principal

14 Jun

The often ignored hand that rocks the Islamist cradle

Title: We are all Revolutionaries Here - Militarism, Political Islam and Gender in Pakistan; Author: Aneela Zeb Babar; Publisher: Sage Publications India; Pages: 196; Price: Rs 695 For every Malala Yousufzai or even Benazir Bhutto, there is also an Apa Nisar Fatima, who applauded Zia ul Haq's Islamisation drive, the baton-wielding girl students of Lal Masjid's seminary or Tashfeen Malik of the 2015 St Bernardino attack. Pakistani women's presence in public/political Islam, or Islamism, has been quite complex but hasn't received as much attention or analysis as their male counterparts. At its very basic, it raises questions whether this overt…

21 Apr

The other detectives of Baker Street – and their chilling cases (Book Review)

Title: The Women of Baker Street; Author: Michelle Birkby; Publisher: Pan Macmillan UK; Pages: 361; Price: Rs 399 On the foggy streets of gaslit, late-19th century London, evil is again afoot. Inmates of a women's ward in a leading hospital are dying in suspicious circumstances, while boys from the street are disappearing and some reappearing in a mysterious, nocturnal gang. Probing these cases and their connections are investigators from Baker Street -- but not the ones expected. In the second instalment of her series utilising two of the most vital but neglected figures -- both women -- from the Sherlock…