In a video posted on Instagram, an exhausted Hocane said that while ‘they’ say “not all women”, it is always a woman who is subjected to such cruelty and expected to walk out of it unscathed.

“It’s always a woman surviving what was meant to destroy her. It’s always a woman asked to forgive before she has even healed. It’s always a woman rebuilding herself [after suffering] from someone else’s cruelty,” the actor said.

She asked why this was something we glorified. “Why is survival a woman’s greatest achievement?”

Hocane joins a number of her industry colleagues in condemning violence against women, especially after a brutal acid attack on Dr Mahnoor Nasir in Quetta. She suffered burns on 70 per cent of her body when a man threw acid on her. The man was later killed by police while attempting to flee the city.

Saturday’s acid attack wasn’t the only case of patriarchal violence in the news last week, with people similarly horrified when a 64-year-old man admitted to killing his wife after she refused to go to bed with him. What was even more horrifying was a video of lawyers surrounding the man and telling him he wasn’t to blame.

With people defending women’s murderers and trying their absolute hardest to blame the victims for being attacked, Hocane’s questions sting hard. Why is it always women who have to carry the burdens of crimes committed against them and when will we make criminals and abusers pay instead?

Organisers said the comments, which made fun of sexual violence against Palestinians in Israel, were “offensive and unacceptable”.

“Sexual violence and human suffering should never be mocked or minimised,” the statement read. It said the remarks “do not reflect the Tribeca Festival’s values” and the organising team regrets “the hurt they have caused”.

On Saturday, Gold spoke to Savetsky about his film, saying it was “a really big deal” for his Israel-made film to be screening at the Tribeca Festival. He then joked that he was “only raped by two Israeli dogs”, to which Savetsky countered, “I thought they only raped Palestinians.”

Variety reports that while Gold was on the red carpet as a cast member, Savetsky was not part of any project at the festival this year and was instead invited as a guest of the team behind The Wedding Entertainer (The Tale of Moishe Badhan).

While the joke was obviously offensive, it was made much more so by reports of Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons being subjected to sexual abuse and dog attacks as a method of intimidation.

According to a report from Al Jazeera, Kifaya Khraim from the Ramallah-based Women’s Centre for Legal Aid and Counselling, said she had spoken to 75 women who were detained in different stations across Gaza, the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem. All 75 said they had been sexually abused in prison.

Khraim said both Palestinian men and women were sexually abused in prison and both male and female Israeli personnel took part in the abuse and torture of detainees.

The report said Israeli prisons held more than 9,600 Palestinians as of this April.

On Saturday, a man threw acid at a female doctor at Quetta’s Civil Hospital, severely injuring her. Dr Mahnoor Nasir survived, but with 70 per cent of her body burned, according to hospital sources.

On Thursday, a 64-year-old man surrendered himself to the police in Karachi and confessed to killing his wife for refusing to engage in intercourse with him the night before.

After going through the horror of witnessing so much crime, Pakistanis on X asked how many more women have to go through this before something actually changes.

As always, there were people online blaming the victims of these tragedies, claiming there was some reason why they were attacked, as if women aren’t attacked at random. Netizens were not having it and responded by calling out the real culprits: misogyny and male entitlement.

People were understandably enraged at why, after so many acid attacks, acid was still easily available for any potential attacker to buy and even carry with him into a hospital.

While the Acid Control Crime and Prevention Act, 2011 requires sellers to record the personal details of buyers, the substance remains commercially available and is readily used for domestic applications like drain cleaning.

In the case of the man who murdered his wife, a clip of him emerged where lawyers were huddled around the killer telling him they’d represent him and he was “in the right”. Users on X were horrified, with one shocked the lawyers could do so and still face their mothers, daughters, wives and sisters at home.

Many believed men need to be taught how to take no for an answer.

And of course, for many, the main culprit is always feminism. Many netizens rolled their eyes at people at the scrutiny around feminism and what feminists stand for when women “continue to be killed, raped and burned by acid attacks”.

One user put one of the biggest struggles of being a woman in Pakistan into perspective — no woman is safe from attacks by entitled men.

A lot of people were angry.

The prevalence of violence against women in Pakistan signifies a deep, systemic rot in the way society thinks about and treats women. Until attitudes change and everyone starts seeing women as human beings worthy of respect and rights, we can’t expect anything to improve.

The question is: how many more women need to be killed and injured before society finally has had enough?

In an X post addressed to Foreign Office Spokesperson Tahir Andrabi on Thursday, the rapper said, “For the past 45 days, 11 Pakistani citizens have been stranded off the coast of Somalia completely abandoned, without help, food or essential supplies.”

He said these people weren’t just “statistics” and represented 11 Pakistani families. “These are sons, daughters, mothers, and wives waiting in agony for their breadwinners to return home safely.”

Anjum said he realises there are complications and that “these things take time”, but he said those families deserved answers beyond the “generic, occasional statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs claiming they are ‘in touch with Somali Maritime forces’”.

The rapper called on the Foreign Office to set up a dedicated helpline for these families to call for updates and asked the government to form a committee or assign an official of the foreign ministry whose only job is to keep up with the crisis and keep the families up to date, “providing them with the transparency and respect they are owed”.

This is not the first time Anjum has spoken up on this issue; he wrote a strongly-worded message on Instagram days after the vessel was first taken over by pirates on April 21.

In his message, the rapper said one of the captured sailors was “like a brother” to him, so this issue was personal. At the time, he claimed the government “has taken no action” for the safety of the hostage and that he was “ashamed” as a Pakistani at the government’s “non seriousness” and “under the rug policy” when it came to its citizens trapped abroad.

Separately, Andrabi spoke about the hostage situation on Thursday during the weekly Foreign Office press briefing. He said the government was in touch with the ship’s owners who were negotiating for the crew’s release and the government of Somalia — which had jurisdiction over the waters the ship was in — was kept informed.

The spokesperson said any rescue operation was made difficult by the geographic conditions and the explosive nature of the vessel’s cargo. He said Pakistan has called on the ship’s owners and the government of Somalia to push the pirates to provide food, water and essential supplies to the hostages.

Andrabi said resolving the crisis was a priority for the government, but incidents of piracy in this region have taken months to resolve in the past. He said they had received written assurances from the Somali side.

The spokesperson expressed sympathy for the families of the hostages and asked for their patience as the government tried to bring their loved ones home.

With additional reporting by Ameer Hamza

Piker, a streamer on Twitch with over three million followers, was set to speak on a panel titled How the American Left Learned to Speak the Internet. His uncle Uygur, host of the online news show The Young Turks, was set to speak on Techno-Feudalism is Here. Who Are the Lords?.

Both have been vocal in their opposition to Israel after the country launched its devastating war on Gaza in 2023, which a UN report termed a genocide. Almost 73,000 people have since been killed in the occupied territory.

Representatives of the Home Office confirmed to Variety that both of their Electronic Travel Authorisations (ETAs) were revoked “on the grounds that their presence in the UK may not be conducive to the public good”. The representatives said to refuse or cancel an ETA on these grounds is based solely on an assessment of the potential risk an individual may pose to UK society.

Uygur decried the step as “oppression” in a post on X, saying he had been “banned from the UK” when he was set to go and speak at events in London and Oxford.

Piker quoted the post in his own, saying his visa had also been revoked. The streamer said the West was “betraying liberal values for a genocidal fascist foreign government”.

SXSW also issued a statement acknowledging two of its speakers had had their travel permissions revoked, but said the event remains committed to its spirit of dialogue.

A spokesperson for the event said, “We are aware that Cenk Uygur and Hasan Piker are unable to travel to the UK following a decision by the Home Office. Decisions on entry to the UK are a matter for the Home Office and the individuals concerned. SXSW London’s role is to convene a broad range of diverse voices and perspectives. We remain focused on delivering a programme this week fostering open dialogue and exchange of ideas and featuring more than 800 speakers, artists and screenings.”

“Both the lawmaker and the actor spent quite a good time at the NCCIA Lahore office, along with their lawyers, and recorded their statements before a team of investigation officers,” an official told Dawn.

He said the actor levelled serious allegations of harassment and hurling death threats at her by the PML-N lawmaker from Chiniot, while the latter claimed that he remained friends with her for a long time and this was not a matter of harassment.

A source told Dawn that the NCCIA moved swiftly after Momina’s social media appeal went viral and drew the attention of senior PML-N leadership, especially Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz.

On Thursday, the Punjab police even provided security to Ms Momina, as confirmed by her sister.

In her online post, tagged to the PML-N leadership, Ms Momina alleged that she had been subjected to “online harassment, cyberbullying, and death threats for a long time”.

“A member of the provincial assembly belonging to the PML-N has been threatening me for an extended period. Instead of ensuring justice, attempts were allegedly made to suppress my complaints. Even individuals associated with the office of the chief minister tried to discourage me and silence the issue rather than allowing a fair investigation,” she claimed.

On Thursday Momina’s sister Advocate Rimsha Iqbal, who is fighting her case, told reporters that hurdles were being created in the marriage of Momina that was going to take place next month and even threats were hurled at her would-be husband.

“We have evidence to the claim Momina made against the MPA and presented it to the NCCIA,” she said and expressed the hope her sister would get justice.

On the other hand, counsel for MPA Chadhar, Mian Ashfaq told reporters that his client and Ms Momina had been friends since 2020-21.

“Both came close to marrying but couldn’t. Mr Chadhar provided massive social, administrative and financial benefits to Ms Momina during the last five years. We will provide the details of these benefits to the NCCIA,” he said and added that harassment allegations leveled against his client by the person who remained in relationship with him for such a long period of time did not make any sense.

Saqib Chadhar is an electable. He defeated both PML-N and PTI-backed candidates in PP-97, Chiniot, in the last polls held in 2024. After winning the seat, he joined the PML-N.

Originally published in Dawn, May 22nd, 2026

Families said they have been struggling to find new wedding dresses and many search instead for places that refurbish gowns and other kinds of clothes for their children.

Importers cite delays, high shipping costs, and restrictions on materials, ​such as the crystals encrusted into the elaborate wedding dresses, as key factors behind the shortages and ​price hikes.

Many workshops have also been damaged during the conflict.

“We try to reuse the ⁠old gowns that we have, produce them by fixing them a bit, work on them, wash them, arrange them, ​shape them,” said Rantisi, adding that work initially relied on a bicycle-powered sewing machine due to electricity shortages.

Rantisi said ​she used to buy the fabric for about 120 to 150 shekels ($41 to $51) before the war, but now pays around 500 shekels ($171).

“This has caused a big rise in the cost of bridal dresses and children’s gowns. We are living in a vicious circle from ​the war that affected us,” she added.

Cogat, the Israeli military agency that controls access to Gaza, said in ​a statement it “allows and facilitates the entry of various clothing items, in accordance with requests submitted by aid organisations and the international ‌community.”

Cogat ⁠said that it was not aware of any restrictions being imposed on materials such as crystals.

Most of Gaza’s more than 2 million people have been displaced, many now living in bombed-out homes and makeshift tents pitched on open ground, roadsides, or atop the ruins of destroyed buildings after two years of war with Israel.

High prices beyond reach for ​most in Gaza

Despite the ​hardships, some couples still find ⁠ways to celebrate, with mass weddings held in Gaza offering a rare moment of joy amid the devastation.

Still, shop workers say those celebrations come at a price.

“Before the war, ​prices were reasonable for everyone,” said Rawan Shalouf, an employee at a bridal shop.

“But ​now, given the ⁠circumstances we’re in, the price of a dress is ridiculous.”

Across Gaza, brides and families are struggling to afford even basic wedding needs. Shahed Fayez, 21, is due to marry in about four days but has been searching in vain for ⁠a ​dress.

“I don’t care about its style, what’s important is that it’s new,” ​she added.

“The cheapest dress is $1,000 or more, that’s the minimum, and all we have is less than $200. The entire dowry does not cover the ​price of a dress.”

The National Chamber of Italian Fashion (CNMI), which organises fashion week, has been under pressure from animal activists to ban fur at the shows — something fashion weeks in London, New York and various others have already done.

But the guidelines published on Friday fell short of activists’ demands, making the request not to show fur voluntary.

“The CNMI believes that the most effective approach does not consist in imposing bans… but in issuing a request not to present, during the Milan Fashion Week shows, clothing, accessories, or any other item made of fur,” the body said.

The new guidelines, to come into effect starting in September, include the chamber not using fur in its communications.

According to the chamber, materials excluded from the guidelines include shearling, vintage fur and fur obtained “by indigenous communities through traditional subsistence hunting practices”.

Most fashion names who show at Milan Fashion Week have already gone fur-free, including the Armani Group, Dolce & Gabbana and Prada, but a major holdout has been Fendi, which began as a furrier.

In her first show for the brand, new Fendi designer Maria Grazia Chiuri showed a collection that included “remodelled” furs, or pieces from old furs reworked into new designs.

In March, anti-fur activists demonstrated during the women’s shows, unfurling banners that said “Milan Fashion Week Go Fur-Free”.

Animal activists noted that CNMI’s new guidelines fell short of the flat-out bans on fur seen in other fashion weeks, but nevertheless called it progress.

“Without a fur-free policy like those in place at New York and London Fashion Weeks, there is no guarantee that cruelty will be excluded from Milan’s runways,” said Emma Hakansson of Collective Fashion Justice.­

Originally published in Dawn, May 16th, 2026

The actor posted a story on Instagram on Wednesday saying she had come across the individual at work and was able to make an excuse and get herself out of that situation because she had her wits about her.

Altaf said she had informed the production team about the incident, but it was “heartbreaking” to see the “cost of being a working woman or just a woman who’s breathing in this country”.

She said it was “exhausting” having to be vigilant at all times and lamented that “being smart” was the “primary survival mechanism” for women who didn’t have “a basic right to feel secure”.

She called on women to bring the change they wanted to see and “fight collectively” against these challenges. “We cannot afford to stay silent or let these moments slide,” the actor said.

She urged women to trust their instincts, act when needed and demand accountability whenever they are wronged.

“We shouldn’t have to live this way, but until things change, we must stand together,” she said, concluding her message.

Altaf is unfortunately not the only woman facing harassment at work in the entertainment industry. Another case came up in 2021 when actor Mehar Bano faced harassment on set by a member of the sound crew.

In what was a true display of the solidarity Altaf is talking about, the situation was resolved by Saba Qamar, who intervened on Bano’s behalf and had the crew member kicked out of the project.

Bano said this was the first time she had seen someone take such a “strong stand” against harassment for her.

There have also been attempts to bring the issue into the public discourse, most notably with the drama Case No. 9 which showed Qamar as a survivor who takes her boss to court for raping her.

The drama received critical acclaim for bringing a serious issue and its associated legal know-how into Pakistani living rooms with a sensitive yet powerful portrayal.

The actor posted a video message on Tuesday decrying recent reports of dog culling in Lahore. She asked why court orders against the practice were being disregarded and what gave authorities the right to kill innocent animals.

The actor started by acknowledging the problem of stray dogs biting people was present, but asserted this was because authorities had failed to apply the trap, neuter, vaccinate, release (TNVR) method, which she said was the humane way to control stray animal populations.

Lamenting that they had instead resorted to shooting dogs and poisoning them, Sarhadi asked why humans felt it was okay to exploit and abuse nature. “Why do they think they have a right to use living things? Donkeys are used for work, dogs are killed at will, horses have been used for work, elephants are used for pleasure. Zoos have been built where animals are not cared for properly; they are simply taken out of their habitats and imprisoned.”

Humans are the “cruelest” of all animals, the actor said. She contended that the increase in aggression among stray animals was also a result of human activities. “They’ve been abused and pelted with stones all their lives, they are just defending themselves.”

Sarhadi said she had been to areas in Pakistan where treating animals with kindness was part of the local culture and as a result humans and animals co-existed peacefully.

The actor said she couldn’t understand why TNVR protocols were not implemented, musing that perhaps it was cheaper to shoot dogs so they tried to save a penny or two.

She insisted people were cruel to dogs simply because it was within their power. “When a child is murdered by a man, a preacher, a teacher, a father or an uncle — which happens often, more so [than dogs mauling kids] — nobody goes to kill all fathers, uncles and teachers. But we will kill all the dogs. Why? Because we can!”

Sarhadi said she applauds each and every volunteer, shelter and activist fighting for the animals who couldn’t fight for themselves. She said they would have to continue their fight — as would she — if attitudes like this continued.

Reports and eye-witness accounts from Lahore say a mass culling campaign is underway, led by the Metropolitan Corporation Lahore (MCL), despite orders by the Lahore High Court to implement the Punjab Animal Birth Control Policy, 2021. The policy calls for vaccination and humane population control.

The MCL denies these reports, with Chief Metropolitan Officer Shahid Kathia telling Dawn his teams were “capturing hundreds of dogs” on a daily basis, vaccinating them and releasing them outside the city. He insisted his men were not killing any dogs.

The claims of getting dogs vaccinated were challenged by the University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, which said no animals had been brought there for vaccination. This all comes as videos of dog carcasses being left on city streets spread on social media.

The BBC had cited concerns over partiality when declining to broadcast the documentary. It was later aired by Channel 4. The documentary, directed by Karim Shah, was nominated in the Current Affairs and Director: Factual categories. 

According to Al Jazeera, while accepting the award, executive producer Ben de Pear thanked the journalists behind the film and then addressed the BBC. “Finally, just a question for the BBC: Given you dropped our film, will you drop us from the Bafta screening later tonight?”

Journalist and presenter Ramita Navai also criticised the BBC during her speech, citing findings from the documentary’s investigation into attacks on Gaza’s healthcare system, according to the publication. “These are the findings of our investigation that the BBC paid for but refused to show,” she said. “But we refuse to be silenced and censored. We thank Channel 4 for showing this film.”

According to The Telegraph, the BBC chose not to air Navai’s speech in full and instead presented a “carefully edited version which removed her claims about Israel’s actions”. The Bafta awards are broadcast on BBC One after a delay of two hours.

The BBC’s decision not to broadcast Gaza: Doctors Under Attack came after it faced criticism for another documentary it aired narrated by a young Palestinian boy who was the son of a Hamas official. His father’s profession was not disclosed in the documentary.

Speaking backstage after their win, executive producer de Pear praised Gazan journalists Jaber Badwan and Osana Al Ashi, who contributed footage for the documentary. He said the team “woke up every day wondering if the two journalists on the ground were still alive”.

Cover: Screen grab via BBC

Despite the restrictions, many important subjects of women’s rights were highlighted, including the right to bodily autonomy — the march’s now-signature slogan “Mera jism, meri marzi (My body, my choice)” was raised loudly, proudly and frequently — freedom of movement and marital rape.

Marital rape was especially significant to the organisers this year in light of the death of Shanti, a 19-year-old newlywed from Lyari whose succumbed to her injuries in July after her husband allegedly subjected her to brutal sexual violence just two days after their wedding.

Shanti’s bari (a collection of wedding gifts given by the groom’s family) was laid out on a white sheet at the venue. It was a chilling reminder of her hopes, dreams and a life lost too soon.

Speakers at the march, including Shanti’s sister-in-law who gave a rousing speech in Sindhi, called for the cancellation of bail granted to Dr Rauf Shaikh. The doctor told the victim’s father-in-law he could treat her when staff at Karachi’s Civil Hospital said the nature of the injuries demanded police involvement.

Dr Shaikh is accused of providing improper care to Shanti, with a report from the Women’s Action Forum saying she may have survived had she been treated properly. He was granted bail by the Sindh High Court on January 26.

The right to hold the protest itself was a hot topic, with veteran artist and women’s rights activist Sheema Kermani saying nothing could stop women from exercising their “constitutional right” to protest.

Speaking to Images after the event, she described her own experience being taken into police custody outside Karachi Press Club. “Male policemen forcefully hit my car. They forced the backdoor open and sat inside.” She said this act was actually illegal as opposed to what she was arrested for — attending a pre-arranged press conference.

She described the restrictions placed on the protest as “absolutely nonsensical”. “We resisted Ziaul Haq who told us how to dress, wear this and don’t wear that, we won’t take it from a democratic government.”

The march had a number of performances, including a rap, a semi-classical kathak dance and a rendition of Faiz Ahmed Faiz’s resistance anthem ‘Hum Dekhenge’. Maha Ali Kazmi, who performed kathak on stage, said she marched — and performed — to raise awareness, not just among men, but also women who didn’t know what their rights are, who had been conditioned to accept abuse.

She said it was okay and important to talk about these things, despite society telling women not to. “It’s a criminal offence to harass somebody. Domestic violence is a criminal offence, rape is a criminal offence, marital rape is a criminal offence, but talking about our experiences is not a crime.”

One new feature was the Misogynist of the Year awards, a collection of men nominated by the public who had been chosen as representation of all that is wrong with Pakistani men. The honourees included Maulana Fazlur Rehman, writer Khalilur Rehman Qamar, actors Danish Taimoor and Ahmed Ali Butt and podcast host Sahil Adeem.

Huda, who organises marches in solidarity with the people of Palestine, said she was attending her first Aurat March this year to honour all the women before her who couldn’t demand their rights like this. “From my grandmother and my mother’s time, there’s no one who’s been speaking for these things. Everyone’s speaking at home, but nobody is taking it [out onto the] roads, because, as they say, aurton ki izzat sarkon pe nhi aani chahiye (women’s respect doesn’t belong on roads).”

Cherona, a volunteer participating in her third march this year, said she saw the annual event as an entry point for women into politics. “I think this is a great stepping stone for women to get into the political space.”

She said the movement wasn’t just about the annual protest march and its team tries to inform policymaking on women’s issues. The Aurat March is also involved in welfare activities for women in underdeveloped areas and organises free medical camps for women who need them.

She said the march was a safe space for all genders and one for men to interact with women in a way that is civil and non-threatening. She said she was thankful to the police for keeping the march safe and running smoothly.

Police presence at the march was initially scattered, with the odd policeman seen brandishing a baton at the park’s perimeter to scare away disruptive onlookers. When the procession began moving from its gathering point at Beach View Park to Seaview, female police officers escorted the march all the way. Additional mounted units joined the rally at the beach.

Cover via Shakeel Adil/White Star

End-to-end encryption (E2EE) is a method of relaying information which allows it to only be viewed by the sending and receiving devices.

The feature was touted as the ‘gold standard’ in privacy by Meta, but received opposition from law enforcement and groups advocating for the protection of children online.

Meta began rolling E2EE out on Facebook in 2019 and completed the process in 2023; it remains the default method of messaging on the platform. It was introduced as an optional feature on Instagram, which appears to be what led to its downfall as the company said it was being rolled back due to underutilisation.

Another messaging platform owned by Meta, WhatsApp, also uses E2EE as its method of data transmission. Apps like Signal, iMessage and Google Messages also use the advanced security protocol as their default setting, while Telegram has it as an optional service.

Meta did not publicly announce the termination of the feature, choosing instead to quietly update the app’s terms and conditions in March.

“End‑to‑end encrypted messaging on Instagram will no longer be supported after May 8, 2026. If you have chats affected by this change, you will see instructions on how to download any media or messages you may wish to keep,” the company said just two weeks after competitor TikTok said it had no plans to introduce the feature.

“We are really pleased,” said Rani Govender from the UK’s National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children to the BBC. She added E2EE “can allow perpetrators to evade detection, enabling the grooming and abuse of children to go unseen”.

Maya Thomas, a privacy campaigner, said her team saw the move as a step backwards and they were “concerned that Meta may be caving to government pressure“.

The model posted a video message on Wednesday reacting to the arrest of classical dancer and activist Sheema Kermani and other organisers of the Aurat March on Tuesday.

“I woke up today to the disgusting, disturbing news that Aurat March has yet to receive their NOC [no-objection certificate] for their peaceful march on May 10. They were fighting for the NOC, but women were dragged… by other women. I think it’s a very very shameful act that we don’t respect our women in our country,” she said in the first of three clips posted to her Instagram account.

Robin, who had shared a reel showing Kermani being manhandled and pushed into a car by the police, said she was appalled at the comments under the post. “Forget men, women are so happy and I am sure these are the same women who get beaten and abused by their fathers and brothers and they continue to adjust and live with them,” she said.

“It’s a really, really shameful act that we can’t breathe freely in our country, we can’t speak freely. If we speak about marital rape, harassment, equal rights, [our speaking up] becomes the biggest issue in the country,” she said in the second clip.

She urged everyone in Karachi who was able to join the march to go and show solidarity on Sunday. For those who couldn’t and those who were afraid to join — something that “totally makes sense because of the current situation” — she said the least they could do was talk about the cause and post about it on social media.

“Staying silent hasn’t really gotten us anywhere, nor will it,” the model said.

In another appeal to “influential” men and women on her story, Robin asked them to “take a moment to acknowledge the women being arrested for peacefully marching for equal rights” amid all the hype around fashion and the Met Gala.

She said spreading the much-needed awareness cost nothing, reminding them that “fashion, glamour and social responsibility can coexist”.

The activists, including Sheema Kermani and Karachi City Council member Shahzadi Rai, were released later in the day on the orders of Sindh Home Minister Ziaul Hasan Lanjar, but not before public outcry began on X over what some netizens called a sign of “shrinking” civil liberties.

Others called the display “shameful”. They questioned why the right to peaceful assembly was being infringed upon and whether it was even upheld anymore, especially when it came to Aurat March.

People, including activist Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Jr, were especially outraged at clips of Kermani being manhandled by police personnel and being pushed into the back of a police car.

People wondered if this is how members of the province’s ruling party are treated — Rai is a member of the PPP — how would the police deal with non-members. Her arrest was also condemned by netizens as “unacceptable”.

Another video of an activist being carried into a police van was labelled a “disgrace”.

As the date of their annual protest approaches, Aurat March organisers have said they “will not back down” from their demand to hold the protest in Karachi and will continue to seek the necessary clearance.

They called the police action a “scare tactic” and demanded an explanation from the government on why their activists were arrested and why the NOC is being delayed.

The group shared the news on their Instagram ahead of their 2026 march which is scheduled to be held on Mother’s Day, May 10, at Sea View.

“For the first time in our history we present to you Misogynist of the Year Awards!” announced the group, with a clarification that this was a Pakistan edition.

“Our menfolk spend the entire year displaying their excessive misogyny. We are so used to living in this misogynistic environment that we often forget when or what they’ve said and whom they’ve hurt with their words. So why don’t we all refresh our memories together?” read the caption for the post.

It made an open call for everyone to think of the “most misogynistic remark you can recall a cisgender man publicly making during the year 2025 and drop it in the comments below”.

“Who knows he might end up getting crowned the biggest Loser of the Year in a few days’ time?”

The ‘trophy’ displayed in their post was a glorious golden chapal. We’re pretty sure they’re going to be inundated with entries and we can’t wait to see who’s crowned.

Weinstein, a central figure of abuse allegations that spurred the MeToo movement, appeared at the New York City courtroom wheelchair-bound due to ill health. He is being retried on a count of third-degree rape against Mann that allegedly happened in 2013 in a Manhattan hotel room.

Last June, a judge declared a mistrial on the charge after the jury foreperson refused to return to deliberate the case amid a jury-room feud. Weinstein, 74, is already imprisoned for other sex offences, so he will remain behind bars regardless of the retrial verdict.

“This case will come down to power, to control and manipulation,” said Assistant District Attorney Candace White. She told how Weinstein used his Hollywood clout to take advantage of Mann — then a 27-year-old “barely scraping by” — including by enticing her with a role in a movie that she had no chance of getting.

Originally published in Dawn, April 22nd, 2026

The comments weren’t just insults, they were written in a way that would linger on in her mind and make her think several times before ever posting again.

Another woman, a rights activist, described how her photographs were lifted, edited, and circulated with explicit captions. A third woman spoke about being warned not to attend public events because “women like her” would be dealt with there. While the language of the threats keeps changing, the core message to these women stays the same — if you don’t step back, you will be pushed back.

These accounts are taken from the #ThinkBeforeYouSpeak campaign run by Pakistan’s Uks Research Centre in partnership with the World Association for Christian Communication (WACC). Over the course of a year, the project, titled SafeWords, Safer Worlds, collected testimonies, tracked abusive language online, and tried to map out how misogyny works in Pakistan’s digital spaces. What emerged was that online digital abuse of women is not a series of isolated incidents and is instead a phenomenon with a consistent pattern.

For over two decades, Uks Research Centre has worked on gender and media in Pakistan. With the WACC’s support, this project allowed Uks to go from documenting women’s representation to documenting abusive language used against women.

One of the outputs of the project is a compendium of gendered abusive terms in Urdu and Punjabi. This is not a simple glossary in the conventional sense — each entry includes the meaning of the slur, the usage of the word, and, most importantly, variations in spelling, including Roman Urdu and distorted forms that are commonly used online. This level of detail is important and to understand that it is necessary to talk about the research methodology.

During the research, Uks used Meltwater, a media monitoring and analytics tool usually used by corporations to track the sentiment around their products and services. In Uks’ case, the tool was used to track how abusive terms actually appear on social media. What was found was that the same word can appear in dozens of forms. One word is easily altered using symbols to replace letters, by removing vowels, or by stretching spellings to evade social media filters. So, in addition to being widespread, the abuse is also adaptive.

The compendium lists words and also shows how they mutate in real time. This makes it a practical resource for anyone trying to build or improve moderation systems in South Asian languages, especially on social media. The findings are depressing, as the majority of insults commonly directed at women fall into very clear categories. There are accusations of sexual immorality, there are references to incest that target female family members, there is a reduction of women to their body parts, and there are attacks on ‘family background’.

This is certainly not a coincidence. It is reflective of a society in which a woman’s identity is tied to her sexuality and her family’s honour. The online abuse of women is simply reflective of society’s hierarchies in the digital space.

Beyond data collection, the project also collected anecdotal evidence through a social media campaign and focus group discussions across 15 cities in Pakistan. The project gathered direct testimonies from women and also some men about their online experiences. Unfortunately, the responses were consistent, almost predictable.

By and large, women described how they routinely modified their behaviour. “Apart from having safety concerns in the real world, the virtual world is also a cruel place,” one journalist said. “Women who express their strong opinions online are frequently subjected to hate comments… They end up limiting their exposure.”

In practice, limiting exposure, meant sharing fewer posts, avoiding posting pictures, self-censoring while posting opinions, and avoiding risks.

Another respondent spoke for many other women when she explained how this works. “I feel I have to think two or three times… ‘what will people think’.”

Other respondents also spoke about the cumulative impact of abuse. In many cases, the trolling is not about one message — it often snowballs into dozens of comments, sometimes even hundreds. “This has become an unfortunate reality as combatting trolls online is an exhausting process that most women… avoid in a bid to protect their sanity,” said one respondent. As a result of this exhaustion many women disengage and start withdrawing from online conversations.

There is also a link between online abuse and offline violence. Many respondents talked about doxxing, stalking, and the morphing of images. Several women pointed to the growing threat posed by AI tools that can generate fake images and audio clips.

In Pakistan, where an individual’s reputation is often linked to family honour, the risk is not a theory. As one participant recalled, morphed images have led to extreme consequences, which include violence within families.

It also seems that women in public roles, such as journalists, activists, and politicians, face even more intense targeting. “Women journalists are especially targeted… to gag their voice,” one respondent noted.

Importantly, some male participants also talked about the imbalance. One man noted that women’s opinions online are taken “less seriously” and receive more condescending responses.

One of the goals of the SafeWords, Safer Worlds project was to move beyond awareness and engage institutions responsible for regulating digital spaces. The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), which handles cybercrime complaints, did not engage meaningfully with the project, despite repeated attempts by the Uks team. This was reflective of the pattern that was reported by users about the complaint process being slow, difficult to navigate and generally discouraging.

On the other hand, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) was more responsive. The PTA participated in discussions, reviewed the compendium, and issued a public service message on Women’s Day acknowledging online violence against women.

Most global social media platforms rely on moderation systems trained primarily on English-language data. As a result, abusive content in Urdu, Punjabi and, by default, Hindi, usually goes undetected, especially when it is deliberately misspelled.

The compendium directly addresses this gap and provides a dataset that platforms can integrate into their moderation systems. At present, there is no requirement for them to do so.

The project also encountered a challenge stemming from the ban of X in Pakistan during the campaign period. The ban restricted data collection on a platform where a lot of the abuse occurs and made it difficult to track engagement trends consistently.

The SafeWord, Safer World project generated significant public engagement and the #ThinkBeforeYouSpeak campaign reached several users across Facebook and Instagram. It also produced 1o podcast episodes featuring journalists, activists, and digital rights experts, and conducted focus group discussions in several Pakistani cities, including smaller urban centres where such conversations are less common. More importantly, it created a research-based compendium of abusive terms in Urdu and Punjabi, which is grounded in actual usage data.

It is easy and lazy to think of this as a problem of “online behaviour”. The fact is that the language that was documented in the compendium reflects offline realities. It draws on cultural ideas about shame and honour and it is not the internet that has created these attitudes. As a result, many of us exist in a digital environment where participation is imbalanced, where women can speak, but the cost of speaking is high. The evidence from the project makes that clear.

The project’s findings give rise to several questions. Will social media platforms incorporate local-language data into their moderation systems? Will regulatory bodies move beyond paying lip service to gendered abuse in the digital space to actual enforcement of the law? Will reporting mechanisms be simplified and made accessible?

Or will the burden continue to fall on women to block abusers and report them? Or to withdraw from online spaces completely?

There are no easy answers, but the SafeWords, Safer Worlds project does offer detailed evidence that is difficult to ignore. What we now need is accountability.

This article has been produced in collaboration with Uks

Calling Springsteen “a dried-up prune who has suffered greatly from the work of a really bad plastic surgeon”, Trump said his right-wing supporters should keep away from the singer’s concerts.

The shows are “overpriced” and “suck”, 79-year-old Trump wrote on his Truth Social site in a post filled with his trademark insults and boasts about his record as president.

Springsteen, a major US rock figure for more than half a century and winner of 20 Grammys, has been outspoken against Trump’s bid to carry out mass deportations of undocumented migrants.

The raids, often by masked agents, have prompted widespread anger but are popular in Trump’s core right-wing base.

On Saturday, Springsteen headlined a “No Kings” rally in the northern city of Minneapolis months after the city became a protest flashpoint. Organisers estimated around 200,000 people attended the event.

In January the veteran singer released his song ‘Streets of Minneapolis’ in response to the crackdown, where masked immigration agents shot dead two protesting US citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti.

Springsteen’s song calls the immigration agents “King Trump’s private army”.

Originally published in Dawn, April 3rd, 2026

In a post on her Instagram account, she said clothing brand Engine had used her face on AI-generated visuals for their latest collection. Images has reached out to Engine for a comment.

She said she modelled for the brand before, but was not involved in the promotions for this collection and had not agreed for her likeness to be used in such a way.

The content creator said she had tried reaching out to the brand herself in an effort to resolve the issue, but didn’t receive a response. That led her to highlight the issue on social media.

Tahir said this wasn’t just about one just about one post or one brand. “Using someone’s face through AI without their permission is not okay, in any situation. Consent should always come first, whether the content is real or digitally created.”

She said the fact that these visuals were being displayed publicly and even being used for advertisements was especially concerning. She said creators and models deserve to have control over how their image is used and hoped the brand would address the issue.

In a series of follow-up stories, the content creator said the scariest part was that she was initially fooled too, thinking she might have modelled one or two pieces that she forgot about. She said it was only when she saw they had used her face for so many of their items that she realised what had happened.

She said the problem wasn’t AI taking over jobs, but people misusing it “deliberately and illegally”. She also suggested they might have done a faceless shoot with another model and had AI paste her face onto the pictures, which raises its own problems.

Several people, including models and fellow content creators, shared her concerns, calling the brand out for what they saw as creepy, unethical and even criminal behaviour.

Many, including Miss Universe Pakistan Erica Robin, tagged the brand in the comment section, as did actor Romaisa Khan. RJ Sabah Bano Malik, who called out the “violation of consent”, “theft” and “general ickyness”.

Hania Aamir also got involved, sharing the content creator’s appeal on her story and asking Engine to “please look into this”.

While Engine has not acknowledged the allegations publicly, Tahir said the brand had removed her pictures from their website in the aftermath of her post.

The incident highlights AI’s alarming body-morphing abilities. Similar concerns were raised in January when Grok — the AI arm of the Elon Musk-owned X — was found to be entertaining requests to digitally undress people whose pictures were on the platform, including children.

Musk said the company would not tolerate any illegal activity with its AI tools and Grok’s image generation features on X are now available to paid users only. However, in a post on March 12, Musk said anything “allowed in an R-rated movie” would be allowed for Grok to create.

An open letter shared jointly by Jamil and actor Uzma Hassan, said it had been “well established that violence against animals directly contributes to violence in society”.

The document said Pakistan, as a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, has a responsibility to protect children from psychological harm, including exposure to animal cruelty.

In 2023, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, a panel of experts that monitors the implementation of the convention by state parties, issued a comment on the relationship between child rights and the environment. In the document, the committee said, “Children must be protected from all forms of physical and psychological violence and from exposure to violence, such as domestic violence or violence inflicted on animals.”

Jamil’s letter said exposure to animal cruelty affects children’s emotional development and “normalises brutality, weakens empathy and fosters fear and emotional distress”. Additionally, it said “individuals who engage in cruelty toward animals often experience unresolved psychological trauma, which can later manifest in domestic violence, elder abuse, and broader criminal behaviour”.

The appeal mentioned an incident from last week where sanitation workers allegedly dragged a dog through the streets of Gujranwala. Government policy, it said, was very clear on the use of sterilisation and vaccination as acceptable methods of dealing with stray dogs.

At the same time, it said, “violence toward wild and exotic animals is also increasing. Lions and other animals are being paraded through scorching roads for roadside circuses and public entertainment, subjecting them to severe stress and suffering. Reports of abuse of donkeys, illegal captivity of monkeys and the public exploitation of birds under the guise of charity are becoming common”.

The appeal ended by reaffirming confidence in the chief minister’s “commitment to building a safer, more compassionate Punjab” and reminding her that, “A society that safeguards its most vulnerable — whether children or animals — builds stronger moral foundations for future generations.”

In her caption, Jamil asked her followers to read, sign and share the letter, which she called a “respectful appeal for a more humane and responsible Punjab”. She said, “The way we treat animals reflects the values we are teaching the next generation.”

The actor isn’t the first to attempt to bring the issue of animal rights to Maryam’s attention. Actor Ushna Shah penned a similar letter in February, telling her she was “almost perfect” but needed to work on animal welfare.

Zhalay Sarhadi also joined calls for animal protection after reports emerged of animals buried under the rubble of a hurriedly demolished pet market near Lahore’s Data Darbar. The Lahore Development Authority denied the market had any animals inside during the demolition, a claim contested by local animal welfare groups and impacted shopkeepers.

From his outfit to his words, Bardem, a longtime anti-war activist, used his celebrity to advocate for a great cause: the end of war and freedom for Palestinians.

He wore a Palestine pin and a pin saying “No A La Guerra” or no to war on the lapel of his jacket. The anti-war pin was the same one he wore to the Goya Awards in 2003, during the Iraq war.

But unlike many other stars who chose to wear pins or make statements with fashion alone, Bardem used his platform to speak up as well.

Calling both the Iraq war and the one on Iran today “illegal”, he told The Hollywood Reporter it was created by US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with “another lie”.

“They are radicalising the regime with their horrific actions, so that’s not the reason [as] it was not the reason ‘weapons of mass destruction’ in 2003,” he said.

He described his second pin as “Palestine’s symbol of resistance”.

While presenting the award for Best International Feature alongside Priyanka Chopra — someone who has not spoken against war or for Palestine and looked quite uncomfortable — his words were succinct: “No to war, and free Palestine”.

Variety noted that his words were met with a “big round of applause”. In a followup interview with the publication, he said he did it because “it is important to understand and bring awareness that you can do both — you can be part of the movie-making community, which is an important community, and also be a citizen who uses this huge speaker to denounce injustice. In this case, it is the genocide of Palestine that is still going on.”

He also called out the ceasefire in Palestine, saying since it had gone into effect, 600 people had been murdered, half of them children. “What is going on in the West Bank, the abuse of civil rights, and human rights and the ethnic cleansing that is happening in the West Bank is horrible and we are not talking about it enough,” he said.

He also spoke about the “illegal war”, once again referring to the joint US-Israeli war on Iran. He said the intention was not to “defeat the regime”, it was about the oil, and that innocent people were being bombed.

This isn’t the first time Bardem has used his platform to talk about human rights violations. In fact, he’s been one of the most consistent celebrities to speak about Palestine. At September’s Emmy Awards, he wore a Palestinian Keffiyeh around his neck and called for sanctions on Israel, denouncing the genocide in Gaza.

“Here I am today, denouncing the genocide in Gaza,” Bardem told Variety without mincing words. “I am talking about the IAGS, the International Association of Genocide Scholars, who study genocide thoroughly and has declared it is a genocide. That’s why we ask for a commercial and diplomatic blockade, and also sanctions on Israel to stop the genocide. Free Palestine.”

He’s also signed pledges not to work with Israeli film institutions, as well as letters condemning Hollywood’s silence on the genocide. He also spoke about Israel’s actions at a press conference at the San Sebastian Film Festival. The Oscar winner denounced Israel’s “dehumanising” attacks on Gaza and said under its most radical government, Israel is committing “crimes against humanity and international law”.

If any other celebrities want a masterclass on using their platform the right way, all they need to do is look to Bardem.

On Thursday, US Senators Peter Welch and Chris Van Hollen, alongside representatives Sara Jacobs, Pramila Jayapal and Joaquin Castro, introduced the Justice for Hind Rajab Act, a bill that would require the US government to investigate the circumstances surrounding the child’s death, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The legislation seeks answers from the administration about the killing and what lawmakers describe as broader patterns of civilian harm in Gaza, as well as reaffirming the United States’ commitment to prosecuting war crimes under the Geneva Conventions.

Hind was killed after staying on the phone with the Palestinian Red Crescent Society for more than an hour, pleading for help. The society reported that she was under fire from a tank in Tel al-Hawa.

An ambulance dispatched to rescue her — travelling along a route approved by the Israel Defence Forces — was later destroyed, killing the two paramedics inside.

Hind’s story, including the emergency call recording, later became the basis for the Oscar-nominated docudrama The Voice of Hind Rajab by Tunisian filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania. The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival and is nominated in the Best International Feature category at the upcoming 98th Academy Awards.

“I was horrified by reports of the Israeli Defence Forces firing over 300 bullets at her and her family while they were simply trying to escape Gaza,” Rep Jacobs said in a statement announcing the bill. “No child should have to face that kind of terror, and no family should have to carry that kind of loss.”

Independent investigations have also attempted to reconstruct the incident. London-based research group Forensic Architecture analysed satellite imagery and visual evidence and concluded that several Israeli tanks were present near the vehicle and that one fired 335 rounds at the car carrying Hind and her family. The group also suggested that a tank likely attacked the ambulance sent to retrieve her.

Sen Welch said the circumstances of the attack demand further scrutiny. “This was not a ‘fog of war’ situation,” he said. “There wasn’t any reason for the IDF to believe Hind and her family — who were trying to escape the fighting in Gaza — posed a threat.”

Hind’s death has since become emblematic of the mounting civilian toll in Gaza following October 7, 2023.

The proposed legislation calls for congressional findings on the attack and a US State Department report detailing US and Israeli efforts to investigate and hold individuals accountable. It would also require the US government to certify compliance with American laws that prohibit assistance to foreign security units implicated in serious human rights violations.

In addition to this, the bill mandates certification from the secretary of state and the US attorney general confirming that the government is complying with US war-crime laws and is prepared to investigate — and where appropriate prosecute — those responsible for the attack.

Rep Jayapal said the bill is meant to push for accountability.

“Today we honour the life of Hind Rajab,” she said in a statement. “This legislation demands an investigation into her killing so we can finally begin to bring about accountability for the countless war crimes the US has been complicit in inside Gaza.”

In the speech, which was published by Zeteo on Thursday, Roy said while the gathering was focused on her book, she couldn’t “end the day without talking about those beautiful cities — Tehran, Isfahan, and Beirut — that are up in flames.” She said she’d like to use some of “my Mother Mary’s spirit of candour and impoliteness” to talk about “the unprovoked and illegal attack by the United States and Israel on Iran”.

The author referred to the bombing campaign in Iran as a “a continuation of the US-Israeli genocide in Gaza,” but contended that “Iran is not Gaza”.

She said the world stands on the precipice of “nuclear calamity and economic collapse” as “the same country that bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki could be readying itself to bomb one of the most ancient civilisations in the world”. Any regime change, she said, needs to come from the people and “not by some bloated, lying, cheating, greedy, resource-grabbing, bomb-dropping imperial power and its allies who are trying to bully the whole world into submission”.

Roy said Iran was standing up to the imperialists “while India cowers”, adding that she was ashamed of how “gutless” and “spineless” the Indian government was in dealing with Israel and the US. She lamented that her country had lost its pride and dignity, “except in our movies”. “Let me simply say that I stand with Iran. Unequivocally,” the author said

She decried Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit to Israel and his government’s trade relations with the US, questioning what it means for India to get the country’s “permission” to buy oil from Russia.

She also called out the Indian government for sending Indian workers to Israel to replace expelled Palestinians, adding that these workers were reportedly not allowed to use air raid shelters during Iran’s retaliatory fire on Israeli cities.

“Who has put us into this absolutely humiliating, shameless, disgusting place in the world?” Roy asked.

The author said the term “running dogs of imperialists” — used by Chinese politician Mao Zedong to describe allies of Imperialist powers — “describes [India] well. Except, of course, in our twisted, toxic movies in which our celluloid heroes strut on, winning phantom war after war, dumb and over-muscled. Fuelling our insatiable bloodlust with their gratuitous violence.”

Roy is no stranger to taking strong and vocal stances on issues she cares about, she recently made headlines for pulling out of the Berlin International Film Festival over the president of the festival’s jury saying cinema should “stay out of politics” when asked about Gaza. Earlier, she signed a pledge not to work with Israeli cultural institutions over complicity in the state’s war on Gaza.

Her writing is also considered seditious by the Indian government, which banned her 2020 book Azadi: Freedom, Fascism, Fiction in India-occupied Jammu and Kashmir for “propagating false narrative and secessionism”.

Cover photo: Arundhati Roy/Facebook

Zimmerman works at Exceptional Minds, a nonprofit ‌vocational academy and visual effects studio for adults with autism. The organization provides training to help autistic artists launch careers in the competitive world of Hollywood.

“It feels like a dream,” Zimmerman said of being a part of Gladiator II. “I’ve always wanted to work on a feature film like this.”

Autism is a neurodevelopmental condition that affects social interactions, behavior and how the brain processes the world. It ranges in severity and can present challenges in ​the workplace. While many people with autism successfully hold jobs, the US unemployment rate for autistic adults is estimated at around 40%, according to a study published in ​the National Library of Medicine in 2017.

Exceptional Minds — the only full-time, post-secondary programme of its kind in the US for artists on the ⁠autism spectrum — was created to give high school graduates with autism the skills they need to perform meaningful work.

“Autistic artists should be able to work in the field they want to ​work in,” said CEO Lauren DeVillier, a former Disney and Sony executive and the parent of a neuro-divergent daughter. “We are training to put these graduates to work. We want them integrated ​into the studio system and working in the workplace alongside everyone else.”

Working on meticulous tasks

Many graduates of the three-year program gain experience in the Exceptional Minds visual effects and animation studio, where they work under the supervision of seasoned professionals for clients including Walt Disney, Netflix, and Sony. Exceptional Minds artists have contributed to 19 Oscar-winning or nominated films including Avengers: Endgame and Star Wars: The Last Jedi, plus dozens of TV shows ​such as Game of Thrones. They have worked on every Marvel movie since 2015.

Alumni also have been hired at Marvel, the Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon and elsewhere.

Yudi Bennett, an assistant director and production ​manager on films such as Broadcast News and Kramer vs. Kramer, co-founded Exceptional Minds 15 years ago. She and other entertainment-industry parents worried about what would happen to their autistic children after high school, when many ‌services to help them ⁠adapt end.

Today, the organisation trains about 250 autistic adults each year through courses in visual effects and animation. A video game arts curriculum is scheduled to begin in the fall.

Class sizes are kept small, and instructors are trained in how to adjust timelines or otherwise accommodate the needs of students with autism.

On a recent weekday at the Exceptional Minds offices and classrooms, alumni sat in front of computers working on visual effects while students in another room honed their drawing skills.

Graduate Lily Yllescas discussed how she painted fall colours on trees and removed wires from scenes in the new ​season of Bridgerton.

“When you see it, it will look ​so seamless. But really when you’re ⁠working on it, there’s so many little things you have to pay attention to,” she said.

The meticulous tasks suit many people with autism, students and alumni said.

“Depending on your level of it, you might be able to be more precise,” said student Deirdre Mills. “And sometimes you might ​be able to catch details that others might not be able to see.”

Teaching social skills

Alongside technical skills, Exceptional Minds teaches how to ​thrive socially at work, ⁠something that can be challenging for people with autism.

“We do mock interviews to get us comfortable talking to people, talking about our work, building our confidence,” said student Alex Abrusia. “I’ve grown a lot because of that.”

Exceptional Minds handles the end credits for Marvel Studios films. Jeff Willis, Marvel’s director of credits and administration, said the studio’s work was “on par with anyone else in town” and the artists tackled ⁠creative challenges ​well.

In the credits for The Fantastic Four: First Steps, Marvel wanted to have the number 828 expand to become 8/28/1917, the ​birthday of comic book artist Jack Kirby. It was a small detail that thrilled fans. “They just knocked it out of the park,” Willis said.

Co-founder Bennett said she was proud that Exceptional Minds had changed the lives of young adults.

“The ​graduates have gone out and moved into their own apartments. They’ve gotten driver’s licenses, they’ve bought cars,” she said. “They’ve done things that were considered impossible.”

Cover image: Reuters

Foreigners who had built their lives in these cities and are now being pushed to leave by the threat of the war escalating are reportedly leaving their pets behind because of the lengthy procedures involved in relocating animals.

While many at least try to hand their pets off to shelters with the hope that they’ll be taken care of, some are leaving cats and dogs out on the streets, forcing the domesticated animals to fend for themselves in a wild and hostile environment.

In a statement to The Telegraph, Aditi Gouri, owner of Dubai-based pet boarding service The Barking Lot, said, “Shelters are overcrowded right now and are doing the best they can — we are doing our best to stay as flexible as possible because we understand these are trying times.”

Vets in the country are also reporting a heavy increase in inquiries from owners looking for someone to keep their pets; the frequency of calls asking about euthanasia has also increased.

A volunteer from Dubai told the publication, “I’ve seen around 200 posts now, on WhatsApp groups and Facebook groups — dogs have been found abandoned on the streets, tied to poles and left behind with no owners found. Some vets have even confirmed that owners are coming in to euthanise healthy pets because they don’t want to deal with relocation costs or paperwork.”

Six Hounds, an animal shelter based in Al-Ain said they were receiving daily requests to take in animals, adding, “All of us are overloaded and underfunded and understaffed.”

Owner Anso Stander told The Standard she had received 27 messages concerning abandoned pets in one day. She also mentioned cases where pets had been abandoned in the desert on the border between the UAE and Oman after they were denied clearance to cross. She called the behaviour of fleeing pet owners “selfish and heartless”.

Louise Hastie, the CEO of War Paws — a charity working for animals in conflict zones like Iraq and Ukraine — said it was incomprehensible that pets in a place as affluent as Dubai were facing such high levels of abandonment.

“Abandoning pets at the border or on the streets, not even leaving them with the vet – there’s really no excuse for it, Dubai is an affluent country,” she said from Iraq, where she has been stranded due to the conflict. She said she’d stay with her animals “till the roof came down” if the alternative was to leave them on the street.

The problem of pet abandonment in the UAE is unfortunately not a new one, as a large chunk of the country’s population is comprised of expatriates who end up leaving the country at some point. Many of those departing leave their pets behind, which often results in the animals going through severe hardship and trauma.

The tense situation in the region is also showing no signs of easing as the US-Israeli war on Iran continues into its 10th day. After over 1,300 of its citizens were killed in US-Israeli attacks, Iran has vowed to continue the war, with the country’s Revolutionary Guards saying, “It is we who will determine the end of the war.”

Cover photo:Reuters/file

According to police sources, 44 participants were detained — 25 men and 19 women, including activist Dr Farzana Bari, two of her daughters, and human rights defender Tahira Abdullah.

Police sources told Dawn that the activists were picked up as Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) remained imposed in the federal capital, which empowers district administrations to prohibit an assembly of four or more people in an area for a limited period.

Last year, the Islamabad police registered a case against the Aurat March organisers for staging a protest on March 8 in violation of Section 144.

Islamabad authorities had reportedly refused to grant an NOC for the march from the National Press Club to D-Chowk. The marchers then went ahead with a gathering outside the press club after police stopped them from proceeding towards D-Chowk.

When news broke of the arrests, some wondered why women marching in Islamabad was such a big threat, given the state of the world.

Some had replies to the inevitable — and at this point lame — arguments of ‘foreign funding’.

The hypocrisy of the situation was not lost on people.

Especially given that the prime minister shared a lengthy message paying tribute to women in Pakistan, all while women were being arrested in the capital.

Some people online took issue with their arrests under Section 144. Journalist Hamid Mir called the law a “legacy of colonialism”.

Lawyer Jibran Nasir said it was a bailable offence, theorising that the reason they were detained for hours or non-bailable offences were added to the FIR was “to cause humiliation and intimidation”.

Happy Women’s Day, we guess.

Cover: Muhammad Asim/ White Star

The Palestinian-Dutch supermodel took to Instagram to share a carousel, urging protection for civilians caught in the escalating conflict. Her post came as the region reels from days of bombardment and retaliation.

The attacks killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, a move that has plunged the Middle East into its most perilous crisis in decades. Among the dead are 150 children after Israeli strikes destroyed a primary girls’ school in Minab, southern Iran. Nearly 100 others were wounded.

Rights groups say more than 1,000 civilians have been killed in Iran in the first five days of attacks, with thousands more injured as airstrikes hit urban areas and infrastructure.

Against that backdrop, Hadid shared a graphic from the International Committee of the Red Cross titled “Civilians must be protected”, using her caption to centre the people caught between governments and military escalation.

“My heart is with the people of Iran, and with every civilian anywhere caught in the middle of government decisions and military escalation,” she wrote. “No matter where we live, safety, dignity, and peace should never be negotiable.”

The model pointed out that ordinary people often become collateral damage in decisions made by those in power.

“Too often innocent lives become collateral in decisions made far above them — by systems, by leaders, by forces that claim to act in their name,” she wrote. “But the future of Iran belongs to its people, not to those who silence them or use them as leverage.”

The post was not just a statement but also a resource list. Hadid urged followers to amplify and support humanitarian groups working in the region, including the International Committee of the Red Cross, the Iranian Red Crescent Society and Save the Children.

She also shared screenshots of statements from those organisations in her carousel, calling for the protection of children as violence escalates across the Middle East.

“Behind the headlines are real families, real fear, and real human lives,” Hadid continued. “What matters most is protecting civilians, preventing further escalation, and remembering our shared humanity.”

The appeal echoes warnings from humanitarian groups that the rapidly widening conflict risks devastating civilian populations. The Red Cross has said expanding hostilities across the region place “civilian lives in grave danger,” while aid organisations are calling for restraint and adherence to international humanitarian law.

The conflict itself has spiralled far beyond a single set of strikes. Iran has retaliated with missile and drone attacks on Israeli targets and US military installations across the region, while tensions have spread to neighbouring countries and disrupted shipping through the strategically crucial Strait of Hormuz.

For Hadid — whose father is Palestinian and who has repeatedly spoken about the war in Gaza and broader regional politics — the message stayed focused on civilians rather than geopolitics.

“History has shown us that escalation rarely protects the innocent,” she wrote. “I’m praying for restraint, accountability, and peace… standing in solidarity with the people of Iran, human beings everywhere living through uncertainty right now.”

The remarks by Abdallah Al-Khatib, whose Chronicles From the Siege won the Berlinale’s Perspectives section for emerging filmmakers, capped a politically charged festival, with organisers facing criticism from actors and directors for “shielding Israel from criticism.”

Discussions about Israeli actions are particularly sensitive in Germany, which has become one of Israel’s staunchest supporters, principally because of historical guilt for the Nazi Holocaust — a policy known as the “Staatsraison”. The German government has said Israel has a right to self-defence after the October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas.

“Some people told me, maybe you have to be careful before you say what I want to say now, because you are a refugee in Germany, and there are so many red lines. But I don’t care. I care about my people, about Palestine,” said Al-Khatib, standing on stage with a keffiyeh scarf draped on his shoulder and raising a Palestinian flag at the end of his speech late on Saturday.

“So I will say my final word to the German government. You are partners in the genocide in Gaza by Israel. I believe you are intelligent enough to recognise this truth, but you choose not to care.”

German Environment Minister Carsten Schneider, who was in the audience, walked out following the remarks. “The Federal Minister considers these statements unacceptable and therefore left the event during the speech,” a spokesperson said on Sunday.

Human rights experts, scholars and a UN inquiry say Israel’s assault on Gaza amounts to genocide. Israel has strongly denied that its actions in Gaza amount to genocide and says they are justified as self-defence.

Israeli Ambassador Ron Prosor praised Schneider’s reaction to the speech. “Respect for Minister Schneider and his moral clarity,” he told Germany’s Bild newspaper.

Berlin’s film festival, known by its nickname the Berlinale, has a reputation for being more politicised than its peers, Venice and Cannes — and this year’s edition was marked by frequent discussions about the war in Gaza.

German director Wim Wenders used his final appearance as jury president to urge filmmakers and activists to act as allies, not rivals, after his comment that filmmakers should not be political caused Indian novelist Arundhati Roy to pull out.

Several other award winners used their speeches to express solidarity with the Palestinians.

“The least we can do here is to break the silence and remind them that they are not really alone,” said Turkish filmmaker Emin Alper, referring to Palestinians living in Gaza and other people around the world.

In an Instagram post addressed directly to the chief minister, Shah began by acknowledging what she described as visible improvements in Punjab — from women’s safety to cleanliness and public order. “You are almost perfect,” she wrote, adding that even those who have not traditionally supported the PML-N are noticing the direction the province appears to be taking.

“But there is a silence,” she continued.

That silence, according to Shah, surrounds repeated incidents of animal abuse — some of which have gone viral in recent months. She referenced a video circulating online that showed a dog tied to a vehicle and dragged along a main road, purportedly in Punjab. According to Shah, the clip sparked outrage, with commenters blaming the provincial government for failing to create deterrence to such acts of cruelty. “People wrote that Maryam Nawaz is killing animals. Whether fair or unfair, this is the perception forming,” she wrote, arguing that cruelty cases keep occuring without visible consequences.

Shah’s list of grievances read like a catalogue many Pakistanis sadly recognise — organised dog fighting, donkeys beaten, animals injured and crushed during anti-encroachment operations, and violent treatment at markets.

Dog fighting, though illegal, continues to surface in news reports. In one case, dozens of people were arrested in Punjab earlier this month for organising and attending a dog fight where betting was involved.

In her letter, Shah proposed province-wide spay and neutering programmes instead of poisoning or culling, proper enforcement of existing cruelty laws, humane regulation of donkey carts (“no whips, no wounds”), banning the private ownership of wild animals, and shutting down dogfighting and other violent animal spectacles.

She also floated a bigger idea — transitioning zoos into sanctuaries, a concept increasingly discussed in Pakistan and globally.

The actor framed her appeal in moral and religious terms as well, reminding the Punjab CM that animals are “Allah ki makhlooq” and invoking the teachings of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) about kindness towards animals. Posting during Ramazan, she added in her caption: “May this Ramazan not be a performative one. May we all contribute to making this planet, as Allah intended, a haven for all of His creatures.”

Her point is straightforward — cruelty persists, laws exist, enforcement appears weak, and leadership sets the tone.

Punjab does have animal cruelty laws on paper, and dog fighting, as well as dog culling, is illegal. But enforcement tends to be reactive — a raid here, an arrest there — rather than part of a sustained welfare framework. Municipal responses to stray dogs often oscillate between public pressure and short-term solutions, instead of long-term sterilisation and vaccination drives that experts say are more humane and effective.

We don’t know if the chief minister will respond to Shah publicly, but the actor’s letter reflects a growing discomfort with how routinely animal suffering is normalised in public spaces. And as Shah put it, the question isn’t which politician to tag. It’s whether anyone in power is willing to treat the province’s “voiceless” as constituents too.