Culture & History - The Youth Blog

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…

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…

How to save a language: Punjabi in Pakistan

Recently, I wrote a post on this website about how Punjabi language is on the path of slow extinction in Pakistan. The article highlighted a range of causes at individual, domestic and institutional level, as a result of which, a major chunk of Punjabi youth – particularly in the urban centres – are unable to…

Religion vs Illusion- What divided the Subcontinent?

The Indian subcontinent is known for its diversity in culture, languages, and religions. A wide variety of ethnic groups, civilizations, and empires influenced it over the course of its history. However, this diversity also brings the question of the division of the subcontinent into two separate states. Can the divide between Hindus and Muslims in…

How to Kill A Language: Punjabi in Pakistan

I’m a 24 year old Punjabi who is unable to speak the language, and I’m not the only one. Most of my Punjabi friends don’t know how to speak it either. Or at least not properly. According to the 2017 census, Punjabis made up for approximately 53% of the total population of Pakistan [1]. However,…