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ZAINAB S QAZI

A media student writing on all things culture, art, literature, and politics. Interested in reporting, editorial, communications, management, documentary filmmaking, and production. 

The Wire •

Mo Season 2: A Heartwarming Sequel to the Tale of Food, Family, Hope and Resistance

In a heartwarming sequel to the 2022 semi-autobiographical series Mo, that delves into food, culture, politics, immigration, family and much more, Mohammed Amer, the protagonist and one of the creators of the show, returns promising humour and tears.The Netflix drama centres on the power of resilience and hope for the Palestinians, reflected through one of the most powerful dialogues, “The world will always try to tear us down. And when they do, we smile.”In Season 1, the audience is introduced...
The Wire •

Cultural Appropriation of the Pheran is a Culture Lost

Lying down in the grass as the warm winter sun sets in, I find the sight of most students wearing the pheran – a traditional Kashmiri cloak – unsurprising. Like other central universities in New Delhi, Jamia Millia Islamia University has become an institutional hub that welcomes people from different cultural backgrounds. As a result, an influx of cultural markers like clothing, food and fashion is not uncommon.However, as a non-Kashmiri, I have always been curious about the rapid rise of the ph...
The Wire •

Is Urban Infrastructure Resilient to the Growing Climate Change Risks?

Growing urbanisation in India has impacted the rising population within the major urban centres. Rapid changes in infrastructure, transportation, and energy consumption have greatly affected people's ways of living, a new study has found. In collaboration with Deloitte, Artha Global’s Centre for Rapid Insights – a research, consulting, and network-facilitation organisation based in Mumbai – conducted a series of surveys  on issues relating to public transport, water supply and energy...
The Wire •

Jamia Nagar, Where Religion and Food Find an Uneasy Comfort

Walking from Jamia Millia Islamia University to my home in Zakir Nagar, I observe the hustle and bustle of an area that long existed and continues to exist on the peripheries: of both, the capital city and simultaneously, of people's imaginations and perceptions of the city. As someone whose parents migrated to this region and have been living here for the more than 20 years, I have internalised all that it has offered me so far. On one hand, I have absorbed regional segregation and i...
The Observer Post •

Rajasthan: BJP MLA demands ‘Bulldozer Attacks’ Against Muslims during Communal Clashes

In Jahazpur, Rajasthan, communal clashes took place between the Muslims and the Hindus on Saturday. The Hindus alleged that the Muslims pelted stones at their religious procession during the Jaljhulani Ekadashi from inside the Jama Masjid. 


As a result, shops of Muslim traders were razed and closed down, internet shutdown took place as Hindus demanded arrests of the Muslims. 


Gopichand Meena, local MLA of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) demanded necessary actions to be...
Maktoob media •

Fact check: CM Himanta Sarma's claim of Assam’s Muslim population at 40%, up from 12% in 1951, is false

Himanta Biswa Sarma, leader of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Chief Minister of Assam made a controversial and hateful remark in Ranchi on Wednesday where he said that the rising Muslim population in the state is a “big issue” for him and “a matter of life and death.” He mentioned that the Muslim population is increasing in Assam and has reached 40% already, a significant increase from 1951 when it was just 12% of the total population. 


His comment “…Changing demography is a...
Feminism in India •

Why 'Kaala Paani' Is A Must Watch Thriller Of 2023

Spoilers Ahead!If you are someone who is always on the watch out for thriller series, you must have come across the critically acclaimed Kaala Paani (2023) streaming now on Netflix. Directed by Sameer Saxena and Amit Golani, the 7-episode long series is a survival drama and focuses on a water-borne deadly disease that has recently broken out in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.Kaala Paani holds your attention till the very last scene, addresses a range of contemporary issues and the relatability...
Feminism in India •

Anees Jung's 'Beyond The Courtyard': Stories Of Strength From Remote And Metropolitan India 

Beyond the Courtyard (2003) by Anees Jung, a sequel to her previously published book Unveiling India (1987) is a collection of 20 essays, an account of the author’s journey as she travels across India, finding stories within women of different cultures, religions and regions.The book is a delight to read as it not only narrates tales of different women across the subcontinent but also asks serious questions about the identity of women and what it means to be a woman in the remote areas and in th...
Feminism in India •

'OMG 2': A Failed Attempt At Raising Awareness About Sex Education

Amit Rai`s OMG 2 (2023), the sequel to Umesh Shukla`s OMG – Oh My God (2012) is a humorous drama commenting on sex education in India. With such a “taboo” issue being the centre of the film, it, unfortunately, does not do much justice to it and is a failed attempt at educating people about it. It does a lot many things under the pretext of it being a comedy yet trying to raise serious awareness. This is precisely where the problem with OMG 2 begins. Kanti Mudgal (Pankaj Tripathi) is a devout fol...
Feminism in India •

Narges Mohammadi And Her Dauntless Journey To The Nobel Peace Prize 2023

In 1998, when Narges Mohammadi, an Iranian journalist and a human rights defender was first arrested for her criticisms of the Iranian regime, she must have had no idea of what was in line to follow. Since then, multiple cases have been lodged against her, including confiscation of her passport and a complete ban on her mobility, around 154 lashes, and 13 arrests for around 31 years. Added to all these is her being locked in one of the most notorious and dangerous prisons in Tehran i.e., the Evi...
Feminism in India •

If Anything, My Feminism Is Simple And Uncomplicated  

As a young visible Muslim woman in a world that is rapidly growing accustomed to feminism, I take some parts of it all in and reject some others. I tend to perceive myself as a woman with multiple and varied identities standing at the cusp of feminism and her religious identity. This becomes challenging when I belong to a religion perceived as “oppressive,” for its women but I choose to be both every day – a vocal feminist and an assertive Muslim woman, countering every challenge that comes my w...
Feminism in India •

The State And Its Men Are Not The Messiahs Of Muslim Women

It is 2023 and it is unfortunate that even today, the State and its men still feel entitled to command and tell Muslim women what to wear and what not to, how to behave, what to choose, where to go and where not to, and most importantly, how to live. It comes as no surprise for a woman like me who wears a hijab, asserts her identity, and experiences such incidences daily, all while receiving education in a well-known heterogenous university in the capital city of Delhi.At the same time, I cannot...
Aura | Monthly e Magazine •

Being (Muslim) Women - Aura | Monthly e Magazine

Being women, we are told to keep up with the rigid beauty standards set up by society and are pushed to maintain a certain body image, or we are deemed unappealing, backward or odd. It gets even more complicated when our Muslim identity is adjoined to that of being a woman, especially when highlighted through our clothing and lifestyle. Another word is added to the list of these misleading words – ‘oppressed’. Cultural homogenisation throughout the world has had a disastrous impact on the lives...