An Aconcaguan Birth

March, 2012

WASFIA NAZREEN'S divine feminine leads her to realise that climbing mountains is not about conquering them but about uniting with nature.

The divine feminine made me realise that "conquering" a mountain is never an option. To conquer something, means to defeat it, and I have trouble claiming that against such sacred spaces on Earth. Mother Nature's mercy has made those unions possible, above everything else. It is she who is allowing us to tread upon her, by not throwing us off with an avalanche or jet stream, so how can we so gallantly claim to have "conquered" her?

Wasfia NazreenMarch 1, 2012mountains, women, divine feminine, argentina, andes

Welcoming Ban Ki-moon to Bangladesh: Loony musings

Nov, 2011

RAJA DEVASISH ROY & WASFIA NAZREEN

The key purpose of the UN Chief's Bangladesh tour is to showcase the progress and leadership of some countries in advancing women's and children's health in the context of the "Every Woman Every Child" effort that he initiated in 2010. He did mention at the PFII: "Indigenous women, who are the custodians of so much rich heritage, often suffer the most. Indigenous peoples do not live as long as others. They suffer higher rates of diseases like diabetes and tuberculosis. Their children are less likely to survive past the age of five. Their communities are less likely to thrive." So we wonder, why Ban's agenda covering women's and children's health did not also include the high mortality rate of mothers and infant children of the IP communities across Bangladesh, and their lack of access to healthcare, drinking water, sanitation, and food security?

Wasfia NazreenNovember 14, 2011Comment

Snow on the Equator

Nov, 2011

'Fallen' women are our fellow women, contemplates WASFIA NAZREEN, high up on Kilimanjaro.

For the longest time, I have had callings that often seemed too deep to steer. I was taught when I was a child, that “We are all soul. And then, we have a body that is only the chariot for it.” As we grow older, we get so caught up in our surrounding environments, and get attached to this body that those beliefs, somehow, somewhere down the line, disappeared into the ether. I have led, for the most part, an intensely struggling life. But if we don't falter our trust, the Universe has its own way of taking care of it at some point or another.

Wasfia NazreenNovember 11, 2011Comment

Who is 'Indigenous?'

Sept, 2011

WASFIA NAZREEN elaborates on the concept of indigenousness in the context of Bangladesh.

The recent debate on 'indigenousness' in the context of Bangladesh has thrown up many questions on the appropriateness of the 'indigenous' identity of the peoples of Bangladesh, particularly the Pahari (hill) peoples of the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT). The government line is that the Paharis are not indigenous to Bangladesh, while Bengalis are. On the other hand, the Jumma peoples and the Plains Adibashis insist that they are indigenous peoples.

Who is right? Who are the Indigenous -- the Adibashis or the Bengalis? Or are they both indigenous?

Wasfia NazreenSeptember 2, 2011Comment