Thinking big: Jasmyn Rana

By: Anam Khan

Jasmyn Rana has spent 12 years practicing as a therapist. She primarily works with adults and couples. Over the years, she has also dabbled in supervising, teaching, running groups, and consulting with corporations. When asked what inspired her to become a therapist, she said,

 “I was completely at a crossroads between my undergraduate and master’s degree and really felt lost with which direction to take. But there were a couple of things I knew specifically that guided me to this place, that I wanted to work one-on-one with people and in some kind of healing capacity.”

In addition to Rana’s years of experience as a therapist, she recently founded Therapy is Brown, an online community of South Asian therapists from all over the globe. Her new venture is a gratifying blend of entrepreneurial spirit and her extensive background as a therapist. 

Rana has witnessed the therapy landscape in Pakistan go through many changes ever since she started her practice. According to Rana, when she started working in Lahore, private practice wasn’t a direction most therapists pursued full-time due to “questionable demand at the time as a result of the mental health stigma.” However, Rana said that in the last decade, she has watched the therapy landscape in Pakistan transform.

“I have witnessed over the years the therapy field go from people creeping into clinics with their faces covered, ushered by shame – to a huge boom in demand and not enough supply,” she said. Rana also said there are many more therapists in Lahore now than when she first started. However, she noted that there is still a lack of regulation since therapy remains an unrecognized field in Pakistan, which results in concerns like unethical practices. “Just do your homework before you select someone,” she said.

Rana has come very far since embarking on her journey as a therapist. When asked about her approach to therapy and how she builds trust, she said, 

“it’s not so much an active building of trust as much as the fact that clients will be able to feel the safety if you are truly invested in working on those aspects of yourself as a therapist. You have to be really rooted in your own ethics for this to translate to your client’s experience.”  

Rana pointed out that after the COVID-19 outbreak, “the therapy landscape all over the world changed with most people now looking for online therapists.” According to Rana, therapy became a more “online practice,” which is why “clients also felt more entitled to want the right match and not just settle for the available person in their area.” 

She also noticed that South Asians were having a hard time finding a South Asian therapist when people from all corners of the world reached out and said it was impossible to find “a good culturally attuned therapist.” At the time, Rana said she couldn’t understand how this is true, because she knew of many “gifted therapists doing fantastic work.” Rana also said that the international South Asians who reached out to her were sometimes hesitant to work with someone directly from Pakistan or India because they were afraid of being judged. 

However, she realized people needed “a bridge” to find qualified South Asian therapists. Rana said she created Therapy is Brown to “be that bridge.” “Therapy is Brown fills a very specific gap in the market for globally exposed South Asians,” she added. 

Rana said launching Therapy is Brown was a “leap of faith” because she didn’t have prior experience setting up a digital platform but recognized its potential. It offers free matching consultations with very senior therapists running the matching process. As for the matching criteria, Rana said, “We look at aspects that are both obvious and nuanced; from something as simple as gender down to something as subtle as personality type…other important factors are the kind of issue you might be seeking therapy for (as many of our therapists have unique areas of specialization), as well as forming an assessment on the modality of therapy that might best suit you and so on.”

When asked about the steps she took to turn the idea of Therapy is Brown into reality, Rana said, 

“It started first with some market research to test some of my intuitive hypotheses around supply and demand. Once I had done that, my next step was to put together the right team. Found a wonderful tech company willing to support us and then hired the right creatives with a shared vision – and got really lucky with the kind of people willing to share their skills with us.” 

Once the digital functionality and creative features were in place, Rana said she started inviting therapists to join the community. “I maintained quality for Therapy is Brown by hand-picking some of the best names out there, all people I have worked closely with in some capacity.”

After this outreach, Rana sorted out business registrations, banking merchant portals, and legal liabilities. After launching, she continued to grow the community by starting a podcast. 

‘sIf you’re wondering how to get started with using Therapy is Brown’s services, here’s what you can do:

  • Head over to the website, www.therapyisbrown.com, and click “get matched” to book a free matching consultation with Rana. 
  • Head over to your preferred therapist and directly book a 15-minute free consult with them. 
  • Message @therapyisbrown on Instagram if you have any questions, and expect to hear back within a day.

Anam Khan is a content strategist and founder of The NewsRun.

The Taliban are back. Now what?

Cover photo credit: Canva

By: Sahar Khan

The Taliban are back in power in Afghanistan after taking Kabul last week. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has fled and landed in Dubai. While the Taliban’s offensive has been going on for months, it recently acquired a momentum that has startled the world. President Joe Biden stood firmly by his decision to withdraw troops, stating that the United States had achieved its core goals over a decade ago, which were to 1) dismantle al Qaeda and 2) find Osama bin Laden. He did, however, admit that Afghan security forces fell more quickly than anticipated. 

The Taliban have been steadily gaining ground for the last few years. The collapse of the Afghan security forces is due to a myriad of reasons, such as a lack of capacity, corruption, competing security forces (backed by the CIA no less), and a lack of resources. US intelligence also warned the Biden administration of the potential for collapse. Yet, none of that really matters now. The Afghan people are fleeing for their lives as their country falls apart and the airports become war zone-like. Now, many are looking more closely at Pakistan, which houses approximately 3 million Afghan refugees, with more refugees trying to come in.   

Implications for Pakistan

Pakistan’s involvement in Afghanistan dates back to the Soviet invasion, when the country’s intelligence agency and the CIA provided covert support to the Mujahideen (Islamic guerilla fighters) who were fighting the Soviets. The Mujahideen movement gained popularity in an unstable post-Soviet era and eventually became the Taliban. Pakistan recognized the Taliban as the government of Afghanistan in 1996. After the US invaded Afghanistan in 2001, Pakistan provided sanctuary to Taliban leadership, the Haqqani Network, and other militant groups, all of which has been documented in the works of foreign policy journalist, Ahmad Rashid, politics and national security writer, Steve Coll, and international relations professor, Hassan Abbas, to name a few.  

Yet, Pakistan has repeatedly said it supports an Afghan-led peace process. The Afghan peace process roughly began when the Taliban and Donald Trump administration signed a deal in February 2020 and continued — albeit slowly — with talks between the Taliban and Afghan government. 

Similarly, the US-Pakistan relationship has been rocky for some time. The US accuses Pakistan of playing a double game by sponsoring and harboring militant groups like the Taliban and Haqqani Network. While the US accuses Pakistan of not supporting its war in Afghanistan, Pakistan accuses the US of always using it and refusing to acknowledge the sacrifices it has made since the Global War on Terror began in 2001. Pakistan paid a high price for being a US ally in the form of civilian casualties and drone strikes. However, Pakistan maintains that its leverage over the Taliban, which the US perceives as being powerful, is actually not as strong. Ghani’s government also asked Pakistan to bring the group to the negotiating table and reduce the brutality of its offensive operations.

Prime Minister Imran Khan says it is unfair to blame Pakistan for the situation in Afghanistan. Unfair or not, if Pakistan refuses to condemn the Taliban’s ongoing violence, it may permanently damage its own reputation on the world stage along with the economic pivot it’s desperately working on. Putting aside morality, it is also in Pakistan’s strategic interest to openly condemn the way the Taliban have come into power. Pakistan has been trying to show the world that it is not as closely aligned with the Taliban as it used to be in the 1990s, and that it does not control the group in any way. If that is really the case, the Khan administration has an opportunity to highlight this changed dynamic between Pakistani authorities and the Taliban.  

What the Taliban Want

The Taliban want international recognition — and in their quest to get it, the group has been busy presenting a moderate image of itself, stating that it will allow women to work and girls to attend schools. For the Taliban, recognition is extremely important as it would allow the group to have sovereignty over Afghanistan, though that sovereignty comes with the obligation to obey international law. For example: The Taliban would have to respect human rights, abide by international trade laws, give up their various illicit activities, and be open to diplomacy. Whether the Taliban wants to do any of this (and more) is unclear. 

The key question is: Will the international community recognize the Taliban? The answer is not so simple. 

Russia stated that its recognition of the Taliban will depend on the conditions on the ground. Russia’s main strategic goal after all is to ensure that the instability from Afghanistan stays away from Central Asia and its doorstep, a desire that is shared by Afghanistan’s neighbors. Similar to Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan are all worried about spillover effects and instability caused by the influx of refugees — during a pandemic no less. Iran is also wary of a Taliban takeover, which is notoriously anti-Shia. China has been a little more forthcoming by stating that it is open to having “friendly relations” with the Taliban. Pakistan has not officially recognized the Taliban either, but is laying the groundwork to do so.

For now, things are moving too quickly to accurately predict what will happen in Afghanistan. But one thing is clear: Innocent Afghans are paying the ultimate price.

Sahar is a research fellow in the defense and foreign policy department at the Cato Institute. Her research interests include state‐​sponsored militancy/​terrorism, counterterrorism policies, anti‐​terrorism legal regimes, and private military and security contractors. She focuses on US foreign policy in South Asia and Africa. She is also an editor at Inkstick Media. You can find her @khansahar1 on Twitter. 

Domestic abuse: Pakistan’s ongoing endemic

Cover photo credit: Canva

Op-ed writer: Anushe Engineer

Noor Mukadam. Her’s is a name most of us probably hadn’t heard of till July 20, but now it’s all we can think about. That the daughter of a former ambassador could be tortured and beheaded in an affluent neighbourhood in the nation’s capital is a bone-chilling thought for many to digest. As the triad from the influential Jaffer family await legal proceedings while being remanded in Adiala Jail, the nation waits to see how the judicial system progresses this case.   

Police arrested 30-year-old Zahir Jaffer and charged him with premeditated murder after finding 27-year-old Noor dead in his home. On July 24, police arrested Zahir’s parents and household staff who were accused of “abetment” and “willful concealment” in Noor’s murder. A police official said Zahir confessed to killing Noor on July 26. 

Noor’s murder is anything but an isolated incident; Pakistan has a dismal track record of violence against women. From 2004 to 2016, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan reported 4,734 cases of sexual violence and 15,222 cases of honour killings (a practice where a person, usually a woman or a girl, is murdered by family members for allegedly bringing “dishonour” to the family). Honour killings and gender-based violence in Pakistan have ranked the country 153 out of 156 countries in the World Economic Forum’s Gender Gap Report 2021.  

The news of Noor’s murder has been making headlines worldwide, not just because she was the daughter of  former Pakistani diplomat Shaukat Mukadam, but also because of the prominent and wealthy business family Zahir belongs to. Within days of the incident, a GoFundMe was set up to help Noor’s family cover hefty legal expenses, vigils were held in cities across Pakistan, Dublin, New York and London, and a mural of Noor was painted in Sialkot. 

Women who don’t share the same socioeconomic background as Noor often remain anonymous statistics of domestic violence. Their stories of trauma and abuse fall on deaf ears, not just because society has become desensitized to the repetitive cycle of violence but also because there is limited legal protection for them that isn’t actively enforced. 

A breakdown of the bill 

The Domestic Violence (Prevention and Protection) Bill 2021 hasn’t been approved by Parliament yet, leaving the fate of the bill hanging in the balance. On the one hand, the bill was passed by the National Assembly in April of this year. However, plans are underway by religiopolitical parties to actively oppose the bill since they deem it contrary to what’s written in Islam. 

The bill itself offers a comprehensive definition of domestic violence encompassing physical, emotional, psychological and economic abuse committed against women, children or other vulnerable people. Offenders will be imprisoned anywhere between six months and three years and will also have to pay a fine of Rs20,000 — Rs100,000 as compensation to the victim. 

Why is the bill being opposed?

Religious parties are vociferously opposing this bill because they claim it goes against the teachings of the Quran, Islam and the constitution. Maulana Fazlur Rahman of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) party said this was the government’s way of secularising the country. 

It’s not that JUI-F and other religious parties condone domestic violence, Fazl said. It’s that the domestic violence bill will destroy family life and promote “Western culture and values” instead of Islamic ones. 

Even the government seems to be appeasing groups like JUI-F in regards to the domestic violence bill. One of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s advisers recommended that the bill be reviewed by the Council of Islamic Ideology to determine whether the bill goes against the teachings of Islam in any way. 

The CII has yet to announce their decision regarding the bill. However, since they proposed a bill in 2016 to allow men to “lightly beat their wives”, there is speculation that they might oppose the domestic violence bill since it outlaws physical abuse.

A lack of enforcement

Even if the domestic violence bill gets passed by parliament, it will only apply to the Islamabad Capital Territory. Sindh and Balochistan have their own provincial bills for protection against domestic violence, while Punjab passed the Protection of Women Against Violence Bill 2015, but that’s the extent of legal protection offered in the country.  

Domestic violence is endemic and cyclical in Pakistan. The issue isn’t a lack of laws so much as a lack of stringent enforcement of those laws. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan welcomed Punjab’s new legislature with caution, reminding people that “cosmetic and purely procedural changes” don’t always have an impact.

Where do we go from here? 

July 2021 was when Pakistan and much of the world grieved for Noor and questioned how Zahir could have committed such a heinous crime. Five years earlier Pakistan was under global scrutiny when Qandeel Baloch, also known as Pakistan’s first “social media star,” was killed by her brother “for honour”. Noor, Qandeel and thousands of other women aren’t one-off cases of domestic violence and honour killings. Pakistanis need to acknowledge that violence and abuse towards women is woven into this country’s social fabric, and there is no guarantee that existing laws and regulations will effectively change that. 

For now, non-governmental organizations like White Ribbon Pakistan are taking the initiative to educate both men and women on women’s rights. They launched a nationwide legal literacy campaign and provide legal assistance to victims of violence. 

Anushe is a senior at Scripps College, California majoring in Politics with a concentration in International Relations. She’s currently a news editor for her college newspaper, The Student Life, and hopes to delve into investigative reporting post graduation. Anushe was also an Editorial Intern with The NewsRun in the summer of 2021. You can find her on Twitter @yesits_Engineer