The French folly

The French President Mr. Sarkozi has unleashed an unnecessary debate about French identity and its relationship with the Muslim population prior to the regional elections. Muslim-bashing has been a potent vote-getter for French far-right politicians, most notably Jean-Marie Le Pen. It seems like the current government is trying to cater to the right wing members of the society by promoting hatred. The a French parliamentary panel recommends barring women who wear the burqa and the niqab from using public services, including schools, hospitals and public transportation. The Muslim head scarves have been banned from public school classrooms since 2004.

I am myself against the veil and the niqab. I don’t see it as representing the religion. It is more of a cultural off shoot in backward and closed societies such as those of Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia. But the state has no business telling its citizens what to wear. It is a matter of strict individual preference. People must be free to make these decisions for themselves, not have them imposed by governments or enforced by the police. These kind of rulings only increase Muslim phobia in Europe and serve the propaganda purposes of the extremists in the Islamic world.

For the sake of children

Parents can be such a drag especially of unhappy families. I know that i have written about this before but this is something which has impacted my life in such a massive way that i cannot help but talk about it. The after affects of my parents' marriage have reverberated all throughout my childhood into my married life. I think some people are just not meant to be together but in our society, especially of our parents generation divorce was a social taboo. So these complete opposites would stick together 'for the sake of children' and in the process play havoc with the emotional state of being of their children. I think bad marriages especially the arranged ones coupled with the social stigma of divorce create the perfect environment for emotionally damaged children. It says a lot about our society and our self-destructive social mores.

Moving off?

I have been thinking of of moving, relocating, immigrating. I know that we have a pretty comfortable and rather luxurious life here in Pakistan but the thought of restarting at a new place seems like such an exciting idea. With the way the security situation has been in Pakistan recently, even husband dear has been thinking about moving abroad. I have tried to talk to him but his arguments are the usual - "We are settled in here pretty well. What will we do if we move? And move to where... Canada? Do you know that place is a frozen depressing nightmare?" To be honest, his arguments do make some sense and i would never want to be without a sense of blogging which one gets by living in their own country. Still, I wonder and dream about how different life would be if we moved away. But for now I can think and dream about it.

Best essays of 2009

Anyone who is a news junkie like myself and especially of the opinion pieces will really like the following Best of the year essays. The post is by David Brooks the New York Times Columanist.

I really liked the piece by David Rohde where he writes about his captivity under the Taliban.

Some of the other articles are about the Health care reform, the financial crisis which brough down the entire financial sector last year and a write up about the glorious past of Central Asia.

Read and reflect!

Last night

I felt tired today. I was up last night and had to 'cater' to the desires of the husband who was in the mood for fun. It was made better by the fact that i was thinking of Mr. T while feeling the softness of the bedsheets with my feet. The guilty pleasure was great and its even fun writing about it and sharing it with you guys out in the cyber space. I don't know if there are taboos about writing in regards to martial sex but i don't see the harm in sharing about the fun. I know that i am not trying to be Nancy Friday here but i wonder why it is difficult for women to write about legitimate sex? My husband dear is a moody guy and when he is in the mood than we have quite a lot of fun even if its disproportionally biased towards his pleasure seeking. I enjoyed it and had a great night sleep, while i thought of the hairy chest of Mr. T. Oooh.

Mr. T

I have really not been feeling great. Its one of those days. Since i have started working, Monday is always the hardest. I am an extremely moody person and today typified it in the best way. I think i put some people off with my behavior today. Sometimes, I feel like i hate people or at least their presence. Maybe, i have become anti-social. I don't know.


I was in my office today and this client came in. He was in his late 30s, very good looking. He needed some assistance and we talked for a while. I could see that he was hitting on me. It was not very deliberate but the hints were there. I kept adjusting my duppatta, hopefully not too much. But he excited me. His work was done and he will need to come again. Although, he did ask for my card before leaving. Let's see if anything happens.