Chowraha

The first time I was introduced to Edward Said was during my undergraduate years in Mills College in a class on American Images of China and Japan by one of my favorite professors Dr. Wah Cheng. Ever since, I have been undeniably inspired by Edward Said's narratives and I have begun seeing the world the way he saw it. The same concepts spoke to me throughout undergraduate years and later in life too. Now, at SOAS, thinking again about the role of media in society and how it contributes to shaping our thoughts, I find myself turning back to the writings of Edward Sa id and Gramsci's concepts of hegemo ny and Foucault's understanding of power he has related to in his work. For a class on Mediated Culture of the Middle East, I decided to work on a presentation covering Orientalism in American popular culture with regards to the ima ges of the Middle East. Some of you may not be aware of the term "Orientalism" or the idea of "the other" that Said turned our ...

I've never written in a blog before so here goes nothing! I am currently an undergraduate student and I'm studying at the American University in Washington, DC. This year, however, I'm actually studying abroad in Cairo, Egypt at the American University in Cairo. (The 2 universities aren't affiliated) Maybe it makes no sense to come to Cairo for a full year considering my major is in Film/Visual Media and I'm minoring in International Studies, but I've always wanted to study abroad during college. I chose Cairo because 1. I wanted to learn Arabic and 2. as a Pakistani-American Muslim, I have always wanted to know what life would be like in another Muslim country besides Pakistan. I have never visited the Middle East and I got tired of listening to what CNN, BBC, NBC, etc. had to say about the "Middle East" and how most news stations (in the US at least) treat it as if it is one country with only one kind of people, Muslims. Of course, after being here i...

A piece on today's Metro, a newspaper read by at least 2 million people in the UK everyday, caught my instant attention. At first I found it funny, but then it made me sad - sad to see how careless and in fact ridiculously childish reporters were, and media is at allowing (trash) news to appear. Trash not because of what it is reporting, but because of the "way" it is being reported, the language being used to described the news, the objectivity in the news item, and the neutrality a news item is supposed to have. The news item I am referring to was titled "Islam-obsessed girl disappears" and it went on to report that "it is feared she may have been brainwashed by hardline Muslims..." Notice the use of the words "Islam-obsessed" in the title. It has instantly manipulated the story and even before jumping into the news item, the reader knows Islam was the cause of something bad. It doesn't matter any more that the only evidence the newspap...

Fair & Lovely is a product extremely well-known and easily available in many non-white countries of the world. I have tried to delve into what exactly is being sold here in physical terms and in ideology? I have attempted to explain why buying such a product is problematic and what can we learn about societies through this? (In Part 2, I will look into the Fair & Lovely expanding into the men's world by introducing its menz active version, and the implications of that on the world of consumerism, commodification and advertisements) *** Living in a world of commodities, more often than not, we tend to overlook the historical context, the cultural and social implications of, the impact on mentalities, and the impact on our lives (in general) of commercial products and the marketing techniques used to sell these products. Having recently seen or rather “properly” seen (this time critically viewing) the Fair and Lovely ads on youtube, I was forced to analyze them in several wa...

Many people still do not fully understand what Twitter is or how to use it. But the Twitter boom cannot be ignored. Learn how to use this secret tool for higher sales! Read more: http://social-networking-tagging.suite101.com/article.cfm/twitter_to_boost_publicity_and_sales#ixzz0QiDGLZS1

The following article is taken from www.zawya.com The UAE's Twitterati meet next Saturday to help raise awareness & donations for Dubai Autism Center as Dubai takes part in Twestival Local Dubai, UAE - 07 September 2009 - Dubai will host Dubai Twestival Local, one of the 200 Twestival Local events taking place in leading cities around the world, on Saturday using the power of Twitter to support local causes. Dubai Twestival Local (@dubaitwestival on Twitter) aims to raise money and awareness for Dubai Autism Center, a non-profit organisation Founded in November 2001, set-up to help integrate children with autism into the community and raise social awareness for autism. Dubai Twitter users, or 'tweeps' as they call themselves, will converge on The Jam Jar gallery in Al Quoz on Saturday 12 September 2009 to meet other members of the Twitter community and support Dubai Autism Center (@dubaiautism) at an informal networking event sponsored by Nokia (@nokconv), ShopandShip.c...

Abdullah Saleh, a Guantanamo detainee is alleged to have committed suicide. Binyam Muhammad, an ex-Guantanamo detainee refutes the allegations. Read more: http://international-human-rights.suite101.com/article.cfm/guantanamo_suicide_raises_questions#ixzz0MpjqYYOc

More British lives have been lost in the last one month than any other month in the last seven years. But British government's propaganda for war on Afghanistan continues Read more: http://britishaffairs.suite101.com/article.cfm/the_new_war_on_afghanistan_and_brtish_opinion#ixzz0MfWAApSN

"When a cause comes along and you know in your bones that it is just, yet refuse to defend it -- at that moment you begin to die. And I have never seen so many corpses walking around talking about justice." -- Mumia Abu-Jamal --

"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." Martin Luther King, Jr.

It's always interesting to see and hear what others have to say about your work. One of the most important things for a blogger in fact is the appreciation/critique fellow-bloggers or internet users give to her work. It doesn't make a difference whether it is a word of compliment or a word of concern, the fact that your name or your blog has been referred to on someone else's blog or website shows that you are relevant enough to someone. I was super excited to google my name recently and find several sites using my work. It's exciting - you will discover a lot more about yourself too if you just google out your name! What's more exciting in the e-world is that there are no boundaries here. My work has been translated into Spanish, French and German and I found it all on google! French: During Ramadan 2006, which was my first Ramadan after returning from college, I wrote an article called "Ramadan from California to Karachi" which was published in Dawn. Lat...

President Obama will travel to Egypt tomorrow in order to improve the US image in the Middle East and to address issues that are of concern to the world. Read more: " Obama Travels to the Middle East: The US President Will Address Political Issues at Cairo University | Suite101.com" -

: Closure of Guantanamo calls for the closure of all notorious jails “Change will come” – These words from Obama’s political campaign definitely have won him enough support to make him the most popular icon in the world today. His desire to see American troops out of Iraq and his announcement for the closure of Guantanamo Bay jail are steps allowing for his supporters to see the “change” actually materialize. Binyam’s freedom last month is testimony to the “change” after seven years of “war on terror” ordeal. This change is however only a tip of the ice-berg ready to melt. Read more at Suite101: Guantanamo Closure Justice to Ensure Peace: Closure of Guantanamo calls for the closure of all notorious jails | Suite101.com http://suite101.com/article/guantanamo-closure-justice-to-ensure-peace-a105361#ixzz23bsSEGUY

The Taliban are advancing in Pakistan and weakening the government's control over the country. This brings Pakistan at the centre of concern worldwide. Read more: http://pakistan.suite101.com/article.cfm/is_taliban_going_to_take_over_pakistan#ixzz0FP0kqiT3&B

Rejected by Supreme Court, Mumia Still Awaits Justice Mumia Abu Jamal has been locked in Philadelphia jail for over two decades awaiting his death row. His only crime, his defenders argue, is the color of his skin. Read more: http://racism-politics.suite101.com/article.cfm/black_political_prisoner_mumia_abu_jamal#ixzz0CvjuA4Ov&B

Battle against terrorism is leading to more hatred There are vast amount of finances being used to conduct the war on terror. However, terrorism seems to be on the rise still. Is the "war on terror" a bad strategy? Read more at Suite101: Is War on Terror a Bad Strategy: Battle Against Terrorism is Leading to More Hatred | Suite101.com http://suite101.com/article/is-war-on-terror-a-bad-strategy-a105368#ixzz23bt3atdv

Binyam's evidence advances investigation into Dr. Afia's case - it is revealed that in fact Dr. Afia was imprisoned all five years of her "disappearance" in Bagram jail, Afghanistan. Her story demands cries for justice - forward and spread the word.

Check out my latest article on Suite101: It is titled "Is War on Terror a Bad Strategy"

Read my recent article that explores on whether the closure of Guantanamo Bay is the tip of the ice-berg or a remarkable step on its own. The original article is published in Suite101.

According to a study conducted by the Inter-American Bank, there are more than 26 million people in Latin America and the Caribbean facing ever-deep poverty if food prices remain as high as they have been lately. Between the beginning of 2006 and March 2008, worldwide food prices have increased by a staggering 68 percent. As a reaction, protests and riots have broken out in countries like Haiti, Nicaragua, and Mexico. In Haiti, the situation could hardly be worst. One of the poorest countries in the world, Haiti is undergoing major humanitarian crisis caused by prevalent food shortage, growing population, dependency on imported food, increased worldwide prices and hence, growing poverty. The recent hurricanes and storms have only hit the country's deplorable conditions harder. Over 200 people have lost their lives in the last three weeks by the hands of the hurricanes causing severe flooding. Over 600,000 people are in need of help. John Holmes, the U.N undersecretary-gener...

According to a study conducted by the Inter-American Bank, there are more than 26 million people in Latin America and the Caribbean facing ever-deep poverty if food prices remain as high as they have been lately. Between the beginning of 2006 and March 2008, worldwide food prices have increased by a staggering 68 percent. As a reaction, protests and riots have broken out in countries like Haiti, Nicaragua, and Mexico.  In Haiti, the situation could hardly be worst. One of the poorest countries in the world, Haiti is undergoing major humanitarian crisis caused by prevalent food shortage, growing population, dependency on imported food, increased worldwide prices and hence, growing poverty. The recent hurricanes and storms have only hit the country's deplorable conditions harder. Over 200 people have lost their lives in the last three weeks by the hands of the hurricanes causing severe flooding. Over 600,000 people are in need of help. John Holmes, the U.N undersecretary-general for ...

Read my recent article on Suite101 - its about Binyam's release from Guantanamo Bay jail and looks into the fears of the British government on his release. To read the article, click on the link below. Welcoming home the terrorist - Binyam I will be updating this blog regularly on more articles related to this topic so watch out!