January, 2011 December, 2010 November, 2010 October, 2010 September, 2010 August, 2010 July, 2010 June, 2010 May, 2010 April, 2010 March, 2010 February, 2010 January, 2010 December, 2009 November, 2009 October, 2009 September, 2009 August, 2009 July, 2009 Abusanaa Adnan Sabih Arsalan Iftikhar Arwa Aburawa Aziza Charaf Caroline Silver Ehab Zahriyeh Fareeda Ahmed Farrah Hamid Fatima Ashraf Imran J. Khan Jewslim Liali Albana Email this article to a friend » «Previous Article Next Article» A Story of Pakistani Women Persevering 1/19/11 - 6:19 PM Like 86 people like this. Be the first of your friends. By Anisah Hashmi What happens to the survivors of natural disasters when they disappear from breaking news reports? Most people forget about them and we collectively move on to other headline news. But the need for long-term solutions in the wake of disaster does not disappear. Aware of this reality, activist and filmmaker, Nausheen Dadahboy resolved to find solutions. The magnitude of the 2005 Pakistan/Kashmir earthquake deeply moved Nausheen to fly halfway across the world simply, as she puts it, “to help people.” There, she discovered Ruqiya and Khalida, two women whose lives fell victim to tragic circumstance when they found themselves paralyzed in the aftermath. Forced to give up dreams of marriage and starting lives outside the home, these women have had to redefine their roles as women in a society that expects them to be homemakers and caretakers. While Ruqiya is limited by her disability, Khalida turns hers into an opportunity to live and work in the city. Over the span of five years, Nausheen filmed these women through the most difficult time of their lives: the recovery period. She broke all boundaries with her documentary subjects and dedicated her time to helping Ruqiya and Khalida salvage their futures. “I organized Khalida’s surgery in Karachi and Ruqiya’s wheelchair broke so we got her a new one...I don’t think you can really get to know [your subjects] unless you are that involved,” she said. With this film, Nausheen hopes to reveal a different kind of narrative that concerns the lives of ordinary Pakistanis outside of the discourse on terrorism, corruption and political instability. These narratives have obscured the suffering of the poorest Pakistanis and shrouded their faces from public view. “It’s easier to hate a group when they’re not human,” she reflects. “If we can just humanize them, reveal a face that people can respond to...People will say that could’ve been my daughter or my sister.” She hopes that she inspires this kind of empathy Advanced Search » Youth Leaders of the Egyptian Revolution Qatar 2022 Series, Part II: World Cup Stadiums New User Registration » Forgot Login » USERNAME Do you think the uprisings will continue to happen around the Muslim world? Yes, definitely No, not likely Perhaps, we'll see submit