Sarfraz Manzoor

the cab driver was adamant. he was not going to take directions from the person on the other end of the mobile phone. we were on our way to see a female poet, a woman who had been at the forefront of advancing womens rights in Pakistan. the driver, an old man with an impressive beard, told me that while he wanted more details about where to go he could not use a mobile phone as it was not Islamic. there you have the extreme contrasts that i am finding in Pakistan. one the one hand there are fascinating characters doing incredible work to push for gender equality and on the other you have people whose interpretation of religion is so severe that even mobile phones are considered haram.