November 2023: OF THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE, FOR THE PEOPLE (Download PDF) This issue of Bayan seeks to understand the complex and troubled history of local governance in Pakistan. As the vital third tier of representative government that enables participation of the larger public, particularly marginalised...
December 2021: THIS BRIDGE CALLED MY BACK (Download PDF) The context for this edition of Bayan has been shaped by the unprecedented and damning impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, which wreaked havoc and brought uncertainty, engulfing everyone across the globe, including Pakistan. The aftermath thereof resulted in...
August 2021: SEASONS OF SILENCE (Download PDF) In Pakistan and across the globe, the surge in regressive politics and increasing curbs on free speech by states have severely jeopardised the fundamental right of freedom of opinion and expression, guaranteed to all individuals by Article 19 of the...
The topic for the fifth issue of Bayan was the ‘Right to a Safe Environment’. This edition of Bayan highlighted the pressing environmental issues faced by Pakistan at the time of writing which included selling of Dingi & Bandar (two islands) of the coast of...
This issue of bayan examines laws and social practices relating to women’s issues vis a vis marriage, in particular, to women’s right to choice in marriage. As choice is linked to decision-making, and the latter entails the expression of autonomous agency, this issue is directly linked...
ATE: APRIL 2005 Extra-Constitutional Misadventures in Pakistan: An Overview – KAMAL UDDIN AZFAR This article sheds light on the political turbulence that has marked Pakistan’s history and given shape to the various constitutional and extra-constitutional eras: the “Five Republics”. He discusses the evolution of our constitutional system, initially moulded...
DATE: JULY 2004 Colonial Constitutionalism – Dr. Ranabir Samaddar In this article, Dr. Sammadar traces the evolution of constitutionalism in order to validate his claim that constitutionalism can only be colonial. In view of recent civil wars, he questions whether constitutions are freedom guaranteeing or coercive and insists that...
DATE: AUGUST 2003 Achieving Equality: Preventing Violence Against Women – Justice Catherine A. Fraser This article reviews the high level of commitment to gender equality and the prevention of violence against women expressed in international law, especially in instruments like CEDAW and DEVAW. The author elucidates the concept...
