This is ladies nite.......

Today I want to talk a little about an upcoming project that I am working on, its got me all excited.

One of the things I get told very often by women is that they find the experience of going to some professional beauty studios rather uncomfortable and daunting. On further questioning it turns out that many of the women stated that they didn't feel comfortable posing in front of a male photographer within  a mixed studio environment.

As women we all have our insecurities and hang ups, it's hard for us to sometimes bring out that inner Goddess. A studio shoot can be quiet nerve racking at the best of times. Posing in front of a woman is so much easier in this situation then infront of a man. The empathy and support a female photographer can offer another woman is not something that can be recreated by a man. On top of this many ladies that I have spoken to have also felt that for religious reasons it was not appropriate to pose in front of a male stranger.

But as women do we not all love the thought of going to a stunning studio, having our make up and hair done, feeling like a princess, like a star and coming out of that studio with beautiful imagery, memories to look back on in future years. Of course we do.

This got me thinking. One of the things that makes me a little unique in this market is being Muslim, Asian and of course a woman. Why not tackle something that clearly many woman have expressed to me that they would want, something that I can actually provide for them.

Currently myself and another photographer (saiphotography) a young Asian Muslim female photographer like myself are working on making this plausible. We are working through the finer details. But ladies very soon we will be offering you a completely unique experience not found anywhere else in London. A service catered for all women, also completely Muslim friendly, a chance for you beautiful things to get spoiled for the day, look and feel like a star.
The details are still being sketched out so watch this space for further developments.
I am so excited about this project. I really think that this is something that a lot of women have been waiting for xx

If you require further information please do not hesitate to contact me xx

NEW LEAFLET

Hi Guys,

One of the most important things about starting your business is good marketing, how can anyone use your business if they do not know you even provide the service in the first place.

One of the ways to market yourself amongst many others is leaflets. These are excellent tools to use while networking at events or leaving at relevant organisations and establishments.

It is important that your leaflet reflects your business, and always keep it simple and to the point.

I just had my new leaflet designed by www.supabadpr.com

Have a look and see what you think. And as you can guess I will be spending the next few weeks pounding the pavements getting these leaflets out. I am sure without a doubt that this extensive marketing will open up my business to new clients.

FREE KASHMIR

Today marks 64 long dark years of occupation of kashmir by the occupying Indian forces. Many of you may not be well versed with the history of the region. To make it easier to understand lets compare the situation to Palestine. Like Palestine Kashmir is being occupied by a force that has no right or autonomy according to the UN council to even be there.

In Kashmir the people are brutalised by this illegal regime with torture, murder and rape being the dish of the day. Like Palestine the people of kashmir have little or no rights in regards to education or work, they are heavily sanctioned on food and medical supplies. Like Palestine the men are arrested tortured and sometimes killed. The irony of the whole situation is that the Indian Government and the Israeli government are staunch supporters of each others regimes and often compare notes on their relevant occupation. The thought of that sickens me that two so called super powers would discuss how to best brutalise and destroy a people.

The Un has declared that Kashmiris have a right to decide their own future whether that means becoming a part of India or Pakistan or becoming their own independent state. However India has refused to acknowledge this and have open dialogue with the Kashmiris. The Kashmiris should have the full right to determine their own future and that of their children.

Instead India continues to occupy this land of over 4 million people 95 % of who are Muslim and wish not to be controlled by Indian laws. India continues to pour military personnel into IOK (India occupied Kashmir) at the alarming rate of over half a million military personal, making it the most militarised zone in the world. That works out to one military personal to 8 Kashmiri citizens including women and children.

Below you will find a summary of some of the statistics I found that covered 1989 to 2010 thats only 21 years of the occupation and I have reassurances that the real figures are much higher.

8,000 disappearances
117,000 arrests
22,000 widows,
107,000 children orphaned
10,000 women raped.

These figures speak for themselves without me having to add anything emotive to the mix.
Yet Kashmir is something that we never discuss, a situation that many of the so called activists groups out there tend to ignore. I often wonder why we are so silent on Kashmir yet so vocal on other issues? Is it because it is not deemed trendy enough to care about? Is it because todays rap starts are not rapping about kashmir? Is it because The Uk and America have outstanding financial rewards from India?

 Whatever the reason all I know that it is time to stop being complacent, to stop being silent. Our silence is worse than all the violence. Our silence means that we don't care. We as a people need to stop and look at the situation. Is it ok that Occupying forces can enter homes, order the women to strip naked and be molested in front of their families in the name of anti terrorism? Is it ok that men are taken away in the dead of the night never to be returned? Leaving behind the phenomena that is known as half widows,
women that do not know for years on end if their husbands are alive or murdered, who cling onto little hope and attend meeting with pictures of their husbands, not knowing if they should grieve for their dead husbands or hope for a miracle and their return. Or fear that they would be found at the bottom of a mass grave, stipped of their dignity and their right to a muslim burial. Is it ok for the new generation of children to grow up without their fathers in a world where they may be murdered on their way to school, where innocent children throw stones at men who carry guns. Men that look the same as their fathers but have the hearts of demons. My haer bleds for this new generation growing up in captivity with no rights or freedom of movement.

So today on this dark day lets take a moment out to look into the situation, maybe even understand it a little and to spread that knowledge via conversations and social networking sites. It is only when this issue is brought out into the mainstream that we can lobby india to allow Kashmir to be involved in political dialogue, maybe with these first baby steps we can start to make a difference.

I would like to add I am not a Kashmiri myself but ever since I first learnt about their plight something in my soul has been touched. My heart bleeds for these forgotten people locked in the jail called kashmir with all exit and entrance routes blocked. Its my wish one day to go out there and work on a project with the women of Kashmir, inshallh their stories will be heard.

Free Kashmir

MENDHI

Sometimes I have to stop and think about how lucky I am to be doing what I am doing. I don't think that I'm in any rush to get back to my old public sector job lol.

I get to go out and photograph weddings. One of the most joyous days in someones life. I get to see all those little moments of happiness and pure joy. I'm lucky enough to work in an environment in which every ones actually happy to be there not going through the motions of life.

I have to say Muslim weddings no doubt are my favorites with their traditions, vibrant colours and costumes. I especially like being asked to do Mendhi pictures as well. Mendhi for those of you that don't know is an evening of singing, talking, food and presents prior to the Nikkah (wedding) Its almost the equivalent to a hens night but with out the wild drinking and strippers!! This is also the night when Mendhi (hennah) is applied to the brides hands and feet. This is a tradition found in most arab/asian weddings. I particularly love the look of brides when they have had their hennah done. The patterns and the symmetry are amazing.

Below are a few shots of a Mendhi that I did last week for a wonderful young woman called Sumeria.
I hop you enjoy looking at them as much as I enjoyed taking them x

Application of henna

The finished hand

The colour is begining to set underneath

part of the Mendhi custom, oil, bangle and sweet

Mendhi presents

Mendhi

The finished arm

Work

Last few days have been a bit of a whirlwind. After the quietness of Ramadan its a relief. Even though I understand that the majority of my clients are Muslim and will not even be thinking of photography during this period, it's still scary when your phone is quiet and your email inbox empty.

Working for yourself in this kind of industry isn't like working a 9-5. It's a constant hustle...a constant worry of when the next jobs coming in and if you can cover your costs this month.
So needless to say I am now feeling a bit more settled. Since Eid I have done a whole wedding package including Henna/wedding/Walima, I have also done some product photography and am currently negotiating another 3 weddings for October.
On top of this I have also found out that I will be off to France in two weeks to photograph another wedding in the french Alps.

So I guess what I am trying to say is when working for yourself never get too disheartened Times may go quiet but you never know what's around the corner. Keep your head up, spirits high and keep persevering. It will all be worth it in the end. xx

TAGORE POEM

There they stand, heads bowed,

Mute; on their pale faces chronicled the suffering

Of many centuries; on their shoulders they bear burdens

Which grow; carrying on, slowly, till life holds,

And then they pass them on to the children, for generations.

Fate they do not curse, nor complain, remembering the gods;

Men they do not blame, nor cherish any pity of love

For themselves; only a few grains of food they glean,

And their tormented lives, somehow, keep alive.

When even that meagre food someone robs,

Or hurts their life in blind might's cruel oppression,

They know not to whose door they will turn to justice;

Calling on the God of the Poor, for once, in their heaving sighs,

Silently they die.

Rabindranath Tagore [Translated]

DARLING BUDS OF MAY

May is here and the sun is out and the flowers are blooming their first buds. There's just something about the Summer in the Uk that makes you happy no matter what your feeling.

Below are just a few pictures i took while walking with my mum enjoying the sun...i hope you enjoy them too xx

MY NEW WEBSITE

Hey Afternoon my dear reader,


It's a spring day and to be honest it's freezing, have decided to spend the early part of the day editing pictures from last weekends wedding, at least that way I can hide in my blanket and stay warm.
But while i'm here I thought I would swing by and say a quick hi bye to you guys.
But before you say that this is too fleeting I have something that will keep you a little busy.
I have just revamped my website ( I know I did it a few months ago) but I find that i'm constantly evolving and improving and I would like to hope that my new website reflects this growth.
So happy viewings and chat soon x


www.duniyaphotos.com

PAKISTAN ZINDABAD

As mentioned in my previous posting its Pakistani day (celebrating the lahore declaration) today...a day for me that is a mixture of pride, love, heartache and disappointment. Its an oxymoron of feelings tumbling around inside.

As a young Pakistani growing up in the UK my affiliation with a country that I have not seen since I was a teenager and who's ways I sometime really don't always understand might seem a little strange to some, but what you have to understand for us here this is the land from where our parents/Grandparents came. Its a land that brought up the most precious person to me my mother. A land so far away but still had a hand in creating me.

I remember as a child and even to this day the stories I was told about my mothers childhood, the distant memories painted in vivid colours, the way she would talk about her youth I could almost smell the air, almost hear the hum of traffic and almost taste the food from the street vendors. Even my own memories of Pakistan although so old are like bright splashes of colour on a painters canvas...Pakistan has that affect, once you have been there it lingers with you for an eternity.

So what you have to understand is that although England is my home, Pakistan is me..its my history and my heritage...it's soil is mine even though I barely remember the feel of it. She is part of what makes me the woman I am today.

So you may wonder why I am not out at some party or hanging out in Southhall or Green street with my green and white flag flowing in the breeze. Why I am not screaming at the top of my lungs to celebrate the cricket win by my land against the West Indies?

To celebrate today is too much for my soul to bare...How can I celebrate when I know the land I call Pakistan is suffering that her soul is weeping and her heart breaking. How can I celebrate when what is the essence of my country is being drained away on a daily basis...

Pakistan is 64 this year a baby of a country, so young in her newness so naive in her dreams. It was only 64 years ago that Jinnah stood there in front his people telling us that we were now home, only 64 years since we had a place to call our own after the brutality and the bloodshed. Only 64 years of love and belonging.

Yet her youth and her naivety have been used against her...you just have to look at the situation in Pakistan today to know that in only a few years the dream that Jinnah had created for us has become a nightmare. We are plagued by corrupt government after Government, each one worse then the last. Each one taking a little piece of Pakistan for themselves, selfishly stuffing their pockets with our blood sweat and tears.

We find our selves sold to the Americans for a fistful of dollars, Pakistani publications are full of stories of westerners stopped in cars containing arms and ammunition..to have them arrested and then for them to be swept away by their embassy in just a few hours. Even with the highly publicised case of Raymond Davis we stood back shocked when our own judicial systems set free a CIA operative accused of killing 3 innocent men.

While their CIA operatives roam our land freely with more power than they should be afforded their drones keep crossing our sovereignty and killing 100s of innocent Pakistanis. In 2010 alone there was approx. between 700-900 recorded deaths by drone attacks now times that by the 7 years that they have been using these drones. How many times do I have to read that a wedding party was attacked, a funeral procession, homes, schools, and all the time only 2% of those killed were even militants. What price to pay for Americas secret war against us, backed by our own government.

Pakistan is drowning the influx of western influence has no also opened the door for extremist groups such as the Taliban to now get their foothold in. When you have a people caught in a firing line of a an illegal war, whose homes are destroyed, whose children are murdered whose government supports these murderers, they will leap in to the arms of anyone that opposes them and offers an alternative, so now we live under the threat of extremism from groups that want to peddle their own twisted truths.

You see how can I laugh and rejoice when the literacy rate amongst adults in pakistan only stands at 54% when the gulf between the rich and the poor is ever increasing, how can I be merry when I know that at least 80% of our natural resources of gas and minerals have been siphoned off by American companies such as uniclo...when I know that this country of  poverty and pain is in fact rich enough to refuse all the IMF loans and handouts by the Americans administration, how can when I know what we are being presented with is a farce.
When corruption eats away at the very core of pakistan like a poison threatening to destroy us from within.

Yet secretly silently I am wishing pakistan a happy Pakistan day because regardless of all these things that are set against us I have faith that there is still hope. I will not write off my beautiful land just yet...because regardless of the pain and the suffering, regardless of the greed and the corruption there is something strong and stoic about pakistan. So many of us lost our lives to build this nation and I know that we will not let her slip through our fingers so easily...I see despite the hardship the smiles in my peoples faces, despite the hunger the love in their eyes, despite their loss and I see their strength.

So today I offer up a little prayer to my people and send a little love knowing that we will fight to make this nation strong, and although I am far away in another land a piece of my heart is forever Pakistan

PAKISTAN ZINDA BAD

RED FLOWERS

It's Pakistani Independence day today a subject that I am going to blog about later on as to be honest there's so much I feel the need to say....so let me hold on to those thoughts for now and just give you a poem that I have written.

This is a bit of a deal for me as poetry was my creative outlet as a teenager but for some unknown reason I have had the longest ever writers block.

Around 10/11 years...I don't know why but the urge to write was temporarily diminished...however today I wrote something called RED FLOWERS.

Its written from the viewpoint of a young woman based around the north west frontier regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan.

I hope what it is about is clear from the poem and I will let you read it and make up your own minds...however be gentle kind readers as I have to admit I'm pretty rusty at this creative writing thing and probably need a little practise plus I wrote this in 30 mins xx.

Any way please enjoy

My fingers hurt from digging in this precious ground,

wind in my hair as I swung around and around and around.

Planting poppy seeds in meadows where I once played,

but memories like my laughter will slowly fade.

Gone are the valleys of my childhood, replaced by a sea of red,

exchanges I make, crying to the devil as he takes me to bed,

Flowers for money, happiness for pain, flowers for money, happiness for pain,

my broken dreams his unworthy gain.

My heart hurts from digging in this precious ground,

cutting the roots to the land I was once bound.

Knowing the price I pay to feed my child's hungry cries

my child lives yet my country dies,

With greedy eyes they abduct my happiness,

thinking the flowers from my soul will dilute their loneliness.

Little do they know they inject my demons , darkest secrets, my greatest pain,

I wonder with amusement  is it their gain my loss or their loss my gain.

My soul hurts from digging in this precious ground,

where dreams are made and loves are found,

I weep tears as the redness of my future engulfs me,

knowing this red gold on my countries soil will now never let us be free

oh how my soul hurts from digging in this precious ground

  

BOLLYWOOD DREAMS

Hey,
Had a really great shoot on Saturday. Went to photograph a beautiful young family down in Greenwich. The family came dressed in traditional style Asian clothing, couple that with the back ground which was Greenwich mean time with its old buildings and pillars gave the shoot a kind of retro feel. I had a fab shoot with excellent results. Below I have included one of the shots from the shoot. I was going for a old school Bollywood/ Mogul feel.
Have to admit I am really happy with this picture and I guess you could say it has made it to my top ten fave pics......have a look and see what you think xxx

emmmmmm sorry

Wow dear readers has it been that long. My sincerest apologies but it really has been one of those months...between the worse flu ever and moving house I have been otherwise caught up. But to be honest I missed you guys and my blog and feel so guilty for abandoning you.
I'll keep it light today, so I will be uploading some fun portraits that I have recently edited of some of my friends...nothing serious just the people that I love doing what they love xx
So please enjoy a snap shot of me having fun with my camera and we will Inshallah (God willing) chat again real soon xx

JODY X NEED I SAY MORE

DJ SNUFF

SAIRA OF SAI PHOTOGRAPHY

LIL BASHY

ARTIST AND MC KAP

SOUSS MC AND BLACK SNOW

THE MASKED AVENGER LOL

CRAZY HAZE

CRAZY HAZE

TATIANNA

TATIANNA AND TAKWA X

SHAZ

SHAZ

ALTTAF

GEEK CHIC NAS

A SNIPPET FROM MY HIJAB PROJECT PROPOSAL X

The Hijab..a complex and controversial subject to say the least. Shrouded in curiosity and dismay by the western world. A subject matter that appears to have no beginning and no end..the topic for numerous debates and forums. Yet what is a hijab but a simple piece of cloth?

The oxford dictionary states the meaning of the hijab as " a head covering worn in public by some muslim women".

Essentially that is what the Hijab is…an item of clothing worn by some muslim women to denote their modesty and Islamic values. To a muslim woman the Hijab is more then a piece of cloth, It is something that she puts on when she want to present herself as modestly and as discreetly as possible outside of her home. It is part of what she believes and follows, it is her faith.

All across the muslim and non muslim world you will see women wearing Hijabs in all colours, styles and materials. The hijab is an integral part of any diverse and cosmopolitan society. You will see the hijab in the UK anywhere from the financial hub of the city to the woman that works on the checkout in your local supermarket.

Yet something that has become so common place in the British culture it is still met with ignorance, judgement and stereo types.

I am sure all of us at one point have worked with a woman who covers her head but how many of us really understand why she wears the Hijab? How many people in the British community have stopped to ask that neighbour or colleague why she loves the Hijab? Why and how is it a part of who she is? No that does not mean pointing at it and saying whats the point? No genuinely asked her why she wears it and how it makes her feel?

Before I go on I want to clear up something with you. Although I am muslim I myself do not wear the Hijab. So as a woman that does not wear the hijab why would I want to commence on a project which avidly supports it?

Well for one no one can accuse me of bias, I did not create this project to promote my own personal viewpoint and practise, but rather I did it because I do not wear the Hijab but sympathise with the prejudices that women who wear it do.

I strongly believe that the Hijab is a female not male issue and is a decision that every Muslim woman should make on her own. I feel it is a form of empowerment when a women chooses herself if she wishes to wear it. There should not be any one behind her telling her that she should or should not wear it. I strongly object to any government or country which forces the wearing of the Hijab but just as strongly I oppose any regime that bans the wearing of the hijab.I abhor the idea that men behind desks in their offices are deciding for these women what can or cannot go on their bodies. Deciding for them what their mind thinks or how they feel? Whether it is Muslim or non Muslim men it seems that they are deciding whether a woman should wear the Hijab and also what it represents.

So gender politics aside another reason for the project is the constant media and Eurocentric ideology metered out to the Hijab and the women that wear it. The Hijab has become a strong symbol of Islam and as Muslim women we are mothers of the nation, vulnerable yet strong. It seems to me that what is a symbol of modesty for muslim women has became a symbol of oppression for the west.

I and many other muslim women feel that the west give a very negative image of not only the Hijab but also the women that wear it. Growing up in the UK I was always made to feel by society that women that wore the Hijab were somehow inferior, unable to make their own decisions.

We are constantly bombarded by images and ideas of poor brown women subjected and controlled. Not allowed to be the women that they want to be but rather confined to the boundaries of a misogynistic religion.

Held back and beaten down…victims, second class citizens. This image of the muslim woman is thrown to me on a daily basis as something weak and whimpering..a damsel in distress that needs rescuing.

As a non Hijabi women I am sometimes made to feel that I am a lucky one, lucky to not be subjected to this form of control, that somehow I am seen as more acceptable and palatable by my western peers. This leaves me with a turmoil, Am I the non Hijabi woman so different from my Hijabi sisters? Why do I feel that there is being a divide created amongst us. Why should a cloth on my head denote that I am less controlled by by religion then others? Does it mean that I am capable of achieving and they are not? Why should they be perceived one way and I another when we are the same? They are not any different from you and I...why should a woman in a hijab be then put into another sub category.

Hijabi women are not these wisps of nothingness, they are not shadows of themselves…they are so much more and their stories speak for themselves.

I in my journeys of life have encountered many amazing and inspirational Muslim sisters. These women carry with them strength, humility and intelligence. They know who they are and what they what and will not be swayed by societies perceptions of them. These women that I have encountered are in no way damsels in distress.

So I sat here weighing out perceptions and stereotypes versus life experiences and encounters and I began to muse on the fact that it didn't balance out.

I am not going to argue against the fact that there are some muslim regimes and men that force women to cover, as I have already stated I strongly disagree with taking a woman's right way to choose to wear the Hijab, but thats another story that I will endeavour to tackle another day. Here we talk about all the women that choose to wear the Hijab. The women who make up what is Great Britain. The women who tackle stereo types and media propaganda on a daily basis yet still manage to rise up and succeed.

The idea of the project is to gather a collective of women from the Muslim community that choose for whatever reason to wear the Hijab. I have specifically decided to look for participants that break the mould in their own unique and special way. I wanted women that challenged the norm, who in their own normality had transcended labels asserted onto them against their will. I wanted women that despite all onslaught of negativity and the hints of self fulfilling prophecies had succeeded in accomplishing their goals and personal desires whether that be through work, hobbies or activities that they participate in. I want to show these women are no different then you and I, striving to succeed.

And that is precisely what I found. I set everything in motion with a blog piece and a few choice emails. What had started as a small idea in my head has now began to snow ball in a way that made me smile and confirm that this is something that the sisters wanted. During my time researching for participants I received numerous emails from sisters as far and wide as Canada, Pakistan and France thanking me for undertaking this project. Expressing to me how much they felt that it was needed. A chance for the victims of the scrutiny to actually have their voice heard. To engage in the debate rather then being the object of the debate.

Although I have specifically chosen muslim women that wear the Hijab for this project, it is for us all. For all the muslim women that have faced immense prejudice and judgement. But this project is not just for muslim women it's for all humanity. It shows us that we shouldn't let our prejudices control us…that we should strip all of this away and look at a person for who they are..for their soul and their mind. Not the colour of their skin, the religion they follow or what they choose to wear.

This project is for all of us that have ever had to struggle that have been judged or demonised, for those of us that have been told that we are aiming too high and some things are not for us. That we cannot have what we want but rather we must accept what we are given. This project is a testimony that self belief and strength are qualities we all posses and can utilise.

This project is a homage to all the sisters who quietly and humbly show the world their strength and spirit. Who achieve and succeed in their chosen field. Who break societies stereotype of what a Hijabi is? These women show you rather taking anything away from them who they are and what they wear enhances them.

URGENT MESSAGE FROM EGYPT

“To all the people of world”


Alicia Ali Marsden


To all the people of world


The people in Egypt are under governmental siege. Mubarak regime is banning Facebook, Twitter, and all other popular internet sites Now, the internet are completely blocked in Egypt. Tomorrow the government will block the 3 mobile phone network will be completely blocked.


And there is news that even the phone landlines will be cut tomorrow, to prevent any news agency from following what will happen.


Suez city is already under siege now. The government cut the water supply and electricity, people, including, children and elderly are suffering there now. The patients in hospitals cannot get urgent medical care. The injured protesters are lying in the streets and the riot police are preventing people from helping them. The families of the killed protesters cannot get the bodies of their sons to bury them. This picture is the same in north Saini (El-Sheikh zoyad city) and in western Egypt (Al-salom). The riot police is cracking down on protesters in Ismailia, Alexandria, Fayoum, Shbin Elkoum, and Cairo, the capital, in many neighborhoods across the city.


The government is preparing to crackdown on the protesters in all Egyptian cities. They are using tear gas bombs, rubber and plastic pullets, chemicals like dilutes mustard gas against protesters. Several protesters today have been killed when the armored vehicles of the riot police hit them. Officials in plain clothes carrying blades and knives used to intimidate protesters. Thugs deployed by the Egyptian Ministry of Interior are roaming the streets of Cairo, setting fire on car-wheels as means of black propaganda to demonize protesters and justify police beatings and state torture


All this has been taken place over the past three days during the peaceful demonstrations in Cairo and other cities. Now, with the suspicious silence of the local media and the lack of coverage from the international media, Mubarak and his gang are blocking all the channels that can tell the world about what is happening.


People who call for their freedom need your support and help. Will you give them a hand?


The activists are flooding the net (youtube and other sites) with thousands of pictures and videos showing the riot police firing on armless people. The police started to use ammunition against protesters. 15-year old girl has been injured and another 25 year old man has been shot in the mouth. While nothing of these has appeared in the media, there is more to happen tomorrow. Will you keep silent? Will you keep your mouth shut while seeing all these cruelty and inhumane actions?


We don’t ask for much, just broadcast what is happening
[To reblog without Tumblr cutting the text off, select “reblog as text” at the top of the reblog page.]

DR AFFIA AWARENESS DINNER STATEMENT

Dear readers,
As you all know I greatly support the cause of Dr Affia and have posted on her several times. Today I attended a awareness dinner set up by Dr Ihtesham in Southall. I was covering the event for JFAC. Below is a statement issued by Dr Ihtesham...please read and support a very just cause. There will be a further post written by me including more pictures from the night.




event held to support Dr Aafia Siddiqui today (27th January 
2011) 
organised by Dr.Ihtesham Sabri.

The plight of the Pakistani  neuroscientist, Dr Aafia Siddiqui, also known as the 'Daughter of Pakistan', was highlighted today in a very high profile press conference style event held in a prestigious Southall venue, TKC.

Speakers included Lord Nazir Ahmed and well-known journalist Yvonne Ridley, with legal aspects of the case discussed by solicitor Mr Sultan Sabri and barrister Abid Hussain.  Chaired by GP Dr Ihtesham Sabri, the 
panel outlined to a spectrum of media and professional guests the tragic case of Dr Siddiqui, starting with her 
disappearance from Karachi on the 30th March, 2003.  All three of her children were with her when she vanished, and the whereabouts of her youngest son, who was then only months old, are still unknown.

Dr Siddiqui, now 38, had studied in the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the US before returning to Pakistan.  She was missing for 5 years before being produced in front of a group of journalists in Ghazny, Afghanistan and subsequently being accused of taking up an unattended rifle to shoot a US soldier-a premise that both Mr Sabri and Barrister Hussain stated to be highly questionable in the least, given her petite 
frame and having a background in neurosciences and academia rather than military training.  In fact, the only individual to sustain any injury during this incident was Dr Siddiqui herself; a gunshot wound to the trunk. 

She was then hurriedly renditioned to the USA to stand trial for having allegedly committed this crime.  Mr Sabri brought to guests' attention the illegality of rendition under International law, Afghanistan being a sovereign country and the scene of the incident in question, whilst Yvonne Ridley cited the Vienna convention  having been 
broken in this act by the US.  All 4 speakers called for a swift and just repatriation for Dr Siddiqui to Pakistan, 
where she can undergo a fair and balanced trial to face any charges openly-there was a common concern that US law courts are acting unjustly and bowing to fierce islamophobic pressures from their people. The sentencing of Dr Siddiqui to 86 years imprisonment was described as unprecedented and the likelihood of appeals being successful under this legal system seem to be disheartening according to the panel's viewpoint.


Yvonne Ridley, who has campaigned fervently for Dr Aafia's cause, shared her journey of discovering and then raising awareness that there was in fact a female prisoner in Bagram, who had come to be known as the Grey Lady, and also as Prisoner 650.  Allegations of this woman being tortured 
abound, and during a subsequent trip to Pakistan there was much public support for her release.  Lord Nazir Ahmed, a famous politician and peer who has fought for Dr Aafia to be repatriated, gave a practical set of action 
points that anyone feeling the injustice of this case can 
follow in an effort to bring justice to Aafia Siddiqui and her young family.These include lobbying local MP's, and US congressmen and women.  By bringing this issue into our mosques and community centres, and writing letters calling for her repatriation to our national newspapers, one may attain greater awareness of the incongruities of 
the fragile case against this mother of three and eminent academic. 

One overwhelming conclusion of this awareness event is that Dr Siddiqui has been reported to have developed a psychiatric condition known as Psychosis, diagnosed in 2008 by US prison psychologist Diane Mclean, in 
which the sufferer has a loss of contact with reality. Dr Ihtesham Sabri spoke about the effects that this condition can have on altering an individual's mental capacity to consent and also in making any decisions, not least to stand trial in such a perilous case. He also expressed concern that it would be unlikely for a person of Dr 
Siddiqui's circumstances and stage of life to develop this distressing condition without external factors such as sensory deprivation techniques, and cited UK politicians who had accused MI5 of outsourcing and complicity in torture.  He called for an urgent independent medical delegation to be allowed to visit and assess Dr Siddiqui in the USA where she is now incarcerated.


Best 
regards,

Dr.Ihtesham Sabri