Suicide

An expression so bold,

It leaves us reeling with pain,

But for those who were strong,

It is the ultimate reality,

Expression of expressions,

Culmination of their suppressed desire,

Let them go, be happy,

For this is what is the driving force!

via Tumblr http://andaleebrizvi.tumblr.com/post/50515749062

I think she has tamed me

It was then that the fox appeared.

“Good morning,” said the fox.

“Good morning,” the little prince responded politely, although when he turned around he saw nothing.

“I am right here,” the voice said, “under the apple tree.”

“Who are you?” asked the little prince, and added, “You are very pretty to look at.”

“I am a fox,” the fox said.

“Come and play with me,” proposed the little prince. “I am so unhappy.”

“I cannot play with you,” the fox said. “I am not tamed.”

“Ah! Please excuse me,” said the little prince.

But, after some thought, he added:

“What does that mean—‘tame’?”

“You do not live here,” said the fox. “What is it that you are looking for?”

“I am looking for men,” said the little prince. “What does that mean—‘tame’?”

“Men,” said the fox. “They have guns, and they hunt. It is very disturbing. They also raise chickens. These are their only interests. Are you looking for chickens?”

“No,” said the little prince. “I am looking for friends. What does that mean—‘tame’?”

“It is an act too often neglected,” said the fox. It means to establish ties.”

“‘To establish ties’?”

“Just that,” said the fox. “To me, you are still nothing more than a little boy who is just like a hundred thousand other little boys. And I have no need of you. And you, on your part, have no need of me. To you, I am nothing more than a fox like a hundred thousand other foxes. But if you tame me, then we shall need each other. To me, you will be unique in all the world. To you, I shall be unique in all the world …”

“I am beginning to understand,” said the little prince. “There is a flower … I think that she has tamed me …”

via Tumblr http://andaleebrizvi.tumblr.com/post/50466506863

theanimalblog: Drinking lynx (by Tambako the Jaguar)

theanimalblog:

Drinking lynx (by Tambako the Jaguar)

via Tumblr http://andaleebrizvi.tumblr.com/post/50447742545

Taliban are the bogeyman!

Blaming everything on the Taliban is very easy, but I don't agree with this discourse. You cannot blame the thuggery of MQM or the 200 percent food inflation during PPP rule on the Taliban. If you can question the dumbfuckery of PTI burgers, who are at least struggling to make sense of the hotchpotch we live in, I too, can blame you for being a jiyala or saathi.

I can point fingers at you for wanting to maintain the status quo by voting for a predominantly feudal party that fooled the masses in the 70s with the ‘Roti, Kapra, Makan’ slogan. It was the political party responsible for kick-starting Islamism in the name of Islamic Socialism, initiating the nuclear program and declaring the Ahmedis as Non-Muslim.

I am glad that Karachiwalas are standing up against the thuggery of MQM. So what if it is the burger PTI walas? You may want to criticize this while sitting in your Dad's air-conditioned house in Lahore or Islamabad, but it only sounds like the cowardice and treachery of a person who has no guts to stand up for any principles, not even one’self.

Free ‘for all to rig’ elections

KARACHI: Despite that the offices of DRO (central) and his subordinates were established at the Government Comprehensive Girls High School in North Nazimabad, Block M, one of Daily Times staffers was manhandled by a lady polling officer when she refused to let the officer cast vote to Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) on her behalf. The polling station is a part of NA-245 and PS-101 constituencies comprising Buffer Zone, Shadman, North Karachi and parts of Nazimabad, which falls in District Central and is a (MQM) stronghold. In 2008 General Elections, MQM's Farhat Muhammad Khan won the constituency by a huge majority of 149,157 votes against PPP's Qazi Muhammad Bashir with a mere 15,392 votes, PML-N's M Aslam Khan Khattak 3,275 and Jumma Khan Babar of ANP with 301 votes respectively. It is worth mentioning that in 2002 another MQM contestant Kanwer Khalid Younus had won the constituency with 51,696 votes compared to 41,947 votes bagged by Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal's Syed Munawwar Hassan. Several voters at the Government Comprehensive Girls High School polling station complained that the staff stamped on 'kite' for them. On complaint, nobody was around to help or rectify the problem. Polling staff aka MQM workers were busy stamping ballot papers one after another for people, some of whom were present on the occasion, while others had only sent their CNIC cards issued by NADRA. The biometric system, which had earlier been promised by the Election Commission of Pakistan, was missing. When one of the voters (Andaleeb Rizvi) protested against the stamping of ballot papers, she was asked, "Was she not Urdu speaking? Why would she want to vote somebody else?" by a man sitting with a government cap. The voter than took away the paper and went outside to get help, however one of the lady staffers followed her and a struggle ensued in which she snatched the ballot paper back screaming, "You are not allowed to take ballot papers outside." On being asked to guide to someone with more authority, the RO asked to cast vote again. Even the police guard just turned his eyes away from the whole scene, while many bystanders just kept looking and smiling. Some other women voters also started to complain about the 'stamping mafia' by that time, and in order to defuse the situation, all the polling staff in the booth started facilitating the voter who complained to re-cast her vote. On re-casting the vote, the lady at the ballot box opened the ballot paper to check who was voted. At this point the voter again protesting and asked the lady to not violate her rights, however the lady only responded by stating, 'get lost' (chal chal in Urdu). Meanwhile, one of the guys ordered the ladies to start winding up, as the desired number had been achieved. He also asked the said voter in a threatening manner if she had cast the vote to the desired party.

Published in Daily Times on May 12, 2013: http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2013\05\12\story_12-5-2013_pg12_7

Voting fever rising by the day

Since the voting fever is reaching its crescendo in Pakistan, and twitter, facebook are abuzz with many wannabe social scientists and analysts or even prophets, informing of the 'awesomeness' of voting, 'voting rights' and the possible bright future. I will write down a few of the conversations I had with random people on the road.

Sohail Khan is a taxi driver. Originally from Charsadda and now a resident of Banaras in Karachi. Former Jiyala, who calls Zardari a dog (like a lot of other people) and considers him the murderer of Bibi - supports Jamaat-i-Islami now. Who in his own words are lousy politicians, with nothing to offer as a political party except 'chutyapa', his words, not mine.

Q: Aap kisko vote dengay is dafa? (Who will you vote for this time?)
Sohail: Ye awam chutya hai, phir unhi logon ko vote day kar lay aayegi, jinhon nay mulk ko kha kha kar iska ye haal bana diya hai. (The public is stupid, and will again vote for the same people who have brought the country to this stage with their corruption). Mein kisi ko vote nahi donga. (I will not vote for anybody). Ghar ko tala lagaonga andar se, or araam karoonga. (I will lock my home and relax).

Q: Leken aap to JI ko support kartay hein ab, unko vote nahi dalengay? (But you support JI now, you will not vote for them?)
Sohail: Nahi, bekar log hein. Jub tak Bhutto zinda tha, Benazir tha, hum vote dalta tha, ab to koye nahi bacha. (No. Everyone is useless. Till Bhutto was alive, his daughter was alive, I used to vote, now there is nobody worthy enough).

We laugh together and enjoy the rest of the ride while talking about different topics, especially the law and order situation - speculating about bomb blasts and target killings. Sohail is a Pakhtun and faces racism in this city every other day. Being a Pakhtun can automatically at times translate to being a supporter of the Taliban and their likes. Another taxi driver cum marble cutter, Zahir Khan said that he has to at times allow police to 'random check' him. Zahir is from a village in Shangla. He lives in Nusrat Bhutto Colony, Karachi, that is famous for being a Taliban infested area and therefore, has to go through police and Rangers' operations every other day.

In Zahir's opinion the only solution to all this trouble is dictatorship. Although, he swings between supporting the Awami National Party and Army rule, he considers Ziaul Haq's era as something that was better for his class.

Q: Aap vote kisko dengay? (Who will you vote for?)
Zahir: Mushkil hai vote karna. Halaat bohat kharab hein. (It's difficult to vote. City situation is very bad).

The conversation goes into a discussion about how the military operation in KPK made some differences for his relatives. How the feuds died down a little, because Army regulated the ownership of weapons. The most enthusiastic about voting thus far, judging from different discussions, seem to be the youngsters who will be voting for the first time.

A student at Karachi University said that he will vote, since it is his right, and without participating in the election he cannot pin the blame on anybody. However, he was honest enough to admit that all he knows about democracy 'working out in the long run' is theoretical. So for him, as long as the country gets on a track for betterment, he does not care whether it is a democracy or a dictatorship.

In all this rhetoric, a resident of Thatta had a very simple statement to make.

"I will vote who my landlord asks me to vote for."

This perhaps is the culmination of the 'democratic process' in Pakistan. Where rural areas comprise a majority. Pakistan has a total population of 180 million, out of which around 60 percent live in rural areas as per a World Bank report. The voter from Thatta is not the only one to be saying this, a majority of the rural population vote either the landlord they work for, or for someone the local feudal seeks to gain from.

This leaves one to ponder the differences between a democracy of choice, and a democracy per say. One might even feel better if it ended here. But it does not. If weening votes from helpless peasants was not enough, the number of portfolios and ministries that our 'democratic' regimes boast add insult to injury.

To accommodate the left over senior leaders and ex-legislators, several posts are created to appease their hurt sentiments and egos. Following is a very basic breakup of the number of seats we have, despite being a smaller country compared to United States and India.

Oh and lest we forget. The interim setup that we have numbly accepted is not much different either. The power (to maintain the status quo) is now being shared between the feudal families, and their homies. Be them the Sethis, the Mandviwalas or the Shahs.

Capitalist Democracy: From weapons to Barbie Dolls

I have been asked the umpteenth time who will I vote for. Here's my answer for you, and now read it carefully, before annoying me again with your silly impertinent questions. I will not vote, because I do not dote on people who are 'relatively' less corrupt, less religious, less autocratic, less liberal and more secular.

Here I'll jot it down in bullet points, so it is more convenient for your perusal.

RELATIVELY: less corrupt

RELATIVELY: less religious

RELATIVELY: less autocratic

RELATIVELY: more secular

I will not vote some moron who can afford to campaign for the election because s/he has the money, his/her father earned being a corrupt government officer. Or who is a feudal. Or, who is friends with some pharma company owner, or some other businessman that cannot afford to run for election due to other engagements, but is willing to 'finance' someone for securing future legislation.

I do not find this scam of a 'democracy' you talk of worthy to vote. It has yet not convinced me. For the biggest 'democracy' I know, has so far funded militants across the globe, toppled elected governments to put in place dictators, and made life generally hell for anybody who had less money to buy what is being sold.

From weapons to Barbie Dolls, capitalist democracy that you term as an 'evolutionary process' for change, is nothing but a blueprint for disaster. In this system your human rights end where the capitalist profits are getting affected.

Male privilege: Emotional terrorism

You might be doing something on the ground to make things better for the people and I do things while looking up my theoretical ass on social media. Do not criticize me, for I cringe when you say my theoretical understanding means nothing. It is what defines my existence, if theory flies out the window, I have no choice but to follow suit. But I must confess, my laziness makes it impossible for me to do the practical necessity as well as jumping out the window after theory. So please, have mercy!

A hypothetical dialogue. Especially for men who refuse to accept that there are certain aspects within feminism that are essentially a woman's domain. These men refuse to accept that a woman can actually have the brains to dismiss the popular narratives, be it the 'Muslimah Pride' crowd or the 'FEMEN' crowd. Just because FEMEN for 'him' is the opposite narrative to what is defined as the 'Muslim', he becomes not only offensive, but also starts derailing by resorting to straw man and obfuscation.

To the men, who have left religion behind, but have still not gotten rid of the cultural baggage... Wake up! Women have agency and within their human capacity can in fact make decisions and enact them on the world. They can have an opinion which is beyond your comprehension, and if you do not have the brains to comprehend, it does not translate to 'her' being the moral police.

However, there is something humorous too in all this. Check out his closing line: 

So what is the right method of protesting if I want to protest against the very moral status quo and the global moral police that is trying to control all my social and sexual freedoms?

Asks the man!

A rare case of Lima Syndrome?

When a man turns up and tells a woman that she's acting like the moral police by disagreeing with FEMEN's mode of protest. And that she, along with the 'global' moral police is trying to control 'his' social and sexual freedoms. My dear, that's a bit too brown, says Lolita.

Let's conclude with:

“A rape culture condones physical and emotional terrorism against women [and girls] and presents it as the norm”

(Buchwald, Fletcher, and Roth 2005, XI)

My blog post on FEMEN and Muslimah Pride that made me a part of the global moral police against a poor oppressed man: http://andaleeb-rizvi.blogspot.com/2013/04/battle-of-brands-femen-vs-islam.html