THE Barbie cinematic juggernaut has made headlines around the world; in Karachi, Pakistan, it sold out for two solid weeks after its opening. Many girls and women have been going to see the film, dressed in pink and enjoying its colourful vibe. In Pakistan, all movies must be viewed and…

Boston, 1990 I was in college when Sinead O'Connor hit the big time. The Lion and the Cobra was an essential album for me back then; I brought it back for my younger sister and she loved it too. There was something pure and strong and true in her voice…

Joyland, the film by Sarmad Khoosat which has won awards at Cannes and international acclaim, finally opened to audiences in Sindh and Islamabad on Friday, November 18. …

I’m very excited to read my friend Rafia Zakaria’s forthcoming manifesto Against White Feminism: Notes on Disruption. …

Have you, as a woman, ever been accused of playing the Aurat Card (the gender card, the woman card) when arguing with your fellow Neanderthals about the issue of women’s rights/empowerment in Pakistan? Well now, you can actually play the Aurat Card, literally, thanks to the team at The CosmosocialPK. …

If vast numbers of men on social media are calling you ugly, you’re doing something right. — In 2013, French tennis player Marion Bartoli won the Women’s Wimbledon Final but her win was quickly overshadowed by people lining up to abuse her on Twitter for being ugly. A BBC presenter made a crass comment, saying, “Do you think Bartoli’s dad told her when she was little ‘you’re…

Dear T.I., This week I read an article that said you told a podcast that you take your daughter, Deyjah, to the gynecologist every year to check her hymen. This is to ensure that she is still a virgin. …

Phoebe Waller Bridge’s artistic vision is a hot commodity. But its chaotic appeal can only go so far for some of us. When Phoebe Waller Bridge’s hit Edinburgh Fringe show-turned-television-program Fleabag came to Amazon Prime, I heard about it before I saw it. In Pakistan, we don’t have access to…

An incident of censorship at the Karachi Biennale 2019 illustrates the difficulties of being an artist in a struggling democracy like Pakistan. Following in the footsteps of other major cities with art biennales such as Venice, Havana, Shanghai and Sharjah, the art biennale behemoth finally came to Pakistan in 2017…