Beena Sarwar

Cambridge

Journalist, filmmaker #democracy #humanrights #media #gender #peace #Nieman #Chevening #ADHDadvocate @southasiapeace, Editor @sapannews @amankiasha_1

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Articles

IN MEMORIAM: A LEGACY OF COMPASSION

1 month ago | dawn.com | Beena Sarwar

‘Tribute to Dr Haroon,’ by Sharjil Baloch, charcoal on paper, 2024 He was a renowned psychiatrist and so much more. A peace activist, humanist and upholder of human rights, his work as a foundational leader in the fields of mental health, peacebuilding and human rights are well known.
Dr. Haroon Ahmed: A Healer, Comrade, And Peacemonger Across Southasia

1 month ago | thefridaytimes.com | Beena Sarwar

Dr. Haroon Ahmed was to be one of the key speakers at the Southasia Peace Action Network, or Sapan, seminar on the last Sunday of June 2021. The seminar, titled 'Neighbours in Peace and Health' focused on public health as a basic human right, and I was excited about having Haroon Cha, as I called him, on the same platform as another public health giant, Dr. Zafrullah Chowdhury, from Bangladesh. Sadly, Dr. Haroon suffered a stroke just a week earlier and was unable to join.
'I would like to see India and Pakistan make peace in my lifetime'

Feb 24, 2025 | southasiamonitor.org | Beena Sarwar

"It's the girls that give me hope," says the celebrated poet and writer Zehra Nigah. She leads a quiet life at her home in Karachi, without a mobile phone or email. Yet those who seek her are able to find her. Besides the school and college students who look to her for guidance, there are advertising companies looking for classy jingles. And there are organisers of literary festivals wanting to invite her.
'I want India and Pakistan to make peace in my lifetime' - Zehra Nigah

Feb 22, 2025 | kashmirtimes.com | Beena Sarwar

"It's the girls that give me hope," says the celebrated poet and writer Zehra Nigah. She leads a quiet life at her home in Karachi, without a mobile phone or email. Yet those who seek her are able to find her. Besides the school and college students who look to her for guidance, there are advertising companies looking for classy jingles. And there are organisers of literary festivals wanting to invite her.
Beena Sarwar

Jan 30, 2025 | kashmirtimes.com | Beena Sarwar

Beena SarwarBeena Sarwar is a journalist and peace activist from Pakistan based in the Boston area. She is the founder editor of Sapan News and co-founder and curator of the Southasia Peace Action Network. This is her occasional Personal Political column.
Dictatorships come and go but the music continues

Jan 30, 2025 | kashmirtimes.com | Beena Sarwar

Will there be singing In dark times? Yes, there will be singingAbout dark times— Bertolt Brecht, Germany, 1939Arshad Mahmud is one of Pakistan's most prolific and talented composers, the man whose music launched singing sensations like Nayyar Noor and Tina Sani.
Pakistani composer Arshad Mahmud: ‘Dictatorships come and go but the music continues’

Jan 27, 2025 | scroll.in | Beena Sarwar

Arshad Mahmud is one of Pakistan’s most prolific and talented composers, the man whose music launched singing sensations like Nayyar Noor and Tina Sani. He made his debut with the children’s television show Akkar Bakkar in 1972, along with Nayyara Noor and the pioneering puppeteer Farooq Qaiser, produced by Shoaib Hashmi, then an economics professor at Government College (now University) Lahore.
'Why should I sell white shirts? I want to sell blue shirts'

Jan 26, 2025 | sapannews.com | Beena Sarwar

Dictatorships come and go but the music continues. One of Pakistan’s most versatile composers continues to produce a genre embedded in Southasian traditional music, to get the younger generation to appreciate classical poetry and music — and provide a platform for new talent.
The Dream That MLK Articulated May Seem Distant, But We're Moving Towards It

Jan 21, 2025 | indiacurrents.com | Beena Sarwar

The third Monday of January, which falls this year on the 20th, is a federal holiday in the U.S., in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday. Born on 15 January 1929, Dr King was assassinated on 4 April 1968. A bill passed by Congress led to his birthday being commemorated as a federal holiday on the third Monday in January since 1986. The U.S. Presidential Inauguration also takes place on 20 January.
On Martin Luther King birth anniversary, need to break down social barriers across South Asia and beyond

Jan 20, 2025 | southasiamonitor.org | Beena Sarwar

On Martin Luther King birth anniversary, need to break down social barriers across South Asia and beyond People will always cross all kinds of barriers for love. A 19-year old Pakistani woman and a 26-year old Indian man who fell in love after interacting online couldn’t get visas to each other’s countries. So, they met and married in Nepal, then went to live in India where the man worked as a security guard. They ended up in jail. The woman was deported to Pakistan.