Anmol Irfan

Bashir is one of the last so-called ‘rats of Shah Dola’. The 30 year old, who suffers from microcephaly, has lived much of his life next to the famous shrine in Gujarat, northern Pakistan, where he spends his days begging for money.
Up until recently, there had been other ‘chuhas,’ or rats, at the shrine, all of whom were similarly distinguished by their abnormally small and disfigured heads – the result of microcephaly, a rare neurological disorder that inhibits brain development.
Many visit...

As Pakistan suffered from historic rains last year—likely worsened by climate change—the initial shock and floods wore off to more long-term and disturbing issues like child marriage. The financial and emotional stresses of displacement and disaster have affected Pakistani women due to the patriarchal structures that often put their lives, which are valued less than men’s, under the control of someone else.

Across the globe, faith-based communities and movements are bridging faith with climate science, slowly leading the way to involving more people in global climate action. Here’s how leaders in the Islamic, Christian, and Jewish religions are working to encourage environmental action by returning to their faith’s original principles.
Connecting Islam and Climate Science
In 2004, following the deadly tsunami that killed over 230,000 people, the World Wildlife Fund invited environmental expert N...

The country’s growing leverage at U.N. negotiations has not resonated with much of its population.
FIDA HUSSAIN/AFP via Getty Images
In mid-March 2022, Innovate Educate & Inspire Pakistan (IEI), a nonprofit organization that works to make high-quality education accessible in the rural northeastern Gilgit Baltistan region, launched the country’s first-ever climate education program for teachers. The region is particularly vulnerable to climate change due to rapidly melting glaciers, and locals...

Early in January 2023, German travel vlogger Christian Betzmann was embroiled in controversy as his latest trip to India garnered some serious criticism. Betzmann, who has over 448,000 followers on Instagram and TikTok, posted a now-disappeared video Instagram story of street hawkers, people who commonly sell goods and food on carts in the street in South Asia, outside his Airbnb, cursing at them for making noise. The video sparked debate around whether travel bloggers can create ethical cont...

How Misinformation Spreads
A few months after the start of the pandemic, my grandmothers and aunts suddenly came upon what they believed was a new miracle solution to COVID-19. Using what they called, “Harmal ki Dhooni”, a process which includes burning Wild Rue plant to create smoke, and allowing it to fill the house, they insisted that this would keep our airways clear from the virus. While Harmal does have Ayurvedic healing properties, its high doses also have severe side effects, and like...

As the world looked on in shock at the atrocities rolling out in Ukraine, many countries pledged to extend whatever assistance they could to Ukrainians fleeing the violence. The outpouring of sympathy and help from individuals and global political leadership is a testament to the way the world can come together in a time of crisis. But the help offered has led observers to compare the policies and practices of countries now admitting and resettling Ukrainian refugees to the same countries’ pa...

Climate change has made addressing women’s health, especially maternal and postpartum care, a priority.
As Pakistan faces the devastating consequences of the super floods that have covered a third of the country, women in particular have been left extremely vulnerable amidst displacement and the spread of diseases.
According to UN figures, 650,000 women in areas impacted by the crisis are pregnant, and 73,000 women are expected to give birth within a month. But there is a significant lack of ...

Here, for The Hyphen, she writes about Muslimfluencers, fun doses of TikTok and how our favourite joyful corners of the Internet can make us feel seen and supported in meaningful ways.

A few months into my journalism career, I wrote a piece for a UK-based magazine on how I found it easier to wear my hijab in London than I had in some situations in Pakistan. I’d pitched the piece myself and wrote from my heart — after all, it was a very personal situation and a part of me felt proud to get it out there. That was, until someone commented under my piece that I should’ve known better because the outlet that published my piece was part of a larger media group known to promote ra...

The last few years have been particularly traumatizing for women in Pakistan as more cases receive public attention, and there are increased calls for accountability of perpetrators and for more policies and programs that protect women.

In addition to Noor's case, there have been many other examples of gender-based violence against women. Fifteen-year-old Dua Zehra, who allegedly "eloped" with Zaheer Ahmed, a 21-year-old man, was later discovered to have been trafficked by a gang. The horrifying incident of a woman gang raped on Lahore's major motorway in 2020, was met with indifferent remar

Syria and China's regimes have sought to capitalise on their conflict zones by allowing filmmakers to use their war-torn settings. This ethical problem nonetheless occurs across the world and often serves as a pretext for government whitewashing.
Jackie Chan’s latest production, Home Operation hit headlines for the wrong reasons.
After filming scenes in the Syrian town Al Hajar Al Aswad, which was bombed by Assad’s regime, the joint Chinese-Emirati project is being called out for “whitewashin...

As one-third of Pakistan remains submerged after devastating floods, Muzammil Kakar, general secretary of the Haqooq-e-Khalq Party (HKP), worries about his own family amid on-the-ground efforts to help flood victims near his hometown in Balochistan province, Pakistan. Although Kakar has long been involved in advocacy with the HKP and has since moved to Lahore, Pakistan, following his studies, his family is still back in Quetta—mainly earning money through farming their apple orchards, like mu...

Mindy Kaling’s TV show Never Have I Ever has been making waves since the first season was released on Netflix in 2020. It follows the life of Indian-American teenager Devi Vishwakumar, and has received equal amounts of love and hate from South Asian audiences.

Despite the show’s mixed reception, viewers came back to season two in the hopes that it would bring more to the table – and when it came to the addition of Aneesa, an Indian-American Muslim girl who was as cool as Devi was awkward, Nev...

How politics, nationhood and immigration continue to shape the aromas and pallet of street food in a Pakistani city
Walk down Karachi’s famous Burns Road and there’s an undeniable mix of smoke, richly cooked meat and desi mithai (local sweetmeats) filling the air. It’s also known for the crowds that fill the street, waiting to be served by one of its many local street food establishments, many of which have been around for over 50 years. Each prides itself on being the best in the business an...