Beyond Willpower: Why Economic Barriers are the Real Nutrition Crisis
“Just eat healthy.” It sounds so simple, doesn’t it? Like the only thing standing between a person and a nutritious meal is a bit of discipline. But walk into any local sabzi mandi with a tight budget in your pocket, and that simple advice starts to feel like a joke. Because for a huge number…
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The Degree Trap: Why Pakistan’s Brightest Are Leaving Before They’ve Even Arrived
In June each year, thousands of students walk on a stage, pick up a degree and take a picture for the world that is meant to signify a new beginning. For many of them, it’s actually the beginning of an exit plan.During 2023, approximately 860,000 high skilled Pakistanis migrated out of the country for employment…
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Madonna–whore Complex, but Make it Lahore: the Symbolic Eradication of the “Middle”
The city with a split personality Lahore has been undergoing a serious identity crisis. Not because the city lacks one, but because we refuse to let it have more than two. A city this sprawling and contradictory gets flattened into two exaggerated images at opposite ends of a spectrum, while everything in between fades into…
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Degrees Without Dignity: The bitter reality of Pakistan’s University Graduates
Whenever I sit through high school career talks or watch elder cousins celebrate their university graduations, I notice standard excitement mixed with a quiet, underlying anxiety. Thousands of young Pakistanis step off campuses holding shiny degree folders, yet within months, many are stuck sending out hundreds of resumes, taking unpaid internships, or wondering why their…
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Who Built a Pakistan Without Ramps?
On paper, Pakistan looks like a country that has taken disability rights seriously. Provincial laws mandated a 2% employment quota for persons with disabilities in public sector jobs. There are accessibility guidelines for public buildings, a national policy framework, and periodic government announcements about inclusion. Step outside the paperwork, though, and the picturechanges fast into…
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Beyond a Signature: The Disregarded Four-Page Document in Pakistan
As a girl in Pakistan, when we are encouraged to think about marriage, our minds turn towards bridal lehenga, mehndi designs, soft-glam makeup, and décor straight out of Pinterest-inspired mood boards. Yet nobody sits us down and says, “Beta, before you worry about your wedding look, you must worry about Nikkahnama (marriage contract).” Yet apart…
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Pakistan’s Moral Bankruptcy: Where Do We Go From Here?
I was 19 when a number of cases of harassment came to light in my university – harrowing instances of the levels of abuse students faced inside the walls of the campus. I vividly remember writing a long Facebook post to act as a guide for men on actions which are uncomfortable for women. I…
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Why Young Americans Are Turning Away from the Ballot Box
Instability defines the experience of young Americans. One study conducted by Harvard indicated that as little as 13% of teens believe the United States is headed in the right direction. More broadly, institutions are failing younger generations. Politics is perceived as a threat, the future of AI is unforeseeable, and social media’s prioritization of sensationalist…
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Petrol Bomb For The Masses; Luxurious Subsidies For the Masters
Pakistani government pulled what can either be classified as an ill-planned PR stunt, or the show of absolute cluelessness. On 2nd April, Petroleum Minister, Ali Parvaiz Malik announced an increase of a historic PKR 137 on petrol and PKR 184 on diesel, bringing the prices to an all-time high of PKR 458 and PKR 520…
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Beyond Borders: Why Pakistani Youth Seeks Opportunities Abroad
Every year, thousands of bright Pakistani students celebrate their degrees with hopes of asuccessful future. However, not long after their graduation, many of these same individuals findthemselves preparing documents, applying for visas and planning to move abroad. The joy ofachieving a degree gradually turns into a search for a better life elsewhere for a majority…
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