Asma al Assad

Asma al Assad. Wife of Syria’s president, Bashar al Assad. Like many young Syrians, I believed in her. She was educated in England and ever since she became Syria’s first lady, she devoted herself to different civil projects. I liked how she took part in public life, helped out with women’s development projects and tried to be close to the Syrian people.This image lasted until the Syrian revolt began in March 2011.

Ayesha Hasan, a young woman reporter from Pakistan, wants to be taken seriously in her profession, which is dominated by males in her country. Hasan is being sponsored by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation and is currently doing an internship at the Deutsche Welle. She speaks to DW’s Martina Bertram about her future plans.

DW: Pakistan is an Islamic republic. How difficult is it to write about religious themes?

Ayesha Hasan: It is very difficult. One can actually write about all possible issues, lifestyle, celebrities and health. But religion in Pakistan affects all social spheres. If you report on issues like violence

A new survey reveals Afghanistan to be the world’s most dangerous place for women. Pakistan and India are ranked third and fourth on crimes ranging from domestic abuse to female foeticide.

As if the constant threat of airstrikes were not enough to make a country dangerous, domestic cultural practices do their best to make life hell for women in Afghanistan. Antonella Notari, head of Women Change Makers, an organization supporting women entrepreneurs, says, “Ongoing conflict, NATO airstrikes and cultural practices combined make Afghanistan a very dangerous place for women. In addition, women who do attempt to speak out or

While some Pakistanis are enraged by model and actress Veena Malik’s semi-nude photo shoot for an Indian magazine, others feel the criticism is proof of double-standards in Pakistani society. Veena Malik poses semi-nude on the Indian FHM magazine cover wearing an ISI tattoo on her left shoulder. That is more than enough to enrage a large part of the Pakistani population.

The Pakistani Army’s spy agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), is considered a holy cow in Pakistan but maligned in neighboring India for allegedly supporting militant Islamists, including Lashkar-e-Taiba, which New Delhi accuses of orchestrating several terrorist attacks. Western nations also claim the ISI backs the Taliban.

Malik told a private Pakistani news channel, Geo TV, that she wore the ISI tattoo in the shoot for fun. In her defense, Malik claims some of her photos in the popular Indian lifestyle magazine were morphed, however she does not deny doing “bold” shoots for the magazine. She recently