I wouldn’t want to be a white male writer right now
by Rashmee
Posted on May 16, 2021
/ TRAVELS IN MY MIND Today’s my birthday so I’m going to offer up a gift — of truth. Blunt truth. It won’t be fashionably woke, but it will be sensitive to the reality of what we see around us. Here goes. Looking at the advert for Norwich’s “City of Literature” Festival, which starts next … Continue reading “I wouldn’t want to be a white male writer right now”
Read MoreThe Nakba continues to unfold
by Rashmee
Posted on May 15, 2021
/ FAITH, HOPE… The Palestinians are said to be marking al-Nakba (literally, the catastrophe) today, May 15. On this day, day 73 years ago, 750,000 of them lost their homes and became refugees. It was the consequence of Israel’s declaration of independence on May 14, 1948 and the end of British control, by League of … Continue reading “The Nakba continues to unfold”
Read MoreVoters reward Boris but what about the fog of Brexit Newspeak?
by Rashmee
Posted on May 14, 2021
/ LANGUAGE The May 6 elections in England showed something interesting. People want to be team-players. In a pandemic, they want to support their government, particularly when it has tried to do what it can to keep them safe. Accordingly, Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party gained approbation — and votes — because its government overcame its … Continue reading “Voters reward Boris but what about the fog of Brexit Newspeak?”
Read MoreThe perils of #WFH when the company wants you #WFO
by Rashmee
Posted on May 13, 2021
/IT’S THE BUSINESS It’s taken just 14 months for that mood to pass. You know which one I mean. The mood that suggested we would live in a kinder, gentler world, those of us who have made it until this point. It’s been 14 months since the World Health Organisation declared a global pandemic. Planes … Continue reading “The perils of #WFH when the company wants you #WFO”
Read More‘Women should actively work to take up more space’
by Rashmee
Posted on May 12, 2021
/ TAKE UP ONE IDEA The other day I heard bestselling American crime writer Sara Paretsky talking about reimagining women’s place in society. She put forward an interesting idea: women should actively work to take up space. Ms Paretsky, who is now in her 70s, told the BBC World Service (the interview is right towards … Continue reading “‘Women should actively work to take up more space’”
Read MoreWhat just happened in the English Channel is a throwback to an earlier age
by Rashmee
Posted on May 10, 2021
/ BLIMEY BLIGHTY I’m currently reading Laurent Binet’s ‘Civilisations’, an alternate history that has Christopher Columbus captured by the Caribbean Tainos and the sun-worshipping Incas becoming the dominant cultural and political force in Europe. The scene that recently played out in the English Channel would not have been out of place in that novel about … Continue reading “What just happened in the English Channel is a throwback to an earlier age”
Read MoreIran and that Renaissance idea, ‘no means yes’
by Rashmee
Posted on May 9, 2021
/ TRAVELS IN MY MIND Iran is having a moment around the ‘no means yes’ idea that women can’t be taken at their word. This is an old notion and it is laid bare, believe it or not, in Renaissance art. We saw it vividly portrayed in two very different renderings of the story around … Continue reading “Iran and that Renaissance idea, ‘no means yes’”
Read MoreFrom Bill Clinton to Joe Biden, America’s climate story is one of dizzying change
by Rashmee
Posted on May 8, 2021
/ FAITH, HOPE… Enough time has elapsed since Joe Biden’s April 22 climate summit for a dispassionate assessment of what it all meant. In two words: Faith. Hope. There’s quite a lot of the latter and not enough of the first. The world hopes the United States, the second biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, will … Continue reading “From Bill Clinton to Joe Biden, America’s climate story is one of dizzying change”
Read MoreThe Brothers of Italy are led by a sister, but their politics is still the same
by Rashmee
Posted on May 7, 2021
/ LANGUAGE Can we really, with a straight face, talk about women as bringing a totally different, healing touch to politics? In India, there is Sadhvi Rithambara, who is often accused of the most venomous hate speech against Muslims. In France there is Marine le Pen. And Italy has its own wannabe Marine le Pen … Continue reading “The Brothers of Italy are led by a sister, but their politics is still the same”
Read MoreThe pandemic and the clothes on our backs
by Rashmee
Posted on May 6, 2021
/IT’S THE BUSINESS What are you wearing as you read this and how long do you think you will continue to wear this garment? Weeks? Months? Years? What will you do with it once its life is essentially over? You may get rid of it because it developed holes, became discoloured, or doesn’t fit, suit … Continue reading “The pandemic and the clothes on our backs”
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Rashmee has lived and worked in several countries in the past decade, including Afghanistan, India, Haiti, Tunisia, the UAE, US and UK