Zahra speaks

International Day of Persons with Disabilities is a day to acknowledge the role of a small yet significant chunk of society. Disabilities do not define an individual, they are a small part of it. It is an excellent opportunity to reflect upon the issues that the PWDs of Pakistan face, and how can you contribute to improving the quality of their lives. Inclusion   Inclusion is the prime subject of concern. Society needs to acknowledge PWD's and allow them an equal chance to grow. It is only possible once you start doing it. Start from the roots. If you have a PWD in your surrounding, try to make them feel that they are not aliens. Let go of the awkward stares. Just because a person is in a wheelchair, it doesn't mean you can constantly look at them, and try to make sense of their existence. Let them be. Acceptance is normalizing PWDs among the crowd. It seems small, but trust me, it's a meaningful juncture.  Representation It is crucial to understand that the needs of a PWD ...

 'Squid game' is gaining popularity among the masses swiftly. The Korean show has succeeded to amass viewers' attention after its release on Netflix on 17th September 2021. I binged the show after coming across tons of memes, posts, and articles online. The buzz was at its peak, and I succumbed to it. Well, here's my say. It is a depressing, violent, and gut-wrenching show that makes you sick. I feel it shouldn't be on Netflix. Here's why: The plot of the show is based on a game that involves more than two hundred people. They are meticulously selected due to their financial instability, or overdue debts. There is a whole mystery behind who runs the game and why they do so. All the participants are carried to an island, away from the city, to play a bloody game for whopping prize money. It's not as simple as that. To make it even more twisted, they summon the participants to play children's games with fatal twists. The progression in the games is based o...

 Reading is a fruitful habit that helps you in many pursuits of life. It is the most preferable and productive activity which helped me a lot in many ways. I could have never realized my passion for stories if it wasn't for The Wizard of Oz; The first book that I ever read. It was a long journey but somehow that book remains special. I read it when I was around eleven years old. It was my routine to write a diary before going to sleep so, I would write the important events of the day and then, immerse myself in the fictional world of the book. Honestly, I don't even remember the story clearly, but I do remember enjoying it thoroughly. It changed my perspective and instilled the passion to write. The truth is I haven't read many books, but when I turned fourteen, one of my cousins gifted me 'The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho'. When I read that book, I felt something incredible. The books were not just the pages anymore, I sensed life in them. There was an immensely spect...

My elder uncle (mamoo), Syed Asad Abbas Shamsi, returned to his Maker on 28th July 2021. It was an untimely demise that shook me to the core and taught me a lot of bitter life lessons. The past few days were both emotionally exhausting and painful. I felt my heart and hope shattering. It was a difficult time for the entire family, but most importantly, each minute was painful for him. My only solace is that he is now free of the pain that he was enduring for so long, and his travail has finally concluded. Yet, his passing has left a deeply engraved scar on my heart, and I can never forget the pain he endured in the last few days of his life.  If it were not for him, my parents would not have gotten married. He was my father's friend, and through that association, my parents got married. He was cheerful, funny, passionate, and knowledgeable. I can still picture his smile. The way he beamed when we would all sit and listen to his jokes. Most of the time, he would tell us imaginative ...

Creativity is a gift and once you embrace it in your life, everything seems simpler. I have explored different sides of my personality ever since I started writing my stories. Before that, the stories were there in my mind, but I never executed my creativity to put them down on paper. Writing has always been more than just a hobby for me, it's the driving force in my life. I cannot imagine my life without my stories. As a writer, my stories provide me with an opportunity to explore the world beyond my physical limitations. I can be anyone and anything in my stories which is not the case with reality. Physical limitations, cultural boundaries, religious obligations, and social expectations are all part of the real world, however, when I am writing a story, I have the liberty to set everything as I like. I am grateful to Allah that I could turn my passion into my profession somehow. There is a creative instinct in everyone, but their method of execution is different. An engineer with...

Recently, I saw a lot of posts on animal rescue pages that included some graphic content of the heinous abuse against animals. It is not a new thing and has been going on for years. There is no idea for animal rights and when you try to highlight animal violence, they start talking about the lack of human rights in this country. My question is who is comparing the two matters? Why does it always have to be a comparison? Whether it be the comparison of Islamophobia in the West to forced conversions in Asia or the horrible execution of human rights laws to the lack of basic animal rights, all of them are wrong. There is no superior wrong, wrong is wrong! It's not a difficult thing to understand when you are not approaching everything with an aggressive and depressed mindset. You want to compare and compete with West, look at the way they implement their laws. There are rules for everyone, including the disabled community, the minorities, the laborers, and animals. I am not portraying...

 Love is a phenomenon that has been highly misunderstood by many, including myself. Different other phenomena are sometimes confused with love. However, the point of my blog is not discussing love, it is a complaint to Mr. Shahrukh Khan for messing up our minds about the ideas of 'falling in love.' Let's begin from the beginning. I am a 90's child and my mind still battles the idea of meeting my Mr. Perfect in a strange land away from home. Yes, I am talking about Dil Waley Dulhaniya Le Jayenge and Mr. Perfect is none other than Raj Malhotra. I know I am no Simran, my father won't allow me to travel to Switzerland with my friends to 'live my life before getting married, and I won't be meeting a moral casanova on my trip with whom I will fall in love. I am sure nobody is going to say 'palat' while I would be getting on the train. Let's be realistic, that train was not wheelchair accessible and it would take a lot of physical effort for me to get o...

 Everything has a purpose and I have been a firm believer in it throughout my life. Sometimes it is difficult to find the light in the gloom but it is the only way out. With all the educational institutions closed down, the students are not forced to study at home through online lectures. There is a lot of buzz regarding the same issue. However, I have been studying privately, through the internet and online lectures for the past four years and it is worked quite well. After a sabbatical of around six years, I started studying again. Although it took a lot of persistence and courage now I feel it was all worth it. All the nights of fearing what would happen at the examination center, what if the wheelchair is not accessible to the examination center, would I be able to write the paper on the table below or higher to my wheelchair level. Many things made me even more skeptical but sometimes it just takes a leap of faith and God holds your hand, clearing up all the blockages in your ...

The third wave of coronavirus is very powerful and affecting much more people as compared to the last year. Eight members of my family contracted coronavirus last month, including myself. It happened at the start of April, on the first of Ramadan. I had a severe headache and fever. Usually, at the start of summer, I get a fever for a few days. It's probably because my body reacts to the weather change like that. However, I was also experiencing a dry throat and a very slight cough. I started taking painkillers for my headache but after two days of fever, I lost my smelling sense. It was the most alarming sign. Well, my mother was sharing my symptoms and, in the meanwhile, my father also started having a cough which indicated that he had also been exposed. The coronavirus test costs Rs. 7500 per patient. It is very difficult to get tested every time you experience symptoms similar to the coronavirus symptoms. So here is a pro tip, if you feel you are having a fever with a headache, ...

Anything in my life has not been 'normal' and so has been the case with my book publishing methodology. When I wrote my first book, I self-published it because traditional publishing came off so hard. It seemed nearly impossible to get my book published and maybe reach the readers.  For me, the priority was putting my story out there. I wanted people to read it and provide their feedback. If you have ever written something and possibly published it online, you would know the curiosity of receiving feedback. So, my first step was finding a self-publishing platform that was easy to use and involved the least hassle. I found various platforms including Amazon Kindle Publishing but settled with Draft2digital .com; it is a distribution website that helps the authors to self-publish on most of the major eBook stores. I uploaded my manuscript on their website and they formatted it according to their requirements. There are various layouts available and the author can pick any specific...

David moves away from his family to further his career. But, when his marriage hits rock bottom, he returns to his wife, Penny, in order to save his relationship. The estranged couple tries to resolve their differences, but when shocking secrets are exposed, it's not just their relationship at risk. A dangerous adversary threatens the couple, and before long, David is dragged into a dangerous game of cat and mouse. He must protect his family at all costs but what if the enemy is closer than he imagined? Will he be able to defend his family from the powerful clutches of the enemy? Or will his mistakes cost him his future? Pre-order your eBook: https://books2read.com/u/m2RM9j

 My first book, The Stranger , was a romantic story. It is one of my favorite genres and comes naturally to me. When I started thinking about writing my second book, I knew that I wanted to move out of my comfort zone. Moreover, my father who is not a fan of romantic stories was also a very motivational force. Consequently, I chose the thriller and mystery genres. As a writer, I have always felt confident about my romantic stories. I think I am good at it. I never wanted anyone to critique my work in its initial stages but the new genre somehow made me a little nervous. I needed someone to validate my creative approach. Therefore, I reached out to a friend whose feedback would be critically honest and I could trust her with my intellectual property too. She graduated in English Literature and I had full faith in her capabilities to critique my work. Although she was a mother of a toddler, she still agreed to provide feedback on my first chapter. I sent her the draft and sat on the ...

 2020 was a very baffling year. Like everyone, I was also taken aback by the quick spread of coronavirus and the extensive lockdown. Who could have imagined that a pandemic would change the way this world works? The virus did not spare the rich, powerful, or the rulers. Everyone was and still is equally likely to contract coronavirus (not if you follow the SOP's).  The lockdown happened in March 2020, exactly a year ago. Things do not look pretty different. As we all know that the virus is again spreading very quickly and we are experiencing a surge in daily infections. The third wave is proving to be very strong and dangerous. Initially, we all used to hear stories that Corona infected one of the people in another city or town. Then came the second wave where people from our circle started getting infected and now with the third wave in full action, it has reached our homes. Nearly 5 to 6 people from my close-knit circle including my sister are infected with the coronavirus. ...

Image courtesy: GOOGLE IMAGES Versailles is a fictional show based on French history. It highlights the life of Louis the fourteenth. There are a lot of plots that entwine throughout the three seasons of the show. It perfectly describes the monarchy through different events and dialogues. At one event when someone questions Louis's justice, he justifies his brutalities by saying: 'I am Justice'. This is just one of the powerful dialogues that you will experience in this series! The dialogues are simply mindblowing. Simple fact stating sounds fancy and splendid.  The storyline is complex but you get hooked once you start watching the season. It's one of those shows where I was taken back to 1667, Louis the fourteenth had just taken command over France. He develops Versailles as his center and strives to make it a glorious manifestation of the French monarchy. The love life of the king is not hidden to anyone as he is always surrounded by ladies despite being married to M...

 As we bid adieu to the year 2020, I would like to take this opportunity and thank The Almighty for all His blessings despite the odd circumstances that prevailed all over the world this year. This year was a jolting reminder of who is in charge. The world had to amend their plans according to His will. A virus that cannot be discerned by the naked eye locked everyone in their homes and established the vulnerability of human beings before the divine decree. This year has changed many things including the mindset of some people that they can control everything, plan perfectly, and mold everything according to their wishes. The truth has always been contrary and the coronavirus pandemic has proved it. Despite everything, this year has taught me a lot. This year has been nothing short of a bumpy ride, from the passing of my grandmother to giving away 100 copies of my book within 2 months, I have a lot of memories is associated with the year 2020. In February, my grandmother passed awa...