A 14-year-old girl in Mumbai committed suicide as she was stressed about the pain due to her first period, according to Indian news platform India Today. The girl had no knowledge about the menstrual cycle due to which she was forced to take the extreme step, says the police report.
The unfortunate incident took place late on March 26. The teenager informed her family members about her first period and said she was experiencing extreme pain.
The young girl became restless as she could not bear the pain due to her period and subsequently hung herself in the room. The victim’s family took her to a nearby hospital, but she was declared dead upon her arrival.
A post-mortem of the body was conducted and no foul play was found, according to media reports.
The incident has raised concerns over the lack of awareness and information regarding the menstrual cycle especially among children.
In a survey by BeBadass.in, 60 percent of girls do not have prior knowledge about their menstrual cycle while 56 percent in India consider it a taboo. A shocking 38 percent believe the first occurrence to be an injury or a disease.
This is not about India alone as menstrual hygiene and seeking knowledge about it is seen as a taboo across South Asia. Sad incidents like these stress the need to have proper counselling with teenagers on menstruation and how to deal with it.
The Sindh government has announced two public holidays in the coming month. One is on April 1 and the second is on April 4.
The Sindh government has declared April 1st as a public holiday for members of the Christian community for the “Day After Easter” for all public and private offices, autonomous bodies, semi-autonomous bodies, and corporations under the administrative control of the provincial government.
Additionally, the Sindh government on Thursday announced a public holiday on April 4 on the occasion of the death anniversary of former prime minister and late Pakistan Peoples Party founder (PPP) founder Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.
In a notification, the provincial authorities said: “The Government of Sindh has been pleased to declare 4th April, 2024 (Thursday) as Public Holiday on the occasion of 45th Martyrdom anniversary of Quaid-e-Awam Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, Ex-Prime Minister of Islamic Republic of Pakistan throughout the Province of Sindh.”
This is applicable for all government offices, autonomous and semi-autonomous bodies, corporations, and local councils under the administrative control of the provincial government except those engaged in essential services will remain closed.
The Project Director of the Anti-Rabies Control Program has said that an app has been developed for the complaint of stray dogs in Karachi which will be launched after Ramzan. A helpline related to the same issue has been restored for the city.
Geo’s Amin Anwar reports that a hearing was held in the Sindh High Court on action against stray dogs and non-supply of vaccines in the coastal city. The Project Director filed a reply in the court stating that the helpline 1093 for reporting dog bite incidents has been reinstated by the Anti-Rabies Control Program.
The reply submitted in the court also stated that from January 2022 to March 2024, more than 19,000 dogs were vaccinated, rabies control centers were set up in four districts, and rules were made to control the growing population of stray dogs in the city.
The program has aimed in the reply that dog population control centers will be established in every district of the province and a notification regarding that has already been issued on February 29.
The project director of anti-rabies control program also said that a mobile app has been created for the complaint of stray dogs and bite incidents. This app will be launched for the public after Ramzan.
Citizens can file complaints about stray dogs with photo and address through the app. Stray dogs will be vaccinated after that.
A 15-year-old boy is being credited with saving over 100 people from the terrorist massacre at a Moscow concert hall on Friday.
The teen, Islam Khalilov, who worked as a cloakroom attendant at the Crocus City Hall, quickly moved to open doors and provide exits when he saw a large crowd of people running from the besieged concert hall.
“At first we heard some strange sounds on the first floor. We thought maybe some noisy group had come,” he explained later in an interview, according to the Daily Mail. “I understood that if I didn’t react, I would lose my life and the lives of many people,” he added.
“We were shown and told where to send people if something happened. I knew where to take people to keep them safe,” Khalilov said.
Islam recalled seeing one of the terrorists and how it scared him. “To be honest I don’t consider myself a hero. It was part of my job. It is better to sacrifice oneself than allow a hundred people to die,” the boy stated in a humble tone while talking to Al Jazeera.
Russian children’s rights commissioner awarded Khalilov and 14-year-old Artyom Donskov-who was also working at the venue during the attack-with an official thank-you letter from the government.
Russia’s Council of Muftis announced that it would award Khalilov with the Medal for Merit, the highest award of Russia’s Islamic community in the upcoming Friday prayer at Moscow’s Cathedral Mosque, reports The Moscow Times.
At least 139 people were killed in last Friday’s attack. Russian authorities have arrested 11 suspects, four of whom they say were directly involved in the massacre.
A number of journalists from Gaza took to social media to report that Israeli forces conducting operations inside Al-Shifa hospital are torturing and raping women present inside.
Photojournalist and videographer Wissam Nasser from Gaza said that a man and his wife taking shelter inside the hospital along with their two children had an alleged heinous encounter with the Israeli forces. “The preganant wife was forcibly undressed by Israeli forces despite informing them of her pregnancy; they continued to kick her. Then they assaulted and raped her in front of her family and other men,” Wissam shared.
He also shared a dark art work by the artist Ibrahim Ghunaim featuring a pregnant woman with tears of blood running down her eyes. He captioned it, “According to testimonies from inside Al shifa hospital, Israeli invading troops raped a Palestinian pregnant woman in front of her husband and other men then they killed her. This is happening situation the holy month of Ramadan while starving Palestinians are fasting. Absolutely shocking, disgusting and shows their evil nature‼‼”
Another Palestinian journalist Hind Khoudary took to Instagram stories and posted, “Women in Gaza are raped and tortured.”
Various Palestinian media outlets have also confirmed the claims and presented eye-witness accounts.
Middle East Eye reported a woman’s eye-witness account by Ms. Jamila al-Hissi as to what is happening inside Al-Sifa hospital. “They raped women, kidnapped women, executed women, and pulled dead bodies from under the rubble to unleash their dogs on them.” She further lamented, “Is there anything more horrifying than hearing women call for help, and when we try to reach them to provide assistance, they shoot at us.”
Israeli forces have been attacking and laying siege to al-Shifa Hospital since Monday, March 18. The medical complex is the largest in the Gaza Strip, with some 30,000 people seeking refuge there prior to the current raid.
Journalist Sami Alsultan shared a video testimony of a woman who was forcefully expelled from Al Shifa complex with her children while IDF took her husband, killed her husband’s uncle and grandfather.
In another video shared by Middle East Eye, a woman named Nisreen was seen sharing how IDF barged into their home, stripped her naked and took all her belongings away.
Doctor Aliyah Khan spoke to Middle East Monitor and shared testimonies from Canadian physicians serving in Gaza. They reported on a case where a woman was raped for two days until she lost the ability to speak. Another woman was stripped in front of her brother and husband. When they tried to cover her, they were killed by Israeli soldiers.
Hind Khoudary in collaboration with Palestinian Feminists shared the disturbing surge of women victims of rape and torture in Gaza. It called out the deafening silence of Western feminists and mainstream media over the issue.
Shazia Khalid*, a 28-year-old housewife, was sitting on a bench in a small park in Lahore, looking at her five playing children when we met. She had a spark in her eyes but visibly looked tired, at least a decade older than her age. Seven years ago, when she got married, she was denied the authority to take a break from giving birth every year except one time which cost her everything.
Shazia was in the final year of a Bachelor’s program when her family decided to marry her off. It was entirely their decision; she wasn’t even allowed to talk to her fiancé during the two months she was engaged to her future husband, a small general store owner.
Akmam*, Shazia’s husband, is 42, and has been running the store for the past 20 years as this is his family business. Shazia feels like there is less mental compatibility between the two due to the 14-year age difference between them which also has an impact on family planning, “He keeps saying that he needs more off-spring before he gets older. We had four children in the first four years of our marriage. I wasn’t prepared for it at all. I kept asking him to think about a gap or family planning, but he never listened to me.”
Teary-eyed, she explained how difficult her pregnancies were. Every time doctors advised her husband to wait for a year or two before the next pregnancy. “During my fourth child’s birth, my body almost collapsed. They had to give me a steroid shot to revive me. I was anemic and there was a lot of blood loss during childbirth. I went in shock and most things after that are blurry for me,” she said.
After the near-death experience, she decided that she needed to think about her well-being and her children. Thoughts of what would happen if they were left alone in this world haunted her. The spectre of death during her next pregnancy seemed a real possibility. Her husband was still adamant that he needed another child because he had only one son, born after three daughters. Khalid talked to her gynecologist who strictly prohibited her from birthing again, advising her to give two years to her body before getting pregnant again.
Since her husband wasn’t convinced, she secretly contacted her doctor to learn about contraceptives. After surety of discretion, she opted for an IUD (Intrauterine Contraceptive Device) which impacted her period cycle for two months but then everything was normal.
Her husband was frustrated within six months that Shazia wasn’t getting pregnant. Her mother-in-law started talking about a second marriage for her son as she wanted more grandchildren. After almost a year, she was forced by the in-laws to visit another doctor of their choice and that’s when the truth was revealed.
Shazia was beaten by her husband, the gynecologist who helped her was attacked too, the staff in her clinic was assaulted and Akram didn’t hesitate in breaking things. Distraught and heartbroken, Shazia was sent back to her parents’ home where she received divorce papers soon after. Her kids are still with her husband and like 9909 people, as per data of consolidated statement of Family Cases in Lahore, she is also waiting for a verdict on custody and visitation rights.
For gynecologist and physician Mehnaz Asim, who runs her practice in a lower socio-economic area of Lahore, these cases are a norm and to my surprise, religion is not the sole reason behind it. “Most of these people want more kids because they want them to be a part of the labor force and earn money from a young age. They don’t worry about their upbringing or education; they see their kids as a source of income.”
As per the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) 2023 data, contraceptive prevalence rate for any method of contraception is only 26 percent among women aged between 15 and 49 while for modern methods it is only 20 percent.
In a study conducted by the National Library of Medicine, the world’s largest biomedical library and a leader in research in computational health informatics, significant barriers to the adoption of IUDs in Pakistan were identified. These barriers include the reluctance of husbands, societal and cultural taboos, and heightened concerns regarding perceived side effects of IUD usage. Additionally, factors such as illiteracy, poverty, and low socioeconomic status were found to contribute to limited IUD utilization.
Other important factors contributing to such a low modern contraceptive prevalence rate of 35.4% in Pakistan include the conservative society imposing restrictions on women’s self-determination and self-governance.
Doctor Mehnaz thinks that it is important for people to know the pros and cons of every contraceptive method and there should be a strict rule implemented by the government regarding at least 2 years gap between children. “We are an overpopulous country with limited resources. Our government needs to implement this rule and penalize people who don’t follow it. This is not only important for the mother but for healthy childbirth too.”
Saudi Arabia will make its debut in the Miss Universe pageant with Rumy Alqahtani, a well-known figure in beauty pageants and social media. The fashion model announced on her Instagram account that she will represent the Kingdom in the global competition.
Along with a photo dump, she wrote on Instagram, “I am honoured to participate in the Miss Universe 2024 competition. This is the first participation of Saudi Arabia in the Miss Universe competition.”
In the pictures, Rumy was wearing a strapless and sequined gown.
As per a Khaleej Times report, Riyadh resident Alqahtani is quite familiar with being in the public eye as she has participated in several international beauty pageants like Miss Arab Peace, Miss Asia, Miss Middle East, and many more.
Rumy thanked his followers with another photo-shoot in a fuchsia silk gown.
Two women pretending to be customers tricked a shopkeeper in the Samundri area of Faisalabad.
According to details, the women entered the clothes shop on the pretext of shopping, asked the shopkeeper to show them various valuable suits and kept looking for more.
Later, when the shopkeeper found that the suits were missing, he went through the CCTV footage after which he came to know about the women’s trickery who stole the clothes.
The total value of the clothes was more than 40 thousand rupees.
Pakistan is gathering data on Afghan migrants – including those legally resident in the country – ahead of a renewed eviction push slated to start after Eid, official sources told AFP on Tuesday.
More than half a million Afghans fled Pakistan last year after the former government ordered undocumented migrants to leave or face arrest, as Islamabad-Kabul relations soured over security.
Islamabad initially set a November 2023 deadline, however two officials, who asked to remain anonymous, said evictions would resume in the coming weeks.
“This time, instructions have been given to also collect data and conduct mapping of legally resident Afghan citizens,” said a top government official in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, bordering Afghanistan.
A senior Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police official said whilst “a final decision” has not yet been taken by the government, “police have sprung into action regarding Afghan citizens”.
“The federal government has directed to not only collect data of legal and illegal Afghan citizens but also to conduct their mapping,” he said.
Two officials, who asked not to be named, previously told AFP the renewed push to evict migrants will begin after Eid, the holiday marking the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramazan, set to be celebrated in April’s second week.
Pakistan’s interior ministry did not respond to a request for comment.
Islamabad has previously said the massive eviction scheme is justified by security concerns and its faltering economy.
The Taliban government has consistently denied the allegations.
Millions of Afghans have poured into Pakistan over the years, fleeing decades of cascading conflict.
Afghans who left Pakistan last year were only allowed to cross the border with limited belongings and cash, and arrived in the midst of one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
Some had never set foot in Afghanistan before, having been born in Pakistan to Afghan parents.
An estimated 600,000 arrived since the Taliban government seized power in August 2021 and imposed its stark interpretation of Islamic law.
Before the first wave of evictions began, Pakistan estimated there were 1.7 million Afghans living illegally in the country.
The stand-off between Islamabad and Kabul worsened last week when eight civilians were killed in Pakistani air strikes in Afghanistan’s border regions, according to Taliban officials.
In his inaugural address at the Scout Auditorium, the newly appointed Chief of Metropolitan Traffic Police, DIG Ahmed Nawaz Cheema, stressed the importance of fostering a positive relationship with the public among traffic officials.
Under his directive, traffic officers are prohibited from issuing challans between 5pm and Iftar, with the aim of ensuring smooth traffic flow to facilitate citizens’ journey home.
Instead of immediately penalising families for traffic violations, Cheema advocates for a more lenient approach, urging officers to issue warnings in such cases. He stressed the gravity of one-way violations, highlighting their potential to cause accidents and disrupt traffic flow, and highlighted the need for strict enforcement.
Furthermore, Cheema underscored that any misconduct or confrontation by officers will result in disciplinary action. Challan officers are instructed to only issue fines for moving violations, while addressing the issue of obstructive parking by cars, rickshaws, and motorcycles.
According to Express News, to enhance accountability and transparency, officers are required to wear body-worn cameras during challan issuance. Additionally, Cheema has mandated unity among officers and officials.
Among other directives, strict adherence to the fast lane on Shahrah-e-Faisal and the utilisation of designated bike lanes by motorcyclists are enforced. Moreover, the removal of illegally parked six and nine-seater rickshaws has been ordered.
Cheema has instructed all sections to prominently display timing boards for vehicle lifting in their respective areas, with vehicles only to be towed in cases of double or illegal parking.
