From left to right- Amen, Hira, Sundas and Ammara

I met them at a coffee shop. They were already waiting for me when I entered. The steam from the four cups of coffee on their table made patterns in the air. Coffee  had just been served and I knew I wasn’t late.

Hala Aref is quite active these days on social networking sites to make Egyptian women aware about the possible impacts on their lives due to the controversial constitution. A German alumna and an active voice of the liberal community for the rights of women, Professor Dr. Hala Aref’s Facebook page shows her concerns about the new Egyptian constitution and its probable outcome on her female students at Cairo University.

This woman has set up a food cart in front of a government office in Lahore- by covering her face she says people will respect her.

As the nation mourned the killing of at least six female polio workers in the north-western and southern provinces, the Pakistani government celebrated its National Working Women’s Day on December 22. At least two women escaped target killing in the southern Punjab province a few days later.

The  Twenty20 cricket world cup always makes it to the front pages. It is followed almost religiously by its fan base. Men and women watch the games with the intense fervour. But few know that the woman’s Twenty20 tournament takes place around the same time every year. The reason is that we see, hear or read very little about most of the women’s sports activities in media.

The first time I met her, I noticed her branded handbag, her golden wrist watch, her light pink wrinkle-free coat and a black chiffon scarf carefully wrapped around her head. I wondered if that was what she was all about. In my next talk with her, I realised there was more to her than her impressive carriage and subtle, yet strong arguments.

Marina Zaffari is a well-known face in Afghan television. Like any other intelligent woman, Zaffari was fed up of seeing the typical ‘pretty’ presenter in a political talk show, nodding at her male colleagues and saying ‘yes’ or ‘no’ as the situation demanded.  She opted for a different track.

Tamana Jamily writes about her experiences at school and the difficulties women and girls in Afghanistan face. The problems they face in their homes and families have not helped improve their situation.