Sensibly Single :

Till date being single has worked for me perfectly. I know that I am single because I have reason to be. To me it is never an issue, as I do believe in fact and reality. Single or not, my happiness is the foremost important thing in my life. In a way, I am never single..... I always have me with me. I also have my work, my passion and my art. In a country, We have never had the privilege of knowing what it is to be just ‘me’. We are different countries girls have two is actually the father’s den and the other with our husbands. But I need to see and be in my life, my own life. in fact it is applicable for men, too. I need to feel and know that it is actually my life, after all. Being single is still a new concept in our society and it is simultaneously very fashionable and also not yet socially ‘acceptable’. But I believe it is a necessary step in one’s life, to come out of the box, out of the convenient way of life, and to deal with it practically. This gives me the strength to be an individual and to support myself Firstly, I have to be strong enough to support myself, and only then can I support the rest. In order to do that I need to know how to face reality without any back-up, this will eventually help me raise my own family in any given situation.

My father died when I was a teenager and my mom was in her early thirties. His sudden death forced us into a reality with us three children and a single (widowed) mother. She was a working woman and an exceptionally courageous one at that, and we all managed to pull it. off together as a family. I watched her struggle, constantly learning, while leading her life without any support. It was a huge pressure for her to deal with it all on her own. Over time I gave a lot of thought to the situation and realized that if she had her own life at some point she would have had the opportunity to prepare and strengthen herself for a situation like the one she was faced with when my father died. It is the same with divorced/separated women. they know how to handle being alone if they learned how to be single firstly. Of course there are many hurdles to face as a single woman, but it is still our life and we have to make the best use of it no matter what. It should be a choice, a choice of wanting to live life to its fullest. If being ‘single’ makes one feel happy, so be it! I always looked for.

Challenges and being single has given me the opportunity to see it all fun, pain, gain, all of it. Single life teaches me to be prepared, to be aware and to be accountable of my own judgment and my own decisions. I know exactly what I want from my life. Being single brings me closer to my life and my surroundings. Though it is not all fun, it is surely worth living alone at some point of our lives!

One piece of advice though: do not make single-hood the motto of your life. Keep a partner or lover as close to your heart as possible, if not close to your house. So, when the right time comes, you can be together and make life more meaningful, joyful and live with one another in LOVE.

Sensibly Single :

Till date being single has worked for me perfectly. I know that I am single because I have reason to be. To me it is never an issue, as I do believe in fact and reality. Single or not, my happiness is the foremost important thing in my life. In a way, I am never single..... I always have me with me. I also have my work, my passion and my art. In a country, We have never had the privilege of knowing what it is to be just ‘me’. We are different countries girls have two is actually the father’s den and the other with our husbands. But I need to see and be in my life, my own life. in fact it is applicable for men, too. I need to feel and know that it is actually my life, after all. Being single is still a new concept in our society and it is simultaneously very fashionable and also not yet socially ‘acceptable’. But I believe it is a necessary step in one’s life, to come out of the box, out of the convenient way of life, and to deal with it practically. This gives me the strength to be an individual and to support myself Firstly, I have to be strong enough to support myself, and only then can I support the rest. In order to do that I need to know how to face reality without any back-up, this will eventually help me raise my own family in any given situation.

My father died when I was a teenager and my mom was in her early thirties. His sudden death forced us into a reality with us three children and a single (widowed) mother. She was a working woman and an exceptionally courageous one at that, and we all managed to pull it. off together as a family. I watched her struggle, constantly learning, while leading her life without any support. It was a huge pressure for her to deal with it all on her own. Over time I gave a lot of thought to the situation and realized that if she had her own life at some point she would have had the opportunity to prepare and strengthen herself for a situation like the one she was faced with when my father died. It is the same with divorced/separated women. they know how to handle being alone if they learned how to be single firstly. Of course there are many hurdles to face as a single woman, but it is still our life and we have to make the best use of it no matter what. It should be a choice, a choice of wanting to live life to its fullest. If being ‘single’ makes one feel happy, so be it! I always looked for.

Challenges and being single has given me the opportunity to see it all fun, pain, gain, all of it. Single life teaches me to be prepared, to be aware and to be accountable of my own judgment and my own decisions. I know exactly what I want from my life. Being single brings me closer to my life and my surroundings. Though it is not all fun, it is surely worth living alone at some point of our lives!

One piece of advice though: do not make single-hood the motto of your life. Keep a partner or lover as close to your heart as possible, if not close to your house. So, when the right time comes, you can be together and make life more meaningful, joyful and live with one another in LOVE.

People of Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia – “The Arabia of King Saud”- is a large but lightly populated desert land. The culture of many of its eight million people hadn’t changed much for a thousand year. However, under the Arabian desert sand is the main power source for modern technology- oil, since the 1930s, this oil has brought to Saudi Arabia Europeans. Americans, and the above all, money. The products of the industrial world can be seen everywhere.

Saudi Arabia is changing, but underneath the change are powerful traditions which resist change .Ancient laws are respected and obeyed. Saudi Arabia is a kingdom, and the king rules with near-total authority. Changes in life and custom occur slowly.

In this section you’ll investigate the rules and controls that people of this kingdom.

Where do Rules come from? :

Every society has rules. There are always rules about marriage, about the responsibilities of parents to children, about education, work, dress properly- rules about almost everything, Clearly, if you want to understand a particular society, it is necessary to know what its rules are.

One important question about rules that is not asked very often is, where do rules come from. When we ask that question, we usually answer it by saying rules come “from Congress” or from “kings or rulers or other people who have power.”

But that answer misses the point of the question. The best answer seems to be that societies discover that a certain way of action causes problems. To avoid that problem, a rule is made up which prohibits the way of acting. The rule may come from an authority and be written down, or it may simply become accepted over a long period of time. The actual procedure isn’t important. It’s more important to know that rules usually begin as practical solutions to real problems.

Here are some rules generally observed by the Saudi Arabians. The rules have been followed for more than a thousand years. Since the time when the Saudi Arabians were tribes of herdsmen wandering from place to place to place on the Arabian peninsula.

As you read, think about what problems these rules might have helped to avoid.

On Drinking Alcohol :
If a Moslem Drinks wine, and two witnesses testify to his having done so. Or if his breath smells of wine or if he shall himself confess to having taken wine, or it he found in a state of intoxication, he shall receive eighty lashes, or, in the case of a slave forty lashes.

On Gambling :

They will ask the concerning wine, and games of chance. Say both are a great sin and advantage also, to men, but their sin is greater than their disadvantage.

The evidence of a gambler is not admissible in a court of law, because gambling is a great crime.

On Larceny :
If a man or woman steal, cut off their hands.

On Eating :

One should wash one’s hand, mouth and nose, give thanks to God. Eat with the right hand and with the shoes off and lick the plate when the meal finished.

On Women :

Men are superior to women because God has give n the man qualities which the woman does not have.

A women should not be seen by men not of her own family. If she appears where she might be seen by men, she must wear a veil over her face.

On Food :

All animals that seize their prey with their teeth, and all birds which seize it with their talons, are unlawful to eat. No animal that lives in the water, except fish, is lawful, but fish dying of themselves are unlawful. Animals which are not slain are unlawful to eat.

On collecting Interest On Money Loaned :

Cursed be the taker of usury, the giver of usury, the writer of usury, and the witness of usury, for they are all equal. They who take usury shall be given over to the fire of Hell, therein to abide forever.

People of Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia – “The Arabia of King Saud”- is a large but lightly populated desert land. The culture of many of its eight million people hadn’t changed much for a thousand year. However, under the Arabian desert sand is the main power source for modern technology- oil, since the 1930s, this oil has brought to Saudi Arabia Europeans. Americans, and the above all, money. The products of the industrial world can be seen everywhere.

Saudi Arabia is changing, but underneath the change are powerful traditions which resist change .Ancient laws are respected and obeyed. Saudi Arabia is a kingdom, and the king rules with near-total authority. Changes in life and custom occur slowly.

In this section you’ll investigate the rules and controls that people of this kingdom.

Where do Rules come from? :

Every society has rules. There are always rules about marriage, about the responsibilities of parents to children, about education, work, dress properly- rules about almost everything, Clearly, if you want to understand a particular society, it is necessary to know what its rules are.

One important question about rules that is not asked very often is, where do rules come from. When we ask that question, we usually answer it by saying rules come “from Congress” or from “kings or rulers or other people who have power.”

But that answer misses the point of the question. The best answer seems to be that societies discover that a certain way of action causes problems. To avoid that problem, a rule is made up which prohibits the way of acting. The rule may come from an authority and be written down, or it may simply become accepted over a long period of time. The actual procedure isn’t important. It’s more important to know that rules usually begin as practical solutions to real problems.

Here are some rules generally observed by the Saudi Arabians. The rules have been followed for more than a thousand years. Since the time when the Saudi Arabians were tribes of herdsmen wandering from place to place to place on the Arabian peninsula.

As you read, think about what problems these rules might have helped to avoid.

On Drinking Alcohol :
If a Moslem Drinks wine, and two witnesses testify to his having done so. Or if his breath smells of wine or if he shall himself confess to having taken wine, or it he found in a state of intoxication, he shall receive eighty lashes, or, in the case of a slave forty lashes.

On Gambling :

They will ask the concerning wine, and games of chance. Say both are a great sin and advantage also, to men, but their sin is greater than their disadvantage.

The evidence of a gambler is not admissible in a court of law, because gambling is a great crime.

On Larceny :
If a man or woman steal, cut off their hands.

On Eating :

One should wash one’s hand, mouth and nose, give thanks to God. Eat with the right hand and with the shoes off and lick the plate when the meal finished.

On Women :

Men are superior to women because God has give n the man qualities which the woman does not have.

A women should not be seen by men not of her own family. If she appears where she might be seen by men, she must wear a veil over her face.

On Food :

All animals that seize their prey with their teeth, and all birds which seize it with their talons, are unlawful to eat. No animal that lives in the water, except fish, is lawful, but fish dying of themselves are unlawful. Animals which are not slain are unlawful to eat.

On collecting Interest On Money Loaned :

Cursed be the taker of usury, the giver of usury, the writer of usury, and the witness of usury, for they are all equal. They who take usury shall be given over to the fire of Hell, therein to abide forever.

Working women in Pakistan

Significant debates have occurred detailing the profession (s) that women chose (or not) and the effects that such choice have on the larger Pakistani Society, both in terms of gender roles as well as economic market studies. Oxford University press seems to have made considerable strides in providing venues for such literature in the last few years. The two books reviewed here are amongst such works published by OUP Karachi. Both books are about women's professional careers. Fouzia Saeed's book Taboo (translated into Urdu as 'Klunk'), analyzes "the phenomenon of prostitution (not just as a sex worker but as a cultural professional) .... through it have looked at Pakistani society and its gender roles" (xix: 2001), while Mirza's work engages with data "engendering the embeddedness of market in society, by analyzing the interfaces which emerge into women's life world and the market due to women's entry into office jobs".

Saeed uses a primarily ethnographic approach to the subject, yet applies a narrative format that arguable allows for the material to be easily absorbed by a larger audience. The end product is highly informative, simultaneously being effortless to read. The accessibility of the narrative should not be equated to triviality. Saeed has clearly spent much time struggling with the subject matter prior to publication. She outlines the many difficulties she faced with "Pakistani Society's 'good people", specifically the 'civilized and cultured' people in our national bureaucracy"

The interviews and analysis provided by saeed focus on socialization of the people who work and live in Shahi Mohalla and power dynamics within that socioeconomic framework. The study was conducted over a 10 year period, and her work is saturated with self reflexive commentary. One glaringly obvious issue Saeed was not able to overcome was her biased and disparaging views of the miiile class pakistani women. The homogenous construction of the middle class is problematic, simultancously however, allowing a subculture of the Mohalla to exist freely in her work.

Saeed traces through the traditional practice of prostitution in South Asia (specifically in Pakistan) and illuminates the interconnections between performance theory and myths surrounding prostitution. In a valiant effort, she communicates the real people aspect, and demystifies the otherness of the  "cultural profession" practiced by prostitutes.

One of the most intriguing facets of the narrative is the issue of gender within Pakistani society. On the most basic level, the Mohalla is where the birth of a daughter is celebrated with more gusto than in mainstream Pakistani society where the female is the breadwinner, That sequence is juxtaposed with the complexity with which women are treated in the work force in mainstream Pakistani society, established and elaborated by Fouzia's own personal experiences discussed in the book. Lastly, one is left with a slight feeling that the book does not discuss the phenomenon of male prostitution that is on the rise in major centers all across Pakistan.

One might make the argument that female prostitution is based on a market exchange type model, where as long as there is a demand, there is a supply A demand for beautiful women, however does not only exist in these professional and employment circles. Jasmin Mirza's book Between Chador and the Market points out that "the integration of women into the office sector does not follow a homogenous pattern but includes the recruitment of women as skilled 'human resources', the two extremes" (Mirza 2002:153). She follows through with many examples of women being turned down for the job because they were not fair (light-skinned) enough, or the bosses saying " We want a pretty firl" (Mirza 2002: 152).

Mirza conducted her research in Lahore, Pakistan. Through her qualitative research methods, and interview heavy data, Mirza successfully achieved her goals set out in the beginning of her study. The focus is primaily on thirteen women, who represented somewhat 'typical' cases, which enabled Mirza to follow those specific women through a period of the study is well organized and builds sequentially through to the conclusion.

Mirza begins by a discussion of the institution of purdah and the meaning for the gender order in Pakistani Muslim culture. The first couple of chapters contextualize the life world that these women would experience – from kin relations, to non kin-based male associations. Having established the matrix from which these women may have emerged, Mirza conducts a clear sociological and statistical study of the urban labor market, specifically how it relates to female office workers.

The relation of lower-middle-class women into this labor market, and the multiple levels of their experience presented, after which Mirza provides a thought-provoking and well substantiated discussion of the manner in which office culture changes through the women's presence.

Working women in Pakistan

Significant debates have occurred detailing the profession (s) that women chose (or not) and the effects that such choice have on the larger Pakistani Society, both in terms of gender roles as well as economic market studies. Oxford University press seems to have made considerable strides in providing venues for such literature in the last few years. The two books reviewed here are amongst such works published by OUP Karachi. Both books are about women's professional careers. Fouzia Saeed's book Taboo (translated into Urdu as 'Klunk'), analyzes "the phenomenon of prostitution (not just as a sex worker but as a cultural professional) .... through it have looked at Pakistani society and its gender roles" (xix: 2001), while Mirza's work engages with data "engendering the embeddedness of market in society, by analyzing the interfaces which emerge into women's life world and the market due to women's entry into office jobs".

Saeed uses a primarily ethnographic approach to the subject, yet applies a narrative format that arguable allows for the material to be easily absorbed by a larger audience. The end product is highly informative, simultaneously being effortless to read. The accessibility of the narrative should not be equated to triviality. Saeed has clearly spent much time struggling with the subject matter prior to publication. She outlines the many difficulties she faced with "Pakistani Society's 'good people", specifically the 'civilized and cultured' people in our national bureaucracy"

The interviews and analysis provided by saeed focus on socialization of the people who work and live in Shahi Mohalla and power dynamics within that socioeconomic framework. The study was conducted over a 10 year period, and her work is saturated with self reflexive commentary. One glaringly obvious issue Saeed was not able to overcome was her biased and disparaging views of the miiile class pakistani women. The homogenous construction of the middle class is problematic, simultancously however, allowing a subculture of the Mohalla to exist freely in her work.

Saeed traces through the traditional practice of prostitution in South Asia (specifically in Pakistan) and illuminates the interconnections between performance theory and myths surrounding prostitution. In a valiant effort, she communicates the real people aspect, and demystifies the otherness of the  "cultural profession" practiced by prostitutes.

One of the most intriguing facets of the narrative is the issue of gender within Pakistani society. On the most basic level, the Mohalla is where the birth of a daughter is celebrated with more gusto than in mainstream Pakistani society where the female is the breadwinner, That sequence is juxtaposed with the complexity with which women are treated in the work force in mainstream Pakistani society, established and elaborated by Fouzia's own personal experiences discussed in the book. Lastly, one is left with a slight feeling that the book does not discuss the phenomenon of male prostitution that is on the rise in major centers all across Pakistan.

One might make the argument that female prostitution is based on a market exchange type model, where as long as there is a demand, there is a supply A demand for beautiful women, however does not only exist in these professional and employment circles. Jasmin Mirza's book Between Chador and the Market points out that "the integration of women into the office sector does not follow a homogenous pattern but includes the recruitment of women as skilled 'human resources', the two extremes" (Mirza 2002:153). She follows through with many examples of women being turned down for the job because they were not fair (light-skinned) enough, or the bosses saying " We want a pretty firl" (Mirza 2002: 152).

Mirza conducted her research in Lahore, Pakistan. Through her qualitative research methods, and interview heavy data, Mirza successfully achieved her goals set out in the beginning of her study. The focus is primaily on thirteen women, who represented somewhat 'typical' cases, which enabled Mirza to follow those specific women through a period of the study is well organized and builds sequentially through to the conclusion.

Mirza begins by a discussion of the institution of purdah and the meaning for the gender order in Pakistani Muslim culture. The first couple of chapters contextualize the life world that these women would experience – from kin relations, to non kin-based male associations. Having established the matrix from which these women may have emerged, Mirza conducts a clear sociological and statistical study of the urban labor market, specifically how it relates to female office workers.

The relation of lower-middle-class women into this labor market, and the multiple levels of their experience presented, after which Mirza provides a thought-provoking and well substantiated discussion of the manner in which office culture changes through the women's presence.

Mother's Nature

To be a successful mother is more important than to be a successful opera singer, or writer, or artist of course of a great mother could become a great singer. The world is not short of brainpower. We already have men walking on the moon. The world is short of love and kindness and spiritual values, and this a woman contributes in the home. Mothernature.

The 'ideal' woman is feminine. Femininity is a gentle, tender quality found in a woman's actions, appearance and manner. It is a sort of softness, weakness, submissiveness, and dependency upon men for their care and protection. More than anything else it is a lack of masculine ability, a lack of male aggressiveness, competency, efficiency, fearlessness, strength and the ability to 'kill your won snakes." 

Mother's Nature

To be a successful mother is more important than to be a successful opera singer, or writer, or artist of course of a great mother could become a great singer. The world is not short of brainpower. We already have men walking on the moon. The world is short of love and kindness and spiritual values, and this a woman contributes in the home. Mothernature.

The 'ideal' woman is feminine. Femininity is a gentle, tender quality found in a woman's actions, appearance and manner. It is a sort of softness, weakness, submissiveness, and dependency upon men for their care and protection. More than anything else it is a lack of masculine ability, a lack of male aggressiveness, competency, efficiency, fearlessness, strength and the ability to 'kill your won snakes."