Muslim women and the written word, although a fantastic match, have had great difficulty in coming together especially in South Asia. Repeatedly the world has seen the same patterns of censorship inflicted by state and society on the written word even more so if the pen is in the hand of a female.
In a special fireside chat, Dr. Abbas will be highlighting the plight of the Afghan women and explaining the return of the Taliban which he details in his new book Return of the Taliban: Afghanistan after the Americans Left (Yale Books, 2023). This is the first account of the Taliban in which Dr Abbas documents on who they are, what they want and how this version of Taliban differs from their predecessors.
Another special fireside chat at WLF 2023 is with Farahnaz Ispahani who has been a leading voice for women and religious minorities in Pakistan for the past twenty-five years, first as a journalist, then as a member of Pakistan's National Assembly, and most recently as a scholar based in the United States. She is the author/editor of Politics of Hate: Religious Majoritarianism in South Asia which was published in early 2023 by Harper-Collins, India and Purifying the Land of the Pure: A History of Pakistan’s Religious Minorities (2017, Oxford University Press, USA).
According to the World Economic Forum about 70% of the new value created in the economy in the next ten years will be based on economic activity based on digital enablement. While the world moves forward, we see South Asia regress into the abyss of hatred based on politics fuelled by elements that have historically existed but are now exploited to create further fragmentation across the region.
In an exclusive fireside chat, Farahnaz Ispahani will be discussing how to enable inclusive participation in the democratic process to eradicate exclusion of communities and what needs to be done on the part of the state for safe inclusion of minorities and marginalised communities.
The festival will be live streamed at: https://www.facebook.com/anankemag