rule without religion, and throw off the shackles of religion and rule without bending to the will of men and religion then they will something to brag about.
Until then they are just another bunch of women doing what the men and some book of some God tells them. They have no original thoughts or ideas for the future. Just another recycle job.
You can break the new from defunct past of barbarous times to take Pakistan in new age of progress & development. You have to create your acceptance as a leader to mobilize women power. South African woman took initiative in "Sex Strike" by wives of miners after large scale arrest of protestors & got their say & men released.You being a woman too bring revolution in Pakistan although Bhutoo could not. Read for yourself women power"
A
nation's sex strike for democracy
updated 7:46 AM EDT,
Wed August 29, 2012 cnn
Sex
strike should have been observed by entire women lot in America for comments by
Akin & subsequent assertion by Romany & Ryan for laws against Abortion
to save human lives taking away reproductive rights & freedom of American
women in America. USA is a democracy with values & rights not for taking
away basic rights of women who have multiple obligations to family, husbands
& society to sustain future generations & succession in family
institution. If political leaders cannot & do not want to give more rights,
they have no legal & moral right to deprive existing moral rights of women.
It is amazing that no women organization in America has actively taken up women
rights for reproductive women as an issue in whole of America. Women members of
Republic Party are just silent waiting for political gains & outcome of
their convention when it will be too late. African countries are taking away
lead & initiative from American leadership." It should provide you what drives the men power, craze & ultimate. Beyond that there is nothing. You can do a lot to transform Pakistan with Women Task Force one in each district.It is sad nothing tangible & constructive happened in Pakistan after 1947. I was tutored by Muslim teachers & I never got one after 1947 of same devotion & dedication to cause of next generation. When my father died, he trusted all funds to Muslim Apprentice who helped & guided my mom for more than a decade till my brothers became adult & self managed. All characterists & moral material is there in this world, only right leaders have to harness for the right & progressive cause with great power of internet of fb & twitter never seen earlier in human lives.
At least in "freedom of religion" implies freedom from religion which a lot of countries do not have.
That male dominated society is limiting itself by only allowing half of its citizens to lead. What a bunch of dumb a$$es. Who would want to live in the 1st century anyway?
I don't know, how many Republicans are registered to vote in this country.
If you allow tyranny to exist and condone oppressive power exerted by government and others you can never be free. This is the World WE ALL live in. Full of inane ideas and bigoted thoughts by despicable People. Just live your life and NOT trod on others.
Freedom, freedom to be happy, freedom----freedom to live your life!!
We in the USA can be thankful that we were not born in countries such as this. We wake up everyday with so many rights of which to some countries this is only a dream. But Pakistan will never have these rights as long as they allow certain people to run their country. This starts with help in getting rid of the Taliban and their followers.
So now the patently demented paramilitary Satanic cult of death, destruction, and hate called "Islam" has found yet another way to proselytize in its ongoing effort to rollback the clock to the 7th century . . .
Using the "good cop, bad cop" strategy might appear to be spanky, except that it is a way to include recruiting information and other material about the cult relentlessly without mercy, day after day after day, until at some point unless you are trained to avoid being brainwashed you begin thinking that it is all normal . . .
The best way to understand the way the patently demented paramilitary Satanic cult of death, destruction, and hate called "Islam" proselytizes is to do a very simple experiment with a pencil and piece of paper, which takes about 5 to 10 minutes of your time each day for one month:
(1) Visit three major news websites each day, for example NBC News, CNN, and BBC News . . .
(2) At the homepage of each news website, make a mark with the pencil on the piece of paper for each news report, article, or opinion piece that is focused on some aspect of the patently demented paramilitary Satanic cult of death, destruction, and hate called "Islam" an obvious way, where for example the news report on "New radicals: Pakistan's Generation Y battles to shape country's future" (NBC News, World News section) counts as one such news report, article, or opinion piece, and pay attention to code words like "battles", "chaos", "extremists", "fights", "insurgents", "protests", "radicals", "terrorists", and so forth . . .
http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/09/10/13682714-new-radicals-pakistans-generation-y-battles-to-shape-countrys-future#
Then at the end of the month (or 30 days if you did not start on the first of the month), count the pencil marks, and you will discover that there are from 250 to 500 of them, which should provide a clue to how oppressively pervasive the Muslim infestation has become at the dawn of the early-21st century, really . . .
Really! :-o
The tally at approximately 9:00 AM CST on Monday September 10, 2012 is 29 pencil marks on the piece of paper, and for reference these are the three news websites I selected for the experiment:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/
http://www.cnn.com/
http://www.nbcnews.com/
At this rate the 30-day tally will be considerably more than 500, really . . .
Really! :-o
Bigot much? For someone who decries them as hateful you seem to spout a good game yourself. Christianity's got nothing on these people except a few hundred more years to mature and a bit more religious organization overall plus less tribal orientation. Other than that Christians have done every bit as much hateful murder kill death as Islam, and fundamentalist elements of that faith are trying to take over your own country. I'd worry more about the hate here at home and less about the inspirational voices of peace elsewhere.
In addition, right-wing, fundamentalist christians are making a come-back.
Good luck young lady, your in for a long long road. With the mindset like males in Pakistan have, it's going to take centuries.
A road with no obsticles, probably leads to nowhere.
This young woman, and many thousands of others, risk their lives each day to help create a better world for their people and for their children, and their children's children. A very great many of them will die in the cause... but they will prevail.
The genie is out of the bottle in such societies, and nothing can stop it ... societies where the worst tyranny is not a dictator, but their own traditions and customs and religious leaders ... intimidation, torture and murder will slow the process, but will not stop it. It is people like her, not guns and bombs, that will reshape the culture in places like Pakistan .... she is power.
I sincerely hope she is not killed, but I know, as she knows, that she may well be. That will not stop what has begun ... those who fight her will fall. It is an unfortunate truth that freedom is only won by blood ... and only by the people who will be free ... no one can do it for them ... just like our forebears did ...
Inspiring.
rmember America in the 40's, 50's and 60's, hate weather racial, religious, or political is a learned response. parents, teachers, religious leaders are the ones who TEACH the children to hate. if you can change the environment that the children are raised in, you can change the outcome of that upbringing. give the kids a chance, they may be able to change Pakistan's political futre.