The moment a girl child is born in India, it’s not only the child who cries, but the whole family. The family feels disaster has arrived on their doorstep. The blame cannot be put only on poor and illiterate people, even the so called ‘educated’ suffer from this syndrome.

Afghanistan has been suffering from internal conflict and violence for the last three decades. This, combined with extreme poverty in many cases, has caused people to lose their mental stability. Several cases of violence illustrate how women routinely become victims of violence in patriarchal Afghan society.

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.

It was a freezing cold December morning in India. I was wrapped up in my thick blanket.  The alarm buzzed, coupled with my mother panicking about her early morning list of “to-dos”.