Transgender…a word of shame?

 

I am sure that we have all interacted with transgenders in one way or the other. I am also sure that most of us do not give them the respect, the love and the honour that they deserve. Well, why should we? The society we live in has always treated them with disrespect and looked down upon them and we learn from the people around us right?

As a kid I was always told that they were men who only dressed up as girls to earn money. I was also told to never go near them, as they were very rude and dangerous. It is only when I grew up a little that I realised that they were not men pretending to be women, but they were transgenders. I am sure a lot of you have gone through the same experience. Transgenders in Pakistan are thought of as lowlifes, who are meant to earn a living only by dancing and singing in front of others. But the question is, how can we merely stamp someone as a lowlife based on a physical disability?

According to recent research studies conducted on transgenderism, approximately one out of 50 children are identified with a transgender tendency. It practically means that each one out of fifty will live a life of hell. A myth seems to have prevailed that they cannot do any work except for sing and dance. Why can they not go to school? Why can they not live life like normal people? What makes us men and women even the slightest bit better than them? Sadly we have no answers, but only sickening societal assumptions.

However its time we move beyond the society around us. It is time that we ourselves become the change that we want to see in the society. For how long can we keep blaming others? It is only us and us alone who are responsible for our actions. For starters why don’t we try to talk to them with respect? Why don’t we try to not make fun of them? Why don’t we try to not think of the word khusra as a matter of disgust and insult?

Our perspective needs to change.Our thoughts and assumptions need to change. God has created each and every human being the way He has willed, and we are no one to take away the rights of specific human beings on the bases of how they were born.

As Pakistanis, it is a moral obligation for us to stand up for the ones who cannot stand up for themselves in our country. Lets just hope that one day, we can see transgenders in schools instead of begging on streets, I hope they are treated just like you and I are treated, I hope we learn to feel their pain, be kind to them and to love them, just how it is supposed to be.

Why not the ‘chaiwala’?

Recently internet all over the world was taken up by a storm by the looks of an Islamabadi chai wala (Tea vendor) when a photographer named Jia Ali took a photo of the chai wala and put it up on social media. Girls not only from Pakistan but from all over the world were dying after his beautiful blue eyes. As predicted the press also went crazy in the race of who gets to interview the chai wala first. Arshad Khan (the chai wala) a young 18 year old from a poor household of Mardan, was famous in no time. Various people started offering him films and ads.

When some people were extremely delighted by the fact that a person from an underprivileged class was getting a breakthrough, at the same time some were having a hard time digesting this fact. People started pointing out how ruthless it is to harass someone for his looks, moreover to ignore the less good looking people. And how people have become crazy, and how he is just a random chai wala.

 

For starters, he has a name- Arshad Khan. It is not ruthless to keep calling a chaiwala but it is ruthless to admire his looks? What I don’t get here, what is bad about admiring some ones looks? We can admire all kinds of celebrities but we can not admire a poor persons looks? How does this make us a bad person?

 

So much hatred has been developed in our hearts that no matter what good changes happen in our lives, we always seeking to point negativism in them. People say instead of admiring that chaiwala’s looks we should focus on poor children who are suffering. For Gods sake where do poor children come between a mans good looks? Yes we should think about the underprivileged children, yes we should help them, but where does this a chaiwalas right to get promoted?

 

We as a society need to develop a sense of positivism in ourselves. I see it a big change, that people can use the power of internet to give identity to someone who has a talent (be it goodlooks).

 

Lets all live, and let live!

 

 

Palestine, war against Humanity!

On one side the world revolves around FIFA’14, and on the other side humanity is brutally under threat. The people of Palestine are living in conditions far beyond our thinking, but no one really cares, because who gives shit about a poor Middle Eastern country. It’s time for us to think beyond ourselves, it’s time for us to realize the sufferings of the people of Gaza, the kids, the women, and the human being!

 

 

 

Israelis are brutal killers, and each day when we sit around seeing them carrying forward their aristocracies we are killers too, killers not of people, but killers of humanity. I know there is very little that we can do, but what we can do is raise our voice, raise our voice for the millions of homes that have been destroyed, the millions of children that are now orphans, the millions of women who are now widowed.

Lets all take a moment to pray for the people of Palestine, the least we can do is show our support and pray to God that the people of Palestine stay safe and may God help them and give them the strength to go through this situation. Amen!

There are a number of funds that are open to help Palestine with aid, anyone who wishes to donate can go the following link: http://www.pcrf.net/

God bless Palestine!

 

What it is all about…

Dont you like think at times, what it is all about? You and I being here, in this world? What does this even mean to us? Life? Living? And all the problems associated to it!

Today early morning on my way to school, with a sprained foot I was thinking how difficult that little sprain is going to make my day (which it did, really), I was literally in a bad mood thinking of the sprained/twisted foot as a big problem for me. Looking out of my car’s window I realize looking at all those people on cycles and those working on the dhabas, what problems would they be facing day and night.

Looking at them, I could witness tensed and depressed faces, hardly one in a fifty would be smiling. That made me think hard, how life is so difficult, for everyone, from financial issues to home issues, to marriage issues, children issues, job issues, and all in all issues of all kinds (especially the issues increase when you’re from a not-so-happy country, which is facing major crises right now!).

Anyhow, we all have something in common and that probably is that we are too busy being angry and sad and depressed, and we have just forgotten how to smile, or how to ignore the petty irritations of daily life (I personally get irritated very easily, and I almost hate almost 8 in every 10 people, cant help it really.)

“Pigeon, a sign of peace”

I think by the end of the day its about being in peace, which no one really is in nowadays. Peace is all that makes your life easy, when you are happy and you don’t have to think about things which just increase your blood pressure really. But there are a few changes e need to make, some more smiling, some more patience, some more love. Love for nature, love for children, love for people!

And then patience for everything there is!

Also, this is a link to a page which all of us should read, it gives a great lesson, which we shall definitely follow, to make our lives peaceful and less stressful then they already are! Here it is:

http://www.wikihow.com/Live-a-Simple-and-Peaceful-Life

🙂

A tribute to Girl Child…International Girl Child Day!

Today is International girl child day, a day dedicated to girls all over thee globe. Girls are the special, innocent species of God, who bring sparkle to our world. Generally, girls are not given as much importance and respect as they deserve. They are equal to men, and there is no logic behind men being superior to girls.

International girl child day is celebrated to honour all the girls out there, who are courageous, deserving and talented. Every girl some where in the world needs to have a day for her, and today is her day, today is your day, today is my day!

According to a report issued by UNSECO 57 million children are not enrolled in schools all over the world, Organisations like Malala fund are working hard to ensure that all girls enrol in schools. It is important for girls to attend school and get education, not only to compete with men, but to build their self-esteem, to build their confidence, to bring change. These small girls will grow up one day and become mothers of kids who are going to be our future, if the mother isn’t educated or civilized how are the future generations going to bring a change, and how is this world going to wield? It is very important that all children are given education, including girls because education is the path to success! And no one has the right to deprive girls from their right to education and hence their right to ‘success’.

‘Education can transform the lives of girls and strengthen their communities … Innovation can help us reach every girl by transforming education’. –Unknown.

Girls have to face a lot of problems, for example they go through parental pressure, and are married at an early age, which parents think is a way to ‘get done with their job to raise their daughter’, but actually what they are doing is destroying their daughters life. In Pakistan, it is a common ritual in the rural areas to marry girls after the age of 13/14 and sometimes even earlier. Girls in Pakistan and all over the world, are facing sexual harassment and abuse, lately there have been so many cases of rapes on girls of the age of 5 and younger!

The only way for girls to have an opportunity to fight, fight for themselves, is education, no law in the world says that girls should not get education. I wish organisations like Malala fund best of luck and hope that can bring about real change and not only influence our country, but also places all around the globe! Girls need to understand the key to success, the key to pride and the key to self confidence, all in one- Education.

 

Celebrating International Girl Child Day at ROOTS IVY SCHOOL FAISALABAD, paying a tribute to all these young and brave girls from an unprivileged school, which was adopted today by my school as a sister school and we took an oath to bring a change, today as we support these deserving girls!

‘On every continent, there are girls who will go on to change the world in ways we can only imagine, if only we allow them the freedom to dream’. –Unknown.

SHAUKAT KHANUM MEMORIAL HOSPITAL, PESHAWAR.

Have you ever wondered how would it feel if you helped save some lives? And now you have the chance! Shaukat Khanum Memorial Hospital is opening it doors in Peshawar, and how can you help is simply by sending a blank message to 777O, (Rs.20 + tax).  

 

Shaukat Khanum was first opened back in December 1994 by legendary cricketer, politician and social worker, Imran Khan. Shaukat Khanum is a Cancer hospital and has served people from all over Pakistan in its only branch in Lahore, Punjab. Now it is opening another branch in Peshawar, KPK and needs a large amount of money for the new hospital. We spend money day and night on ourselves, buying stupid things, some of them which we may not even come across after using them once or twice, but thinking for once, what if we spend some money for a good cause?

 

Shaukat Khanum served 75% of its patients free, and so that increases the amount of money needed. This is a great way to make yourself feel better, just donate as much as you can. It’s your responsibility to do so, to donate, because a single penny also counts. It is not just on Pakistanis but also on all people around the globe, please give it a thought, please help the Shaukat Khanum team save lives, donate, and convince people to donate, your friends, your family, you!

 

It is a request to people from all parts of the world, please donate, Rs.20 is like 20 US Cents, and you can donate an amount as small as that. Please donate as much as you can, because this is for a good cause.

 

For people over-seas who want to donate for the cause and for more details please visit this link:

http://www.shaukatkhanum.org.pk/how-to-help.html

 

Happy Donating 🙂 

Summer is here! :D

After the entire wait, exams are finally over and summer time is here. Oh, correction, vacations are here, in Pakistan we have summer for almost 9 months a year 😦 Anyways as Deez Nut’s song ‘Tonight we’re gonna party’ says: ‘Tonight we’re gonna party, like there’s no tomorrow, forget about our whoas and drown our sorrows’. Yay! The much awaited party time is here!

So everybody’s happy, thought there’s this scorching heat here in Pakistan, but everyone’s glad that they’re free. I was badly waiting for summer, firstly because there are these loads of movies I have to watch, and loads of television series I have to catch up and loads of fun that’s to come. This is going to be my best summer at least and hope same goes for all other people out there.

Reasons why summer’13 is going to be awesome:

1)      My whole family is getting together in Orlando after so long, makes me do bhangra. Haha

2)       I gave my first CIE’s, was a lot of burden man.

3)      I get to watch all the classic movies and series.

4)      I can waste as much time as I want.

5)      I can take as many pictures as I want.

6)      I can get back to my blog 😀

Okay so, what I am going to do in this summer is, meet all those friends I have made in this previous year 2012/2013. I have made so many friends this year, and I am totally in love with all of them.

And I am going to keep writing, which I love, and keep taking pictures which I love too.

That’s it for now, and on an ending note, as my sister says ‘Give love, and let love come in’. Hope everybody has a great summer and a great partying time.

So excited! 🙂

Happy summertime Niggas ahh yeah
We rolling 
Drop up in the summer time
And we rolling through the block with the sun shining and I
Just wanna ride, I just wanna ride
Go to the mall and I hit the gym
And have a pool party, gets some chicks all swim I
I just wanna ride, I just wanna ride.

-R. Kelly

Enjoy!

Elections 2013.

 

Preparations for elections 2013 are at its peak; once again the drama has restarted. All the campaigning, all the promises. Like all the previous years the battle starts again. But I believe thank fully for this year we have Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf. No, I am not impressed only by Imran Khans personality and neither am I a cricket fan. 

The Musharraf scandal is the hot news too, a car full of weapons, possibly bombs was found near his farm house, which is said to be his sub-jail.

I wonder what Pakistan Peoples Party is up to these days, no campaigning from their side. I don’t think the Bhutto advertisements could only make them win, or Bilawal speaking up in his weird Urdu accent. There is no actual leader is who is campaigning from PPP’s side. It has been one of the two major parties in the future, but this year they same kind of out of the league apart from Sindh were they have traditional voters.

Mian Sahab I believe is doing a good job, good advertisements and a good over viewing of what Muslim League Nawaz has done for Lahore in the previous years. So Mian Sahab definitely has a hope, indeed a very strong one! Yo Mian Sahab.

`Gullup’ is a survey which is kind of a small scale pilot election, which involves 10,000 people and gives an overview of what results the elections will bring. It is not important that the results are accurate or give the exact results of elections but they are just to show peoples view.  So according to Gullup Mian Sahab is on the lead (Shit no?), PTI is almost on the second number and PPP is some what below that.  Mian Sahab has a lead in Punjab (Though I do not want him to win at all from Punjab but if unfortunately he does which he has a great chance to, I hope he concentrates on other places except for Punjab this time, PLEASE MIAN SAHAB, PLEASE) and KPK, while of course PPP leads in Sindh, excluding Karachi, Altaf Bhai all the way! Baluchistan is somewhat neutral. PTI is strong much in Punjab and other areas, but still is some how on the second.

Imran Khan all the wayyy, let’s give our very own leader a chance; I believe he is the leader of tomorrow. I have great respect and love for Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, but after her death I believe the party has gone through some disastrous changes, I would have very well being supporting Bibi if she had been alive today. Her son Bilawal dare not come to Pakistan or he might get shot, well that is what has been happening to other Shaheed Bhuttos, they die one way or the other.

 

But with all due respect to all the parties, I support Imran Khan, just meant to give a brief over view of the situation.

 

On an ending note, I would request you all to vote for PTI, bat it is (Maulana Sahabs Jamat-ul-Islami has been kind enough to fight over the symbol of tarazo, but its okay Maulana Sahab, that ain’t everything Sir). Let’s give Imran Khan a chance, lets vote for tabdeeli, Lets vote for a Naya Pakistan.

Chalo Chalo Imran Kay Saath, Chalo Chalo Imran Kay Saath.

#AbNahiTouKab? #HamNahiTouKon?

Cure headaches naturally…

Almost everyone these days has headaches. Honestly I myself am a big fan of Panadols and Tylenols. I have headaches all the time, literally all the time. My mommy keeps asking me to stop taking Panadols but I won’t listen. It’s like some thing is hitting my head so hard that I can just not resist.

Well the reason may be is eye sight problems some times or extra internet usage may be watching a lot of TV or maybe studying in dim light (which I very much do!).

Well you and your body can’t afford so much of Acetaminophen which many of these main relieving medicines have. So there are some tips on how to cure headaches naturally with out eating so many medicines on regular basis.

Here you go!

1-      Eat. Eat something, believe me it helps. Some of us are on diets, I have always been on diets and that can cause head aches, so eat something, be it nuts or fruits or anything at all.

2-      Have Herbal or Mint tea. If eating some nuts or fruits doesn’t help then try a mint tea. It can easily be made using mint leaves and hot water. Even Green tea is good!

3-      Apply pain relieving balms. Some balms with soothing aloe can help, aloe is the best. Take a bit of it and massage it on your forehead.

4-      Hydrate yourself. Dehydration can also sometimes cause headaches, so you should definitely try drinking some water or fresh juices (I am sorry but sodas don’t count)

5-      Lessen Internet Usage. Try staying away from the internet, I know it’s a necessity by now, and you can not just leave it but try using at as less as possible.

6-      Get some Sleep. Then getting some sleep can also be helpful. Actually it is the best, your body is always up for some rest!

7-      Laugh. Headaches can also be an outcome of stress, so maybe watching a comedy film or your favourite show can help. Something that can cheer  you or make you laugh

8-      Also refrain from very cold water or sleeping in very cold rooms.

“Think 100 time…

“Think 100 times before you take a decision, But once that decision is taken, stand by it as one man.”

This is my favourite quote by my favourite man Jinnah. It gives you the courage to stand by your decision  🙂

by amnanaeem