Category Archives: Case Studies

Breaking Barriers – Shabnam’s Courage in The Face of Adversity

The story of Shabnam is one among countless instances that reflect positive aspects of our society. Laced with inimitable fortitude and perseverance, showing courage in the face of adversity, she has earned herself a name on merit and hard work through painstaking efforts to replace her sick husband as the sole breadwinner for the family.…

Forced to Convert & Marry her Rapist – Mehak’s Afterlife as a Christian Girl

A minor girl, between 15 to 17 years of age, donning a hijab, her eyes well up with tears as she speaks. Her lips are barely moving as she scrambles for words. Addressing her family via the video, she informs them about her marriage and embracing Islam, and then pleads with them to accept her…

Destined for Poisoned Work – The Story of Shaukat Masih

In everyday conversations, they are interchangeably referred to as Churhas, sweepers, or Christians – all terms bearing pejorative connotations, reminding, as it were, these people of their “rightful” place in this religiously-sanctioned hierarchical society. Forming a cohesive social group in Faisalabad, as in most of urban Pakistan, they make up the bulk of municipal sweepers…

Digging Their Graves: The Coal Miners of Balochistan

Mines are termed the black holes of the earth and it is no surprise that they suck in everything that comes their way; obliterating all remains. Over 440 miners have lost their lives in Balochistan alone in the last few years, according to government statistics. That is not just 440 individuals’ lives, but 440 families…

The Bride from Chitral – Huma’s Tragic Murder

 “Chitral man seeks inquiry into daughters’ murder”, “Chitral man kills woman, injures wife and mother-in-law”, “Suicide among married women in Chitral on the rise”, “Suicide: an emerging issue among married women in Chitral.” [1] It is not uncommon to hear about stories of abuse, violence, and death when it comes to women- each day a…

Reclaiming Humanity – Nazia, A Sheedi Woman, Changing Attitudes Against Her Community

Tanzeela Qambrani was elected chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarian (PPPP) women’s branch in Matli in 2017 and immediately she was met with a barrage of criticism in return; some even from members of the same political party. “These people clean our children’s shit and you want them to run us?” she quotes as…

Achieving Equality in An Unequal World – Kumar’s Journey as An Agent of Social Change 

The pain was evident in his voice as he was talking. On multiple occasions, he had experienced the crippling, demoralizing, and emotionally distressing effects of being a minority. He was reminded of his school days: once he had been barred from drinking water from a filter installed in his school; on another occasion, children refused…

Transcending Physical Limitations – Naeem’s Fight for Mainstreaming PWDs

From the very beginning, Naeem knew that something was wrong with his vision. Bit by bit, his ability to see was going away and none around him seemed to notice it until one day they realized that he had lost his eyesight. The fate he met was far from being inevitable or unavoidable. It could…

Sanam Faqeer: Engendering Hope Among the Transgenders of Sukkur

Born in the Sukkur district of Sindh, unlike other children of her age, Sanam Faqeer had a rather tough childhood because people felt she was different.  She had 10 siblings and was the ninth in the order of birth. She was doted upon by her parents and her five sisters, however, her four brothers could…

Nirma’s Murder – A Transwoman Failed by the Justice System

They are abandoned, disowned, and discarded without a bat of an eye by their own families – but when it comes to reaping their blood money as a result of their inhumane killing, all familial ties suddenly remerge. Such is the fateful story of a transgendered person Nirma, who was brutally murdered in Peshawar. While…