Rainbow Saathi: A dating site more like a community

The LGBTQI community of South Asia is ever strengthening by the day. In a landmark ruling, Indian supreme court overturned the archaic section 377 of penal code.

Although, progress in Pakistan and Bangladesh has been much slower but there are signs of ever growing LGBTQI community as well as the rights given to the third gender.

In this growing environment,  I thought of coming up with https://www.rainbowsaathi.com as a free dating website, where South Asian i.e. desi LGBTQI (Lesbian, Gay, Transgender, Queer and Intersex) could interact with in a judgement free environment.

Lets face it, desi gay, lesbian, transgender and bisexual individuals still face a lot of challenges. The South Asian diaspora is often misunderstood and often face racial stereotypes if not discrimination. Additionally, in South Asia, there are many hoops to overcome. There is pressure to get married and then there is social stigma. I then thought, wouldn't it be cool if I made a website where the community could discuss all its issues and meet like-minded individuals.

Sign up to Rainbow Saathi by clicking on https://www.rainbowsaathi.com.

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Is India swinging the right-wing?

As the recent events unravel, I cannot help but wonder if Modi's India is moving more right-wing.

I have to use this as a disclaimer before I get judged for an innate prejudice against India for which we all Indians and Pakistanis are expected to have against each other, with or without our own will. I am a Pakistani who has partially grown up in New Zealand where I mostly grew up with Indians, I learnt about the many festivals of India, the colours, the diversity, the religions and so forth. In a country so far away from my homeland, I felt comfort in the company of people from India. Although I would hear questions that leave leave me spellbound at times, 

"Do all women wear Burqa?"

"Why do you oppress women so much?"

I would leave it to the ignorant media on both sides for glorifying stereotypes. 

I would come back and be an agent for change in my community of people back home to educate them on how similar Indians and Pakistanis were. For many, I was a naive young men who had not grown up to understand the complexities and realities of Indo-Pak relationship. Needless to say, I would hear similar kind of prejudices against Indians from people in the Pakistan. However, the deteriorating situation in Pakistan after 2001, and India's economy growing on a magnificent rate left me with little confidence in Pakistan. I wanted Pakistan to follow the path of a secular India, where diversity was celebrated. 

When Modi was elected as a Prime Minister of India, some of my friends who had been known to me for having rather impolite views of Muslims of the world, were cherishing his win. Oblivious of the Gujrat incident, I googled the reason as to why he was denied a US visa. Although he had been acquitted by the Supreme Court, I knew he had a part to play in a politics of division. I heard a lot of arguments from people who said that he had been given a "clean-slate" from the courts. I just knew, there was something not entirely right.

Years down the line, I am in Pakistan. The Kashmir crisis are at their worst, for which I blame both the countries equally. I then hear the 15th August independence speech by Modi, who expresses his concerns towards the grievances of Baluch people, something I had always argued in favour of. Although how noble his intentions might have been, I could sense a sinister ploy where the Kashmiri demands were sidelined as terror shenanigans (and weren't even mentioned) while separatists were encouraged rather than development and protection in Baluchistan. It only went on to show that the plan was to instigate separatist movements in Pakistan, which is a claim long-held by Pakistan that India uses proxy wars to derail development in Baluchistan, while there was no genuine concern for the people and the development. It was also at a time when China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) could offer more economic emancipation to the Baluch people, if security concerns were less intensified. Instead of doing a favour to Baluch, he is using them as means in yet another classical South Asian political manipulative gains. I took on the internet to suggest that this will also excuse Pakistan to interfere in other troubled regions of North Eastern India, the result I got on various internet platforms were extreme and the opposite of my perceptions of a welcoming India. 

The trolls on the internet are insulting, inhumane, prejudiced, ignorant and simply ignorant. I got attacked for being a Pakistani, for my existence as a human and derogatory terms such as "Porki" and "Porkistani" were so widely used that I was ashamed for reading them. Is Modi polarising India?  Yes he is, I feel he is using Pakistan as a scapegoat of his inability to deal with the problems in his own country. I just read an article yesterday, where a congress female politician countered Defense Minister's Remarks who had earlier on expressed that "going to Pakistan is like going to hell". In a reply on twitter she said, "Pakistan is not hell". Her remarks have been challenged for sedition by a little known lawyer in the local courts. However, the surprising part of the episode is reaction by the Indian media which has labelled her for "praising" Pakistan, while countless comments on social media and under comments section on news website, were even more appalling asking her to move to Pakistan. 

The latest right-wing Indian leaning has made me think that Pakistan is perhaps going slightly left. I can say this on record because on the even of 14th August I had attended a function which called on for peace in South Asia, and there were countless known personalities who defended Indo-Pak peace. I never heard any of them being charged for sedition the next day. Perhaps, I am not keeping up with the news so much these days. In any case, the right-wing swing of Modi politics is alarming and destructive, it can start a politics of proxy wars which can affect both our economies. It is high time that our people rise above the manipulative politics on both sides and work towards a united South Asia. We should not give in to hatred which has not given us anything more than animosity in the last 70 years and which has taken countless lives on both sides of the border.

Imran Khan's revolution in Slackistan

A guy in his mid twenties comes out of his car, and fails to pay his toll tax upon entrance into Islamabad. His excuse? Civil disobedience! Thanks to the recent events, we now have excuse as citizens of Pakistan to put a cause to our tax evasion. The video has gone viral, and with it, the bashing of Nawaz Sharif (and his corruption). Never have I felt so hopeless, than I have now in the youth of Pakistan. What does that young man, or his accompanied friends, one of which talks about paying their driver (chauffeur), know about Mahatma Gandhi's civil disobedience? Unthankfully, they will now be contributing towards a crumbling system which is only going to get worse. They are the youth of Slackistan. 

Imran Khan has a support of English speaking, computer educated, higher middle class youth. They do not understand the concerns of the Pakistanis who work as chauffeurs, as waiters, as garbage collectors, or as farmers. For them, like Imran Khan, settling scores might just be the most important thing for the country right now. We are talking of a country where 17.2% of the country lives below extreme poverty line, while more than 60% of the country lives under $2 a day. Then how does the youth of Pakistan is so concerned about unfair elections? Pakistan is one of the only countries in the world where Polio has not been fully eradicated. It is also a country where Baluchistan, a major land-mass of the country, is crying for its independence. With all the signs of a crumbling state, should a revolution be only about re-elections?

In my view, Imran Khan, or any other leader, cannot call their cause a revolution. A revolution, in its true sense is a revolution to up turn, and over throw the influence of the bourgeoisie. Just as Nawaz Sharif is, the youth of slackistan is also a bourgeoisie. Power is a very strange word, and it is that power which does not let Nawaz leave his seat. It is the same power, that the youth of slackistan has over their maids, drivers, and the lower class, which will never in turn for a revolution for the poor. It is the same power the army has, which takes most of the budget in for defense, in a country where lack of clean drinking water is still a challenge of the 21st century. As Imran Khan leads his revolution into the parliament, with him he takes a huge crowd of Slackistanis who would rather update their Facebook statuses than actually understand the consequences of their actions on a highly indebted government and its poor majority. 

Written by Fahad Sher Hussain

India’s “Filthy Photos” and Nationalism

My answer to India’s “filthy photos” and Nationalism



For the past few many weeks, I have seen pictures of India’s Ganges floating around the internet. The pictures I have attached below are ridiculed by Chinese and Pakistanis as “India’s filth”. The original article was written by a Chinese tourist who went on to India on a two months holiday. Interestingly on his North-à-South trip, he was only able to capture pictures of decomposing bodies, and toilets. Although the article has been translated, the tone of the article is extremely biased. My argument is that such articles promote a sense of nationalism and its arrogance.

Here are pictures from the blog and a link to the article:

http://www.chinasmack.com/2010/pictures/filthy-india-photos-chinese-netizen-reactions.html

I saw a fellow Pakistani (taking a huge pride) shared the article by saying “after all it is not at all shining”. Well of course, we all know “India is shining” is just as good of a propaganda as “Colgate whitens your teeth”. I was surprised to see the sheer amount of joy Pakistanis and Chinese citizens felt sharing the article on Facebook, Twitter and other social media websites. William Ralph Inge was once quoted as saying,  “A nation is a society united by delusion about its ancestry and by common hatred for its neighbors”. The ingrained hatred for Indians by Pakistanis is generation long, and the same can be felt vica versa. We, the Pakistanis, should just take a prowl around the banks of Ravi River for a quick session of our re-enlightenment towards cleanliness. Perhaps, that would make us feel a bit more modest towards the health and hygiene superiority we have been flaunting. Below are some of the pictures: 

For the record, I personally visited the Ravi River a few months back and found a sea of pink plastic bags around the banks. 

As for China, there are pictures that I have attached below showing the poor situation of public toilets, as well as general pollution in the suburbia. I have also included the pictures of how animals are brutally murdered in some parts of China. The animals I am talking about are dogs, cats and pangolins.

I have not written this blog to support the pollution around the Ganges (as an excuse for a religious ritual). In an ideal situation, the Chinese would like you to visit Shanghai, Beijing or Hong Kong just as the Indians would like you to visit Ladakh, Goa or Delhi. I also do not dispute the fact that India is “dirty” (for a use of a better word) neither do I deny that Indians aren’t nationalists. As a matter of fact, I have met some of the most radically-nationalistic-Indians over the years. However, I do want to point out to the fact that how nationalism promotes unnecessary “arrogance”. 

Nationalism is a very knotty idea. In philosophy it is well determined that “Utopia” is just an ideal philosophical place, and will always be (i.e it could never be achieved). Encountering nationalists, I see a trend of people who are usually poorly travelled and if they are travelled they have not lived long enough outside their own cultures i.e. forming (own) sub-groups in a foreign country. They generate self-fulfilling theories that serve them with, thinking that they made the right “choice” of being born in that country. Ironic as it may sound, but we do not choose to be born where we are born. 

Since the internet has brought us all closer. I hope that one day it will also make us realize that if we really want to help this world, We need to start from home just as the charity (starts at home). 

Written By Fahad Sher Hussain

Kuwait: Racist, Homophobic And Sexist

When we think of Kuwait not many things come to our mind. An oil rich country, overvalued-currency and the Gulf-War, Kuwait has a lot on offer. As of late, this country (or at least its rulers) are tirelessly working on a PR campaign to make it sound more like a "tough-little" country. Is Kuwait suffering from "Napoleon complex"?

When I heard of the news that Kuwait was (indefinitely) banning Pakistanis along with other five nationalities from entering the country, I was surprised. The countries that were banned from entry were Pakistan, Iran, Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. Interestingly, Yemen, Somalia and Sudan were not kept on the ban list (as the list was put on due to security risks). It was also surprising to see the reaction of Pakistani Politicians who went to Kuwait (one of Pakistan's donor countries) to beg them to lift the ban. Showing not much dignity, Pakistani politicians gave in to their "brotherly" friends.

If the same step had been taken by a western democracy, the politicians in Pakistan would have been the first to call them racist. Why is that Pakistan's “dignifying-ly-patriotic” politicians never called Kuwait a discriminating country? Is it because it is a “brotherly” Arab country? And so it happens there is an entrenched inferiority towards Pakistan’s brotherly Arab nations. On the contrary, if a western-state had banned Pakistanis; the politicians would have eagerly protested. Would I be correct to assume that Pakistanis know the fact that a western democracy is more likely to take them serious? As opposed to a country where democracy means nothing-all!

Kuwait never fails to surprise me. Just yesterday, I learnt that they are also introducing a ban on transgendered and homosexual expats in the country. Kuwait will introduce tests at the airport to check if the incoming passengers are gay. For starters, they couldn’t take DNA samples to look for the “gay gene”. It is because that would defeat Kuwait's stance on homosexuality (learnt behavior vs genetic). I am speculating a two step test process based on the scientology's "stress-o-meter" model.

They could use the help psychometric questions. By asking questions, they could check what side of the meter the answers lead to. For example, They could say  the word Britney Spears, and then observe if the meters leads to “sexually attracted to” or “idolizes”. If the meter remains in the middle then the person is bisexual.

To further scrutinize the application, the confused bisexual expat could then be made to watch pornographic photographs.The confused bisexual could be shown immodest photographs of both men and women, to see which one would get them excited physically. Satire apart, it is not up to a government to determine one's sexuality.


Talking of government, Kuwaiti government is shutting down mixed coffee shops due to (uncontrollable) immorality. And by immorality I mean, women alongside men enjoying a smoke of Sheesha. Clearly, the connotative meaning of morality in my mind is very different to theirs. Conversely, according to UNDP, Kuwait ranks the highest (in the middle-east) for gender equality. Despite the fact, that it was only recently that women were allowed to hold a public office position in Kuwait. I wonder if the definition of “gender equality” changes the same way the definition of "morality" changes as it travels to the middle-east.

With all the attributes discussed above, I am happy to declare that Kuwait is suffering from "Napoleon complex". It is small, it does compensate for its small land and it does make non-sense decisions. I Just hope that (not) many little other countries (in the middle-east) fall into that complex.

Written by Fahad Sher Hussain

Malala: 10 Reasons Why She Should Win Nobel Peace Prize!

I have seen my fellow citizens write a lot against Malala as an "Agent-of-the-West" and some go as far as saying she was never shot. For some Pakistanis, Malala is a conspiracy against Pakistan. However, there are many more Pakistanis who support Malala and take pride in her. Coming from the later bunch, I will be holding my breath this Friday as the Nobel Peace Prize is announced. 

I have compiled my list to justify why Malala is a deserving candidate.

10.  A Fighter

Malala Yousafzai is a fighter. She is a fighter who stands for her rights. She started by writing for BBC Urdu and has ended up fighting for a greater cause. In such an innocent girl, lives a soul of a great fighter. 

9. The Youngest Winner

Malala is only 16 and if she wins she will be the youngest Nobel Peace Prize winner in the history of Nobel laureates. When in 2011 Tawakkol Karman won, at 32 she was the youngest winner. 

8. I am Malala

Malala Yousafzai is the reason for which a United Nation's resolution on the rights of equality of education in Pakistan was passed; and the need to have education for the children out of school. Currently, She is also working for the rights of Syrian children in the Lebanese refugee camps.

7. A Teenager

There is so much fuss around Malala being a teenager. It is argued that she doesn't need to win the Nobel Peace Prize because she deserves to live a life of a regular teenager. In my view, she is no ordinary teenager or an ordinary human being for that matter. The "ordinary-teenagers" do not get shot by some of the world's most notorious criminals; nor do they stand-up for the rights of female education. For all the ordinary teenagers I know, they talk about Zayn Malick and watch Twilight. She already has a spark of a charismatic young lady!

6. A Survivor

Malala is survivor of a deadly attack. Contrary to what Pakistani conspiracy theorists would like to think, she was shot and later survived a deadly attack. Malala survived various surgeries to be able to come out as a brave young woman. In its true sense, Malala is a survivor who has lived through to be able to promote what she really believes in.

5.  A Great Father

Malala wouldn't have been Malala without the support of her father. It is her father who encouraged her to write for BBC Urdu under the brutal rule of Taliban. By rewarding Malala, the many courageous fathers like Ziauddin will also be rewarded. They will be given a recognition that a daughter's education is worth fighting for.

4.  Girls' Education

According to the 2011 Human Development Report of the United Nations Development Program, approximately twice as many males as females receive a secondary education in Pakistan. Pakistan has one of the poorest records of female education in the whole entire world. The public expenditure of education in Pakistan is nothing more than 2.7%. Malala is a hope for many Pakistani girls who cannot afford to study or will never study at a school. She has happened in the right time for the right cause.

3. An Influential Figure

Malala has become an influential name on the World stage. Times Magazine included her in the list of "100 most influential people in the World". She has become a symbol of hope, child education and courage. She has actually educated many influential celebrities on the rights of female education. Some of her fans include Beyonce, Madonna, and David Beckham.

2. The First Pakistani

Malala has great plans and one of them is to be the future prime minister of Pakistan. She will make history by being the first Pakistani to win a Nobel Peace Prize. By awarding her with the Nobel Peace Prize, the many girls in Pakistan could get the recognition to dream. If Malala can dare to dream, so can they! 

1. Facing Evil

The main reason why Malala should win the Nobel Peace Prize is because she has dared to vocally stand against the Taliban. Be it Nawaz Sharif (the current PM of Pakistan) or populist Imran Khan, no one has been as vocal and as critical of the Taliban as her. For her, the threat of Taliban is nothing as major as educating young women. 

"They thought that the bullets would silence us, but they failed," Malala said in a speech at the United Nations on her 16th birthday. "The terrorists thought they would change my aims and stop my ambitions. But nothing changed in my life except this: weakness, fear and hopelessness died. Strength, power and courage was born."

Akbari and Asghari: A story of two bitter sisters

On an eventful night of 14th August 1947, Asghari was born. The legend has it that she was born to a very fair mother. As soon as the mother gave birth to Asghari, the whole of hospital washed away with blood. It wasn't just the only child in the womb of the mother. The doctors advised that they will not bother taking out the second twin. They said they will wait for it till the night after. It is then the two bitter sisters were born.

The fair mother adopted the two daughters away to her neighbors. Asghari was given to a conservative family; who was bigotedly religious and traditional. Akbari was given to the other neighbor who was adjacent to Asghari’s adopted family. Their family was a rather bigotedly secular family; alcohol and religion went hand-in-hand. The rivalry of these two neighboring families was age-old, and between them they decided not to reveal (to the) the girls that they were sisters.

The families also decided that the sisters will not visit each other. If they ever attempted to visit each other, they will be confined to certain areas. Educated from their adoptive families; the two daughters grew up, and in hatred for each other. They saw each other as step-sisters and blamed each other’s fathers for the break- up of their families.

Asghari grew older to be a beautiful, lean and a religiously-conservative girl. She had problems with the men she married, and she married many. Those men had a great influence on the way she thought. Over the years, she started developing identity crisis and eventually chose an identity of a woman who is obsessed with her religion. The obsession lead to self-harm and the self-harm lead to disability. The scars from her obsession of self-harm are still visible from far far away, even to this date. It is said that Akbari had a part to play.

Akbari grew older to be a voluptuous, secular and yet still a slightly religious woman. Akbari would enjoy a nice glass of red wine while also celebrating her religious devotion. Like her sister, she had also been very corrupt in dealings of her professional life. The sisters were quite similar in their contradictions and yet had always portrayed themselves in a different light (to each other). It was almost as if they lived purposeful-life to down-play each other.

It was the height of contradictions, when Asghari learnt the art of black magic (coming from a religion denouncing magic altogether). It was her adoptive family's relations living in the desert, who sent her the book of black magic . She used that black magic to perform it on her “step” sister, Akbari. Adversely, the black magic emotionally tarnished Asghari (because the relatives failed to tell her that the magic tends to destruct the life of the performer). The black magic continued having inimical effects on Asghari, taking her to the darker sides. She became emotionally and mentally unstable. Her friend Xin still supported Asghari in her troubled times. Although Xin had a secret agenda which was to voyeur into sisters’ rivalry.

Asghari continued on a down-hill journey. Akbari looked down upon Asghari (on her sister's self-destructive-suicidal-mission). Akbari never bothered to help out, but instead enjoyed each and every moment of the sisters destruction

While Asghari was going down, Akbari started a great career at a BPO. Her wealth grew and she prospered. Akbari took pride in being the wealthier sibling.

The sisters are 66 years old now and as I type this they are carrying on forward with their rivalries. I have grown up and matured over the years. I hope the sisters will do too one day!

Written by Fahad Sher Hussain and Edited by
Mehwish Mughal