yeh hum naheen

the world's largest petition at present is in the form of a song titled 'yeh hum naheen' (this is not us). with over 60 million signatures, the song is attempting to redefine islam (and pakistan) as anti-terrorist.

the lyrics are beautiful, and self explanatory. (i suggest you read/listen to the urdu however..)

Hamarey Naam Say Pheli Howi Jhooti Kahani Hai
This story that is being spread in our names is a lie

Yeah Mohrein Mout Ki….. Mathay Pay Gheroun Ki Nishani Hain
These stamps of death on our foreheads are the signs of others

Hamein Jis Naam Say Tum Jantay Ho…. Woh Hum Naheen
The name by which you know us - we are not that

Humein Jis Aankh Say Tum Dehktay Ho…. Woh Hum Naheen
The eyes with which you look at us - we are not that

Yeh Hum Naheen, Yeh Hum Naheen, Yeh Hum Naheen,
This is not us - this is not us...

Jaisay Sham Aatay hi Koi Rasta Hum Bola Baithay
As with the coming of night one loses one's way

Andhairo Say Daray Itna Kay Hum Ghar Hi Jala Baithay
We are scared of the dark so much that we are burning our own home

Yeah Kya Charo Taraf Urti Howi Rayegani Hai
What is this rising all around us...

Hamarey Naam Say Phali Howi Jhoti Kahani Hey
The stories that are being spread in our names are lies

Yeh Hum Naheen, Yeh Hum Naheen, Yeh Hum Naheen,
This is not us...

Gira Bathay Hain Rastay Mein Sabak Hum Sath Rehnay Ka
We have lost on the way the lesson of living together

Humain Ek Doosray Say Isliye Bhi Lag Raha Ha Darr
We are now even scared of each other.

Woh Koi Aur Hain Jin Kay Teray Hathon Main Chehray Hain
They are others whose faces are on your hands

Tumhara Dukh Samandar, Hamaray Zakham Ghehray Hain
Your hurts are a deep sea - our wounds are deep.

Yeh Hum Naheen, Yeh Hum Naheen, Yeh Hum Naheen,
This is not us...

you can learn more about the song and campaign here.

lost girl power

this article, 'girl power at school but not at the office', by hannah seligson resonated powerfully with me, particularly the parts about the workplace not being a meritocracy and the necessity of having to ask for what you want, without being sensitive to people saying 'no'.

When I was in college, the female students excelled academically, sometimes running laps around their male counterparts. Women easily ascended to school leadership positions and prestigious internships. In my graduating class (more than half of which was female) there was a feeling of camaraderie, a sense that we were helping each other succeed.

indeed. succeeding at university was easy, and largely, girls did better than boys. and yet, even there, i remember having a conversation with one professor about how even though his best students were girls, they were the ones who found it the hardest in the workforce.

as for myself, i totally expected the environment at work to be similar to that of university: the same equality, opportunity and fairness.

...a larger issue that women, coming directly out of the colleges that nurtured and rewarded them and gave them every advantage, may have trouble grasping. For me, it was crystallized in a comment made to me by Myra Hart, a retired senior faculty member at Harvard Business School who studies women as entrepreneurs: “By and large women believe that the workplace is a meritocracy, and it isn’t.”

the other thing is the issue of pay. even after working for five years, i still find asking for a pay rise difficult and distasteful. as seligson says, "Coming into the work force, I thought that, just as my professor had given me the grade I deserved on my political science midterm, my company would pay me what I 'deserved'." this is not of course the case. instead, 'the central tenet of a bigger paycheck is ask and you shall receive'.

and this requires some other qualities seligson mentions: a thick skin, the ability to promote yourself, to stop being a perfectionist, and creating a professional network, all of which are "abilities that men are just more likely to have already".

well, now i know what to work on..

measly health care vouchers

the hk government is introducing a new scheme of health care vouchers for the elderly, so they may access private health care. sounds good so far. except, the vouchers will amount to a measly $250 per year. how did they come up with that amount, considering $250 is the consultation fee for many private practitioners? (depending on the type of health care, fees can range from $150-600). as one practitioner noted, it would make more sense to have each voucher worth $200 (at least).

why does the government continue with these half-baked schemes that do not actually benefit the recipients? this is like the 'fruit money' of social assistance. how insulting.

what a wonderful word

charming: 'pleasing the mind or senses in a high degree; delighting; fascinating; attractive.'

its synonyms include: enchanting, alluring, captivating, graceful, lovely.

oh my. after all the recent put downs, to be described as charming (and by more than one person too!) is a marvelous balm.

i want to believe

ten years of wearing rida full time. if i had ever thought about what that would mean, surely it would have included feeling an overwhelming sense of peace, a keener sense of faith, of belonging.

and yet I feel none of those things right now. (and whatever embarrassment i would feel at admitting this, is numbed by a strange weariness.)

i recall a conversation i had with someone many years ago (i must have been 19 or so). for her, one of the hardest misaaq oaths was this: that you will not question why koi ne uncha kare, koi ne neecha kare. i looked at her in total surprise (and naivete) and said that was the easiest of oaths.

i want that conviction back.

life is easier, more meaningful when you believe, when there is a point. for so long i took that belief for granted. and now, when i want to believe, I find myself struggling..

the other side of olympic discipline

forget the medal count, matthew syed has a far more interesting story regarding what goes on inside the olympic village:

I am often asked if the Olympic village - the vast restaurant and housing conglomeration that hosts the world's top athletes for the duration of the Games - is the sex-fest it is cracked up to be. My answer is always the same: too right it is. I played my first Games in Barcelona in 1992 and got laid more often in those two and a half weeks than in the rest of my life up to that point…

I spoke to an Aussie table tennis player this week to check out the village vibe [in Beijing] and he launched into the breathless patter common to any Olympic debutant: “It is unbelievable in there; everyone is totally crazy once they are out of their competitions. God knows what it is going to be like this weekend. It is like a world within a world.” A British runner (anonymous again: athletes are not supposed to talk to journalists unaccompanied by a PR type, least of all about sex) said: “The swimmers finished earlier in the week and it was like there was an eruption.”

…it is worth noting an intriguing dichotomy between the sexes in respect of all this coupling. The chaps who win gold medals - even those as geeky as Michael Phelps - are the principal objects of desire for many female athletes… But - and this is the thing - success does not work both ways. Gold-medal winning female athletes are not looked upon by male athletes with any more desire than those who flunked out in the first round. It is sometimes even considered a defect, as if there is something downright unfeminine about all that striving, fist pumping and incontinent sweating.

the reactions to his article were just as entertaining:

Why on earth didn’t anyone let me know about this earlier? I might have tried to be a volunteer in the village . . . Wang, Beijing, China

Surely this is all the motivation those 14-to-18-year-old athletes on GB’s various Olympic development programs should need to inspire them to get to London 2012. It should be pinned to the notice board of every school and sports centre in the country. Tim, Manchester

That was the most awesome Olympics-related article I’ve read since Beijing 2008 started. Drake, Alabama, US

if you’re still interested in the medal count though, i came across this widget, which apparently calculates the medals according to population and GDP, with jamaica leading.

musharraf's highly entertaining speech

i just spent a very amusing hour listening to pervez musharraf’s rambling speech (and the occasional foibles of the translator). after repeatedly emphasizing how all his actions were taken in ‘good faith’ and in the interest of the country, he detailed his numerous ‘achievements’ over the past nine years, including the opening of art galleries and high hotel occupancy (how could i not be amused?!). finally, after voicing his concerns for what an impeachment would do to pakistan’s ‘international reputation’ as well as internal stability, he announced his intention to resign (ilhumdolillah!).

it was a good break. we should do this more often--who's next?