Articles in The Express Tribune by Dr. Rakhshinda Perveen
Read Dr. Rakhshinda’s compelling pieces published in The Express Tribune — a leading English daily bringing sharp commentary on society, politics, and beyond.
By Dr. Rakhshinda Perveen
Fifty-four years is enough
bolte kyuuñ nahīñ mire haq meñ
aable paḌ ga.e zabān meñ kyā
Why do you not speak in my favour
Has your tongue filled with blisters?
– Jaun Elia
For over fifteen years, I have worked to highlight the plight of the abandoned Pakistanis of Bangladesh, often through my own writings. In that time, I have encountered patient editors and those who chose not to respond at all, rude readers and others who remained thoughtful, and above all, a ruling class that has remained consistently silent.
By Dr. Rakhshinda Perveen
We were never on the right side of history and nobody cares
As the world watches a genocide unfold live on its screens documented in real time, shared in real time, ignored in real time, I find myself asking a harder question: if the world cannot stop what it is watching happen right now in Gaza, who will ever care about what happened to my community in 1971?
By Dr. Rakhshinda Perveen
Gender-based violence and our judicial officers
A man who reports a stolen wallet is not asked what he was wearing when he lost it, or what business he had on that street at that hour. That line of questioning, considered routine when a woman reports violence, is not seen as intrusive. It is seen as relevant. It is defended in the name of religion, culture, and an honour that is somehow always stored in the body of someone else: the sinf-e-nazuk, who is simultaneously held responsible for everything. This is not prejudice at the fringes. It is normalised which is what makes it so difficult to see, including for a trained, skilled judge. Judges are not above the society that shaped them. They are its microcosm, and what a society normalises, its courtrooms can quietly enforce.
By Dr. Rakhshinda Perveen
Songs of a nation, names worth knowing
This May 10, Pakistan observed its first Youm-e-Marka-e-Haq, marking the success of Operation Bunyan-um-Marsoos. A day to observe not just with ceremonies and salutes, but with reflection on the resolve of a people and their guardians who stood firm like a wall of lead when it mattered most. To the Pakistan Army, to our intelligence services, to every institution and individual who planned, sacrificed and delivered: the nation salutes you. But before the speeches settle and the ticker tapes fade, let us pause. And let us remember that our soldiers never stopped. Right now, as these words are read, men in uniform are standing guard on mountains, in deserts, along borders that never sleep. The duty continues every hour of every day.
By Dr. Rakhshinda Perveen
Three crises, one silence
May 18, 2026. The Federal Shariat Court restored Section 325 of the Pakistan Penal Code. No protests. No emergency session. No coalition demanding reversal. A law that criminalises surviving a suicide attempt came back with less noise than a routine budget notification and that quietness tells you everything about whose lives this country considers worth protecting.
By Dr. Rakhshinda Perveen
We were never on the right side of history and nobody cares
As the world watches a genocide unfold live on its screens documented in real time, shared in real time, ignored in real time, I find myself asking a harder question: if the world cannot stop what it is watching happen right now in Gaza, who will ever care about what happened to my community in 1971?Read the complete article via the link below.
By Dr. Rakhshinda Perveen
Feminism without fear
Who taught you feminism? How come you are a feminist and so soft-spoken? Why should your sister or friend act like you and become a stigma? Why are you anti-men? Have you ever tried to be pretty instead of brainy and see how you get success effortlessly? Why are you so emotional, Madam? Read the complete article via the link below.
By Dr. Rakhshinda Perveen
Decolonisation and social entrepreneurship
Arshad Nadeem’s gold medal victory at the Paris Olympics 2024 provided a rare moment of collective joy as the country celebrated its 77th Independence Day. This festivity unfolded against a backdrop of ongoing challenges, both documented and disregarded. Prior to this, International Youth Day was observed in the usual manner by UN agencies and their partners in Pakistan. Read the complete article via the link below.
By Dr. Rakhshinda Perveen
Who is afraid of affirmative action with accountability?
Integrity-wise, it is impossible to unsee something once it has been seen. However, in the practical realm, all that appears irrational and unexpected continues to happen without surprising or embarrassing those who are at the helm of such affairs. Read the complete article via the link below.
By Dr. Rakhshinda Perveen
Normalising the lives of divorced women and mothers in Pakistan
The structural patriarchy in Pakistan is unending. As if women, especially those with overlapping vulnerabilities, do not face enough injustices, transgressions and oppression, the public sector has recently added one more. Read the complete article via the link below.
By Dr. Rakhshinda Perveen
Fifty-four years is enough
For over fifteen years, I have worked to highlight the plight of the abandoned Pakistanis of Bangladesh, often through my own writings. In that time, I have encountered patient editors and those who chose not to respond at all, rude readers and others who remained thoughtful, and above all, a ruling class that has remained consistently silent. Read the complete article via the link below.
By Dr. Rakhshinda Perveen
Covering Bangladesh vote & the history we still avoid
Bangladesh’s 13th parliamentary elections have concluded, and Tarique Rahman is now poised to become the country’s next prime minister. Whether this signals the continuation of dynastic politics or the fading of Gen Z’s political aspirations is not the focus of this piece. Read the complete article via the link below.
By Dr. Rakhshinda Perveen
The abandoned Pakistanis of 1971
While noting the jubilations over the renewal of direct flights between Pakistan and Bangladesh, and the opening of an expensive designer store in Dhaka, I could not escape the tragic story of some 324,000 people who have been punished for more than fifty-four years for loving Pakistan unconditionally. Their story has yet to gain the status of newsworthiness or a place on the agenda of the Foreign Office. Read the complete article via the link below.
By Dr. Rakhshinda Perveen
Bangladesh — election, erasure, empathy and victory
As Bangladesh approaches the 2026 elections, a question yet to be raised by political commentators is: who speaks for the communities that have been invisible for over fifty years? Are any human rights scholars, renowned journalists and activists examining the enduring marginalisation of Biharis (Non-Bengali Urdu-speaking communities) in Bangladesh, highlighting the risks of exploitation in the 2026 elections? Read the complete article via the link below.
By Dr. Rakhshinda Perveen
Thank you Sindh Assembly: recognition must go beyond
What is more thrilling than a blockbuster thriller is life itself. Just when I had resigned myself to imagining that the plight of stranded Pakistanis would remain masked under selective memory and political convenience, the news arrived as a surprise: the Sindh Assembly session on December 16, 2025 included a resolution moved by MQM-P lawmaker Engineer Ejaz-ul-Haq to pay tribute to the civilian martyrs of the 1971 East Pakistan tragedy, including members of the Bihari community and other stranded Pakistanis, who sacrificed their lives for Pakistan and supported the Pakistan military? Read the complete article via the link below.