opinionAs a child, I was always drawn to the title ‘A Doll’s House’ due to its connection with a dollhouse I admired in my nursery class. I recall reading a children’s version of the play at the British Council’s Library in old Islamabad..
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Pakistan happens to be one of the most male-dominated societies on the map, with discrimination against women almost an institutionalised policy. But perhaps this debilitating environment itself is also what encourages a handful of courageous women.
Illustration by Abro
During debates on the political role of Islam and secularism vis-à-vis Pakistan, ‘moderates’ often point out that since there is no concept of the Church in Islam, the faith is inherently secular. They argue that secularism is thus a product of Christian societies because the Church there was once an intermediary institution between man and God, and enjoyed political authority.
So, from the 18th century onwards, when modernity and its many products created new realities, these required a new political paradigm to operate in. It is from this that secularism emerged, to separate the Church from the state and create spaces for the new realities to expand and thrive. Church authority had by then begun to be suspected as an impediment to human progress.