Contributions – Month 1

by Shafaq Javaid I get stoned at Zara auntie’s. She lives in the apartment next to ours. She covers for me. Gives me mints. And tells me stories of her youth. She laughs and recalls her one and only dating fiasco which led to Junior, her 17 year old son. Our building is located on […]

Mene thori si duniya dekhi hae to bohat kuch samjhti hu mae. Ab poocho ge duniya kioun dekhi tumne? Aurton ko to ‘fragile flower’ ki tarha hona chahye. Jee mae thi aik fragile flower jab tak aba chor ke chalay nae gaye. Aik ghar me 3 aurtien (ma, behan aur mae) saal se akeli rehti

The quarantine is going great yaaroun. I get to cross things out of my to-do list every day, like “wake up” “don’t take a shower” “stay hydrated” “cry” etc, etc. You know the drill. Barra mazaaydaar time hai, kuch samajh mai hi nai ah raha tha initially. The world as we know it had come

By Amal Awais Chughtai During this time of quarantining, I’ve been caught in a cycle of healing. I wanted something to reflect what I’ve been feeling, so after a stalemate that spanned many months, I drew it. What resulted was an image of me; experiencing trauma, experiencing fear and paranoia that I can’t get out

By Manahil It’s another day during a global pandemic and another day we’re supposed to keep calm and deal with it. Which is the best thing we can do in this moment but it’s also frightening. Much like most things right now. It’s no surprise why so many find solace through writing since you have

by Fatima Tanvir As women, we are made to carry not only the baggage of our own struggles, complexities, and experiences but also of that jolted upon us owing to the patriarchal milieu of our society. There is a lot of learning and unlearning, a lot of shaking up to do, in our own capacities,

By Nishwah Khan (Dedicated to my nanou: Nafeesa. You deserve to be honoured and loved. Thank you for being such a strong woman. I love you.) Purple is my favorite color. My husband told me it suits me a lot. I blushed whenever he complimented me. I didn’t know how much he loved purple on

By Vicky Zhuang Yi-Yin I’m writing from the safety of my house right now, where I isolated with mom. You know that place that you will inadvertently start treating like a hotel room because you’re going to go out all day, out and about with your work and gym and hanging out and whatever. I

By Rutaba Tanvir Nazia Sajjad was a simple woman who led a simple life. A single child orphaned at the age of 11, she was shipped off to her khala’s house soon after her parent’s untimely death. It was her khala who taught her the virtues of a life spent in servitude. Always a quick