Pashmina queen Shaheena Akhtar

Kashmiri women entrepreneurs have made a mark for themselves in a region which has been riddled with conflict, death and destruction for over two decades.

A mother and her child in Chitral district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

As I started to write this blog today, a fellow journalist back in Pakistan tweeted about an attack on his cousin, a school headmistress in the Charsadda city of the northern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province.

Oscar winning documentary filmmaker Megan Mylan (left) with Monika Barman, the protagonist of her latest short film, “After My Garden Grows.”

The black screen comes to life. A young girl dressed in a rust-coloured salwar-kurta (indian shirt with drawstring pants) is expertly clambering on top of a wooden structure amidst dense green foliage. As the camera follows her, the youngster turns slowly to reveal her serene, pretty face.

Women in Pakistan are no strangers to discrimination. However, violence against those belonging to a religious minority is neither acknowledged nor unequivocally condemned.

The parliament in Islamabad

The concept behind reserved seats for women in Pakistan’s parliament has been to empower women and give them representation in policy making. However, most women who make it to the provincial assemblies and parliament are not satisfied with the role they could play.

Traditional embroidery from Gujarat
Copyright: Priyali Sur

India is busy deliberating on its next possible Prime Minister- Narendra Modi, who has been marketing his model of development in India’s Gujarat. But in the dry and arid hinterland of India’s western state , one woman who believes in Gandhi’s ideals is working tirelessly to uplift women.

Nazir Peroz wants to lead his country, Afghanistan, into the digital age.