ACID KILLING

Every year in Pakistan around 150 women are victims of acid attacks, horrific incidents where liquid acid is thrown on their face, leaving them permanently scared and disfigured.

Many are left without access to proper medical care, while those that do have access often require up to 20 surgeries to properly treat the damage.

STOP CHILD LABOUR

How To Stop Teens Smoking

Teen smoking might begin innocently, but it can become a long-term problem. In fact, most adult smokers begin smoking as teenagers. Your best bet? Stop your teen from taking that first puff. Follow these tips to help prevent teen smoking.

No. 1: Understand the attraction

Teen smoking can be a form of rebellion or a way to fit in with a particular group of friends. Some teens light up in an attempt to lose weight or to feel better about themselves. Others smoke to feel cool or independent. Ask your teen how he or she feels about smoking and if any of your teen's friends smoke. Applaud your teen's good choices, and talk about the consequences of bad choices. You might also talk with your teen about how tobacco companies try to influence ideas about smoking — such as showing smoking in movies to create the perception that it's glamorous.

No. 2: Say no to teen smoking

You might feel as if your teen doesn't hear a word you say, but say it anyway. Tell your teen that smoking isn't allowed. Your disapproval might have more impact than you think. Teens whose parents set the firmest smoking restrictions tend to smoke less than do teens whose parents don't set smoking limits. The same goes for teens who feel close to their parents.

No. 3: Set a good example

Teen smoking is more common among teens whose parents smoke. If you don't smoke, keep it up. If you do smoke, quit — now. The earlier you stop smoking, the less likely your teen is to become a smoker. Ask your doctor about ways to stop smoking. In the meantime, don't smoke in the house, in the car or in front of your teen, and don't leave cigarettes where your teen might find them. Explain how unhappy you are with your smoking, how difficult it is to quit and that you'll keep trying until you stop smoking for good.

No. 4: Appeal to your teen's vanity

Smoking isn't glamorous. Remind your teen that smoking is dirty and smelly. Smoking gives you bad breath and wrinkles. Smoking makes your clothes and hair smell, and it turns your teeth yellow. Smoking can leave you with a chronic cough and less energy for sports and other enjoyable activities.

No. 5: Do the math

Smoking is expensive. Help your teen calculate the weekly, monthly or yearly cost of smoking a pack a day. You might compare the cost of smoking with that of electronic gadgets, clothes or other teen essentials.

No. 6: Expect peer pressure

Friends who smoke can be convincing, but you can give your teen the tools he or she needs to refuse cigarettes. Rehearse how to handle tough social situations. It might be as simple as saying, "No thanks, I don't smoke." The more your teen practices this basic refusal, the more likely he or she will say no at the moment of truth.

No. 7: Take addiction seriously

Most teens believe they can stop smoking anytime they want. Teens, however, become just as addicted to tobacco as do adults — often quickly and at relatively low doses of nicotine. Once you're hooked, it's tough to quit.

No. 8: Predict the future

Teens tend to assume that bad things only happen to other people. Explain the potential long-term consequences of smoking — such as cancer, heart attack and stroke. Use loved ones, friends, neighbors or celebrities who've been ill as real-life examples.

No. 9: Think beyond cigarettes

Smokeless tobacco, clove cigarettes (kreteks) and candy-flavored cigarettes (bidis) are sometimes mistaken as less harmful or addictive than are traditional cigarettes. Hookah smoking — smoking tobacco through a water pipe — is another alternative sometimes touted as safe. Don't let your teen be fooled. Like traditional cigarettes, these products are addictive and can cause cancer and other health problems. Many deliver higher concentrations of nicotine, carbon monoxide and tar than do traditional cigarettes.

No. 10: Get involved

Take an active stance against teen smoking. Participate in local and school-sponsored anti-smoking campaigns. Support efforts to make public places smoke-free and increase taxes on tobacco products, which can help reduce the odds that your teen will become a smoker.

If your teen has already started smoking, avoid threats and ultimatums. Instead, find out why your teen is smoking — and discuss ways to help your teen quit. Avoiding or stopping smoking is one of the best things your teen can do for a lifetime of good health.

Self Motivation

PEOPLE WHO ARE UNABLE TO MOTIVATE THEMSELVES MUST BE CONTENT WITH MEDIOCRITY, NO MATTER HOW IMPRESSIVE THERE OTHER TALENTS....ANDREW CARNEGIE
Staying motivated is a struggle — our drive is constantly assaulted by negative thoughts and anxiety about the future. Everyone faces doubt and depression. What separates the highly successful is the ability to keep moving forward.

There is no simple solution for a lack of motivation. Even after beating it, the problem reappears at the first sign of failure. The key is understanding your thoughts and how they drive your emotions. By learning how to nurture motivating thoughts, neutralize negative ones, and focus on the task at hand, you can pull yourself out of a slump before it gains momentum.

Reasons We Lose Motivation

There are 3 primary reasons we lose motivation.

1. Lack of confidence – If you don’t believe you can succeed, what’s the point in trying?
2. Lack of focus – If you don’t know what you want, do you really want anything?
3. Lack of direction – If you don’t know what to do, how can you be motivated to do it?

How to Boost Confidence

The first motivation killer is a lack of confidence. When this happens to me, it’s usually because I’m focusing entirely on what I want and neglecting what I already have. When you only think about what you want, your mind creates explanations for why you aren’t getting it. This creates negative thoughts. Past failures, bad breaks, and personal weaknesses dominate your mind. You become jealous of your competitors and start making excuses for why you can’t succeed. In this state, you tend to make a bad impression, assume the worst about others, and lose self confidence.

The way to get out of this thought pattern is to focus on gratitude. Set aside time to focus on everything positive in your life. Make a mental list of your strengths, past successes, and current advantages. We tend to take our strengths for granted and dwell on our failures. By making an effort to feel grateful, you’ll realize how competent and successful you already are. This will rejuvenate your confidence and get you motivated to build on your current success.

It might sound strange that repeating things you already know can improve your mindset, but it’s amazingly effective. The mind distorts reality to confirm what it wants to believe. The more negatively you think, the more examples your mind will discover to confirm that belief. When you truly believe that you deserve success, your mind will generate ways to achieve it. The best way to bring success to yourself is to genuinely desire to create value for the rest of the world.

Developing Tangible Focus

The second motivation killer is a lack of focus. How often do you focus on what you don’t want, rather than on a concrete goal? We normally think in terms of fear. I’m afraid of being poor. I’m afraid no one will respect me. I’m afraid of being alone. The problem with this type of thinking is that fear alone isn’t actionable. Instead of doing something about our fear, it feeds on itself and drains our motivation.

If you’re caught up in fear based thinking, the first step is focusing that energy on a well defined goal. By defining a goal, you automatically define a set of actions. If you have a fear of poverty, create a plan to increase your income. It could be going back to school, obtaining a higher paying job, or developing a profitable website. The key is moving from an intangible desire to concrete, measurable steps.

By focusing your mind on a positive goal instead of an ambiguous fear, you put your brain to work. It instantly begins devising a plan for success. Instead of worrying about the future you start to do something about it. This is the first step in motivating yourself to take action. When know what you want, you become motivated to take action.

Developing Direction

The final piece in the motivational puzzle is direction. If focus means having an ultimate goal, direction is having a day-to-day strategy to achieve it. A lack of direction kills motivation because without an obvious next action we succumb to procrastination. An example of this is a person who wants to have a popular blog, but who spends more time reading posts about blogging than actually writing articles.

The key to finding direction is identifying the activities that lead to success. For every goal, there are activities that pay off and those that don’t. Make a list of all your activities and arrange them based on results. Then make a make an action plan that focuses on the activities that lead to big returns. To continue the example from above, a blogger’s list would look something like this:

1. Write content
2. Research relevant topics
3. Network with other bloggers
4. Optimize design and ad placements
5. Answer comments and email
6. Read other blogs

Keeping track of your most important tasks will direct your energy towards success. Without a constant reminder, it’s easy to waste entire days on filler activities like reading RSS feeds, email, and random web surfing.

When my motivation starts to wane, I regain direction by creating a plan that contains two positive actions. The first one should be a small task you’ve been meaning to do, while the second should be a long-term goal. I immediately do the smaller task. This creates positive momentum. After that I take the first step towards achieving the long-term goal. Doing this periodically is great for getting out of a slump, creating positive reinforcement, and getting long-term plans moving.

It’s inevitable that you’ll encounter periods of low energy, bad luck, and even the occasional failure. If you don’t discipline your mind, these minor speed bumps can turn into mental monsters. By being on guard against the top 3 motivation killers you can preserve your motivation and propel yourself to success.

A Women's World

A woman's world is draped in grace,
with hope that blesses all,
Her name adorns an honoured place,
with peace in strength of call!

A woman's world is seen at home,
in nourishing the heart,
Each day we work in ranging roam,
each night...the peaceful part!

To keep a woman's world at best,
she thinks of all that's true,
In seeking that her skills be blest,
that best is rarely new!

When taught that she should "Be a Man!"
and "Show your strength to all!"
She can quite well for a short span,
then lines begin to sprawl!

A perfect world we do not have,
but in the world there's hope,
A woman's world can make us glad,
for with great ill we cope!

A woman's world observed by man,
in patience must be seen,
For as we try to understand,
our knowledge is quite lean!

I wish to state what's true and right,
about a woman's world,
But with all honesty and might,
"She's more than just a girl!"

Dowry-A Curse

A dowry is the money, goods, or estate that a woman brings forth to the marriage. It contrasts with bride price, which is paid by the groom or his family to the bride's parents, and dower, which is property given to the bride herself by the groom at the time of marriage. The same culture may simultaneously practice both dowry and bride price. Dowry is an ancient custom, and its existence may well predate records of it in every age and culture.

One of the basic functions of a dowry has been to serve as a form of protection for the wife against the very real possibility of ill treatment by her husband and his family. A dowry used in this way is actually a conditional gift that is supposed to be restored to the wife or her family if the husband divorces, abuses, or commits other grave offenses against her. Land and precious metalshave often been used in this form of dowry and are frequently inalienable by the husband, though he might otherwise use and profit from them during the marriage.

A dowry sometimes serves to help a new husband discharge the responsibilities that go with marriage. This function assumes special importance in societies where marriages have regularly been made between very young people; the dowry enables the new couple to establish a household, which they otherwise would not have been able to do. In some societies a dowry provides the wife with a means of support in case of her husband’s death. In this latter case the dowry may be seen as a substitute for her inheritance of all or part of her husband’s estate.

In many societies, dowries have served as a reciprocal gesture by the bride’s kin to the groom’s kin for the expenses incurred by the latter in payment of bridewealth. These exchanges are not purely economic but instead serve to ratify the marriage and consolidate friendship between the two families.

In medieval and Renaissance Europe, the dowry frequently served not only to enhance the desirability of a woman for marriage but also to build the power and wealth of great families and even to determine the frontiers and policies of states. The use of dowries more or less disappeared in Europe in the 19th and 20th centuries. In some other places, however, dowries grew in popularity at the end of the 20th century, even when declared illegal or otherwise discouraged by governments. In South Asia, for instance, parents of the groom have sometimes demanded compensation for their son’s higher education and future earnings, which the bride would ostensibly share.

The earliest reference to dowry in South Asia dates almost two millenia ago. It is still widely popular, and customary in Bangladesh, Indiaand Pakistan. The table below shows the prevelance of dowry in contemporary South Asia; it demonstrates that the practice of dowry payments is almost universal in India and Pakistan, and becoming more and more prevalent in Bangladesh. 
Even modern, well-educated families start saving up money for their daughter's dowry as soon as she is born, so what can one expect from the uneducated masses, whose only form of education is tradition? 
When demands for dowry are not met, the bride is subject to torture, and often even killed. The reason many parents don't want to have daughters is because of the dowry they will have to shell out at her marriage, and the stress they go through due to never ending demands from her in-laws. 

The dowry system is a great evil that exists in Pakistan. It is an act of discrimination against unmarried girls, whose values are defined based on the prices of their respective dowries.

It is an example of greed and selfishness and is a great curse, especially for the parents who belong to the lower middle class. This is the reason why people get depressed and feel cursed at the birth of a daughter. The dowry system should be banned in Pakistan, just like the serving of more than one dish at a marriage ceremony was banned and people should refuse to marry when dowry is demanded or given.
The practice of dowry among ignorant Muslims is a result of the influence of the evil practices of the society they live in. Islam does not put any financial burden on the father of the girl. A Muslim father is told to get her daughter married away in a most simple ‘Nikah’ ceremony solemnized by a ‘Qazi’ (priest) in a mosque, witnessed by his close relatives and friends. He is not even required to throw a luncheon to the handful of invitees assembled for this occasion. In fact it is desirable on the part of the groom that he offers a reception (Waleema) to his near ones & dear ones without forgetting the poor people of his society. 
The example of such a simple marriage was set up by none other than the Prophet (pbuh) himself. He got his daughters married in the simplest possible manner. There was nothing in it whatsoever for the bridegroom that could be termed as dowry. 
The Prophet (PBUH) said: 
"The best of the marriages is one which is least burdensome in the financial sense to the families of the bride and the groom" 
Thus he paved a way for people of all times to come to live a life without stress and strain pertaining to daughters’ marriages too.

The Prophet gave Abu Bakr some money and asked him to accompany Bilal and Salman, (or Ammar Ibn Yasir) to buy some household necessities for Fatima's house. The Prophet said to Abu Bakr: "Buy some appropriate household necessities for my daughter with this money." Abu Bakr said: "He gave sixty-three (63) dirhams, so we went to the market and bought the following:

01. Two mattresses made of Egyptian canvas. (One stuffed with fiber and the other with sheep wool).

02. A leather mat.

03. A pillow made of skin, filled with palm tree fiber.

04. A Khaibarion cloak.

05. An animal skin for water.

06. Some jugs and jars also for water.

07. A pitcher painted with tar.

08. A thin curtain made of wool.

09. A shirt costing seven (7) dirhams.

10. A veil costing four (4) dirhams.

11. Black plush cloak.

12. A bed embellished with ribbon.

13. Four cushions made of skin imported from Ta 'ef stuffed with a good smelling plant.

14. A mat from Hajar.

15. A hand-mill.

16. A special copper container used for dyestuff.

17. A pestle for grinding coffee.

18. A (water) skin.

When Abu Bakr and the other companions had bought the above-mentioned articles, they carried them to Um Salama's house. When the Prophet saw them, he started kissing every article and supplicated to Allah, saying: "O Allah, bless them! For they are people who the majority of their belongings are made of natural materials."

These were all the furnishings they purchased for the daughter of the best of all prophets and messengers. But indeed, marital happiness is not achieved by wealth and overspending, nor can expensive wardrobes, gems, golden ware, luxurious furniture, splendid palaces or comfortable automobiles provide a person with marital happiness, contrary to the beliefs of most people.

Dowry Murders

Young married women are routinely tortured and murdered by

their husbands and in-laws whose demands for additional dowry from
the bride’s family are not met. This practice has now escalated to
such a degree that it has assumed the form of a culture-specific

homicidal tradition in Sub-Continent Indo-Pak.

In many of these cases the woman is killed in a staged fire related
accident, usually in the kitchen. Hence the cultural pervasiveness
of ungainly terms like “bride burning” and “dowry death.” However,
there are also staged suicides that involve hanging or the
consumption of pills and poison. A majority of these cases go
uninvestigated, and are written off as accidents or suicides while
the murderers go scott free. This is perhaps one of the primary
reasons for the lawless increase of these crimes.

Dowry is an evil, evil system and all of us, at some level, condone it and even contribute to it. 

Often the boys parents don't demand dowry, but our culture is such that we feel we must give 

something to the in-laws. In such cases, give as much as you receive. 
When you go out of your way because you are the parents of the girl, you are contributing to this evil. 


Ik ghar ke sooney aangan mai......

jis ki Dyordhee par.....

Taat ka parda jhool raha hai.....

Ik lardki bethi kuch soch rahi hai....

Apni raikhaa khoj rahi hai...

ke us ke sapnon mai basney wala.....

shehzada kab aaye ga....

jo Uski "DOLEE".....

bina Jaheiz ke le jaye ga.......!

NOT FOR SALE-Human Trafficking

Human Trafficking is a crime against humanity. It involves an act of recruiting, transporting, transfering, harbouring or receiving a person through a use of force, coercion or other means, for the purpose of exploiting them. 

On the basis of the definition given in the Trafficking in Persons Protocol, it is evident that trafficking in persons has three constituent elements;

The Act (What is done)

Recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons

The Means (How it is done)

Threat or use of force, coercion, abduction, fraud, deception, abuse of power or vulnerability, or giving payments or benefits to a person in control of the victim

The Purpose (Why it is done)


For the purpose of exploitation, which includes exploiting the prostitution of others, sexual exploitation, forced labour, slavery or similar practices and the removal of organs.

Types of Human Trafficking:

• Trafficking in women for sexual exploitation

• Trafficking for forced labour

• Commercial sexual exploitation of children in tourism

• Trafficking in organs

States must also recognise that these initiatives alone will not be sufficient to counter the problem of trafficking and that their policies must also address the root causes of this problem, which are closely linked to migration issues.

Growing inequalities of wealth between and within countries and an increasing, and often unacknowledged, demand for migrant workers in both developed and developing countries are fuelling migration. Many governments have reacted to this by mounting campaigns which seek to evoke fear in potential migrants and dissuade them from travelling abroad, and by implementing more restrictive immigration policies. This response is unlikely to deter migrants who are seeking work abroad as a means of survival and has increased the profitability of both trafficking and smuggling by reducing regular routes for migration.
States must also recognise that these initiatives alone will not be sufficient to counter the problem of trafficking and that their policies must also address the root causes of this problem, which are closely linked to migration issues.

Growing inequalities of wealth between and within countries and an increasing, and often unacknowledged, demand for migrant workers in both developed and developing countries are fuelling migration. Many governments have reacted to this by mounting campaigns which seek to evoke fear in potential migrants and dissuade them from travelling abroad, and by implementing more restrictive immigration policies. This response is unlikely to deter migrants who are seeking work abroad as a means of survival and has increased the profitability of both trafficking and smuggling by reducing regular routes for migration.
Growing inequalities of wealth between and within countries and an increasing, and often unacknowledged, demand for migrant workers in both developed and developing countries are fuelling migration. Many governments have reacted to this by mounting campaigns which seek to evoke fear in potential migrants and dissuade them from travelling abroad, and by implementing more restrictive immigration policies. This response is unlikely to deter migrants who are seeking work abroad as a means of survival and has increased the profitability of both trafficking and smuggling by reducing regular routes for migration.
One of today’s biggest human rights crises is the international trafficking of women and girls (and, to a lesser extent, boys) into sex slavery. Human trafficking is the third largest criminal industry in the world, outranked only by arms and drug dealing.

Unlike some human rights abuses which are primarily regional, sex trafficking is global in nature. Victims come from virtually all developing countries and are trafficked into or through virtually all developing and developed countries. It is estimated, for example, that 50,000 people are trafficked into the United States every year, most of whom are sold into prostitution.

 While all countries in the world prohibit slavery, human trafficking, many times referred to as modern-day slavery, continues to be a problem and affects countries all over the world, including some Muslim majority countries. While Muslims in these countries may engage in the crime of trafficking, Islam’s position on this topic is clear. 

In pre-Islamic Arabia, slavery was an established practice, Muslims were told that there was great reward in manumitting a slave. Verse 177 in chapter 2 of the Qur’an underscores the meritorious act of freeing a slave:

[B]ut righteous is he who believeth in Allah and the Last Day and the angels and the Scripture and the prophets; and giveth wealth, for love of Him, to kinsfolk and to orphans and the needy and the wayfarer and to those who ask, and to set slaves free; and observeth proper worship and payeth the poor-due. And those who keep their treaty when they make one, and the patient in tribulation and adversity and time of stress. Such are they who are sincere. Such are the God-fearing.

In addition to encouraging manumission and a move away from the social practice of slavery, Islam is clear about the treatment of slaves. A hadith of the Prophet Muhammad instructs those who still had slaves how to treat them.

Your slaves are your brothers. Allah has placed them under your authority. He who has his brother under him, should feed him from whatever he eats, and dress him with whatever he wears, and do not burden them (assign burdensome task to them) beyond their capacity; and if you burden them then help them.

The treatment described in this hadith is unlike what is typically associated with slavery and human trafficking where their is a hierarchical relationship. Slavery, therefore, in any form is considered a social ill that should be eradicated and once it has been, as has been the case in modern societies, it should be prohibited.In addition to Islam’s position on slavery, a central Islamic tenet is that any form of exploitation is forbidden. Muslims are repeatedly warned against oppressing other human beings. Verse 33 in chapter 7 demonstrate the prohibition against oppression:

Say: My Lord forbiddeth only indecencies, such of them as are apparent and such as are within, and sin and wrongful oppression, and that ye associate with Allah that for which no warrant hath been revealed, and that ye tell concerning Allah that which ye know not.

In these verses, oppression in a general sense is warned against and forbidden. Also, there are grave warnings against those who abuse the vulnerable in society, for example, orphans. Verse 10 in chapter 4 illustrates this point in graphic terms:

Those who unjustly eat up the property of orphans, eat up a Fire into their own bodies: they will soon be enduring a blazing Fire!

So the fact that trafficking is built on oppression of human beings, makes it contradictory to Islamic principles.

Finally, human trafficking often involves sexual exploitation. Of the 27 million mentioned in the report above, 1.4 million are sex slaves. Islam strictly prohibits any sexual relation outside of marriage. Furthermore, prostitution is forbidden. Verse 33 in chapter 24 illustrates this point.

But force not your maids to prostitution when they desire chastity, in order that ye may make a gain in the goods of this life. But if anyone compels them, yet after such compulsion, is Allah Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful (to them).

This verse maintains if someone is forced into prostitution by another that God will be Merciful toward the women not to the person who forced them. If the sexual exploitation involves forced marriage, it is also prohibited in Islam where consent of all parties must be given for any marriage to occur.

With all these points in mind, it is clear that Islam prohibits human trafficking.

States need to pass legislation which prohibits and punishes all forms of trafficking as defined and set out in the UN Trafficking Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children.

 Governments also need to recognise that all trafficked people are victims of a human rights violation and provide them with minimum standards of protection and support. This should include appropriate shelter, financial and legal assistance, counselling, health services and temporary and permanent residence status.

Not only states, each and every individual have to take measures to stop human trafficking. Education and creation of awareness is a must to get all vulnerable parties adequately equipped and informed.Educating of people on the dangers of falling victim to human traffickers is important. Being that these traffickers pose as friends and promise so many great things, it is necessary to authenticate any easy offers from strangers so as not to fall victim to such lies.

The work on how to stop human trafficking may still be a daunting task to persons without the right knowledge. However, with support from all affected sectors and complete interest in helping people to know their rights, solutions would definitely be found both from a local and global front.