Comic book 'Guardians' to steer young Pakistanis away from extremism

[Dubious]

AFP | DAWN.COM — UPDATED about 3 hours ago

ISLAMABAD: When Taliban militants stormed a school in Peshawar last December, killing 150 people, mainly children, in the country's deadliest terror attack, comic book creators Mustafa Hasnain, Gauhar Aftab and Yahya Ehsan decided it was time to act.

The trio had already been working on a series to raise awareness about the corruption that plagues Pakistan — an economically-underperforming Muslim giant of 200 million people.

But they quickly decided to shift their focus to violent extremism — and felt holding candle-light vigils was not the best way to effect change.

Hasnain, a British-educated computer graphics specialist, founded his own company Creative Frontiers in 2013, today employing 20 people, including young male and female artists, programmers and writers, in a hip Silicon Valley-style office in Lahore.

He explained: “It was a huge watershed moment for us. I got together with Gauhar and I said 'We really have to do something about this'.

“We used to stand over there (at vigils) with a candle... but we wanted to do something more.“

The result was “Paasban” — or “Guardian” — a three-part series featuring a group of close friends at college who begin to worry when one of them drops out to join a religious student group that is ostensibly working for charitable causes. Some in the group however, suspect it may have darker aims.

Fifteen thousand of the books are set to be distributed for free from June 1 at schools in Lahore, Multan and Lodhran while some copies will be made available in book stores.

The comic will also be distributed on a tailor-made app the group have developed for Apple and Android smartphones.

Personal journey
For English-language script writer Aftab, the pathway from disillusionment to signing up to carry a gun and fight the so-called enemies of Islam was not just something he had read about in the news, — it was a choice he had almost made as a child.

A product of the elite Aitchison College in Lahore, Aftab came under the influence of a charismatic teacher who convinced him at the age of 13 to leave behind his school and family to fight jihad (holy war) against the Indian army in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir.

Eventually pulled back by a last-minute family intervention, he came to identify the methods that radicals use to attract young people to violent jihad.

“De-emphasising the virtues and values of your traditional faith, moving you towards the more minimalistic standpoint when it comes to religion, demonising various factors or forces that you feel to be threatening Islam, then (finally) glorifying the aspect of martyrdom,” he said.

By creating a storyline that features a protagonist going through these experiences, said Aftab, young people who see the same thing going on in their lives or those of their friends will be better equipped to identify and avoid the same fate.

The Urdu translation was written by renowned script-writer Amjad Islam Amjad, responsible for some of Pakistan's most popular TV shows, in an effort to ensure an audience that is as wide as possible.

Smartphone revolution
While comic-books in the US tradition often feature heroes with super-powers such as Superman, Paasban's creators decided to concentrate on creating ordinary heroes, or “Guardians” they felt the Pakistani audience would relate better to.

The art is inspired by Alphonse Mucha and Pakistani artist Abdur Rahman Chughtai, though the action is more in line with Western comics and Japanese Manga, according to creative director and co-creator Yahya Ehsan.

But what the three hope will eventually land them a sustainable revenue stream beyond the donor-funding they currently receive is a digital app they have developed that they say is the best of its kind in the world for bringing graphic novels to life on smartphones.

Also read: Pakistan joins the 3G club

The app is optimised to work on the low-end smartphones available from about $70 that have flooded the Pakistani market since the advent of 3G data connections last year, with some estimates placing smartphone penetration at 20 per cent of the country's estimated 80 million mobile users.

Users can swipe from panel to panel, with simple animations depicting new characters entering a scene, all set to a brooding background soundtrack.

Aftab, the writer, said he hoped other writers and artists would follow their lead and use the app to encourage a debate on what he calls the “real “Islam of peace which he discovered once out of the clutches of his former teacher.

“We want to promote the idea that you don't have to be secular to be non violent... What you need to be is a Muslim who rejects the violent extremist form certain groups have given to our faith,” he said.

Comic book 'Guardians' to steer young Pakistanis away from extremism - Pakistan - DAWN.COM

 

[IrbiS]

Should be more after this and government must take initiative for work like this



@Akheilos the bald man in the first pic ( comic's Urdu script writer ) is the guy whose column I posted regarding restoration of Urdu

 

[Dubious]

Should be more after this and government must take initiative for work like this



@Akheilos the bald man in the first pic ( comic's Urdu script writer ) is the guy whose column I posted regarding restoration of Urdu

Oo I see!

 

[Jf Thunder]

what happened to bloody Nasreen?

 

[Dubious]

what happened to bloody Nasreen?
View attachment 226366 View attachment 226367 View attachment 226368

I didnt even know there was one like that

what happened to bloody Nasreen?
View attachment 226366 View attachment 226367 View attachment 226368

'Bloody Nasreen' to hit screens in 2017


MAHJABEEN MANKANI — UPDATED FEB 13, 2015 12:24PM

KARACHI: Producer Faisal Rafi's film based on Shahan Zaidi's English-language graphic novel Bloody Nasreen, is set to release in 2017.

Speaking to Dawn, Rafi said: "The film is still in the scripting and development stage and will be released at the end of 2017."

He adds that it's too early to reveal the film's cast, but shares that it will be shot in Karachi.

How is it different from Zaidi's graphic novel?

"It's similar but not the same, it is an origin story and a study of the character," he said. "The experience has been very good so far."

Rafi further said that the film caters to 15-year plus age group.

"We have no idea how the viewers will react, but we expect them to be engrossed, shocked and pleased," said Rafi.

The main character of Zaidi’s graphic novel, Bloody Nasreen, is a 27-year-old woman from Karachi who wears a skull-printed kameez with a churidar and sneakers – not really a look women her age would sport. She’s an anti-hero you’re not supposed to like. Her smoking and aggressive temperament are supposed to p*** you off.

According to Zaidi, Nasreen is ruthless but not cruel, fights a war against terrorism, human trafficking, corruption and injustice, and thinks that stupidity is more evil than evil.


'Bloody Nasreen' to hit screens in 2017 - Pakistan - DAWN.COM

 

[IrbiS]

what happened to bloody Nasreen?
View attachment 226366 View attachment 226367 View attachment 226368

Make a copy for Maulana Abdul Aziz. I'm sure he'll like it

 

[Gufi]

If I may put forward my two cents, the days of reading are fading and visual consumption in the form of videos, movies and cartoons is where we are heading. In my opinion there needs to be co developed cartoons which should be run in cooperation with the cartoon network of the region through which they will reach a much larger audience.
comics are a nostalgiac tool for us but ask the children about spiderman or batman and they will recall the cartoons rather then the comics.... If cartoon network can make tops interesting for the children of today, this is a theme also.

 

[Dubious]

Bloody Nasreen: Pakistan’s Very Own “Tomb Raider”
She wasn’t intended as “eye candy,” but Bloody Nasreen, a sexy animated anti-hero, is making waves in Pakistan. Some say she’s hot, but others argue that she’s simply a response to a trend of “bodily empowerment.”

By Zofeen Ebrahim September 15, 2014

KARACHI, Pakistan — Many think she’s “hot,” with some likening her to Lara Croft, the “Tomb Raider” of Internet gaming fame who Hollywood decided should be played by Angelina Jolie in a live-action blockbuster.

Others, however, have argued that she makes Lara Croft “look like a candy striper.”

This woman is Bloody Nasreen, a fictional female anti-hero from Pakistan. Despite the male attention she’s garnering, it’s difficult to dismiss her as just another male fantasy or something to be ogled. (Although, by the year’s end, oglers will likely be lining up to see the film that is currently in its pre-production phase.)

Created by Shahan Zaidi, a 31-year old Karachi-based artist who works at an animation house, Nasreen went viral when the artist shared his sketches on social media.

She is a far cry from “Burqa Avenger”’s Jiya, a celebrated Pakistani cartoon character and 2013 Peabody Award winner. Jiya, a mild-mannered Pakistani teacher, dons a flowing black burqa to hide her identity and uses magical powers to fight for women’s empowerment — especially for Pakistani girls’ rights to education — and to fight against child labor and environmental degradation.

Pakistan’s first superhero, Jiya was developed for a children’s television series which is being shown on a few private TV channels. Vocal female activists have criticized Jiya’s attire, however, saying it represents suppression.

Gun-toting, sword-wielding anti-hero
Nasreen wears a long, figure-hugging shirt emblazoned with skulls over chooridar (fitted bottoms). A wisp of a scarf slung around her neck barely conceals her plunging neckline, while red lipstick and black eyeliner play up her pout and big dark eyes.

Nasreen is 27 and single, a smoker who swears. She would likely never be found on the streets of Pakistan, not even among the hundreds of women protesters at the ongoing sit-in against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s government in Islamabad.

Even though she’s not the stereotypical Pakistani woman, people are smitten by the strong female character. Her level of popularity is surprising, as it is something many characters on the big screen have not even enjoyed in Pakistan.

Afiya Shehrbano Zia, a Karachi-based feminist researcher and activist, is not quite sure what to make the attention showered upon Nasreen.

“It could be related to a larger message of bodily empowerment. Women may not want to wear exactly the same clothes or act like her, but the admiration can be attributed to the restrictive environment of a Pakistani woman that closes off spaces for them to be physically expressive. This character probably symbolizes a physical mobility equal to men’s,” she told MintPress.

Meanwhile, Dr. Pervez Hoodbhoy says Nasreen’s popularity in a society that “represses” its women is “readily understandable in Freudian terms.”

“A culture of conformity and social intimidation forces Pakistani females into sub-dominant roles, but still cannot kill their natural urge to be active agents of change or to exert their individuality. While there is not yet a rebellion of the slaves, there are definitely some murmurs,” Hoodbhoy, a physicist and peace activist, told MintPress.

“So, while a part of their minds has been subjugated, another part seeking freedom remains. Bloody Nasreen, through her derring-do, provides important cathartic release,” he continued.

But what Zia also finds noteworthy is that the men who create characters like Nasreen imbue them with male attributes and roles. “As if equality means aspiring to be like men!”

“That’s not ideal for me!” she said emphatically, adding, “Aggression, vengefulness, rebellion are not characteristics all women aspire to when they ask for equality. Women’s rights are more about just treatment, equal material rights and equal opportunity!”

Zaidi, however, is a little annoyed that his character is being put under the microscope and picked apart in these ways.

“Let’s not make a simple character like Bloody Nasreen bloody controversial,” the character’s creator said. “That was never, and still isn’t, my intention!”

He admits to MintPress that even he is taken aback by the popularity of his character. “It was not my intention to make her a little eye candy, neither do I find her that hot… the way people do.”

“You see, sometimes people see what they want to see,” he added.

Bloody Nasreen’s origins
Zaidi says that something happened in Nasreen’s past to turn her into what she has become, but he does not want to dwell on that. “It doesn’t matter. She left her past and her story begins after that. She has not completely forgotten her past or that terrible series of events that took place,” he explained.

Nasreen, he explains, has realized that obtaining justice by going through the proper course is a pipedream in a place like Pakistan, and so she has to take matters into her hands to avenge the wrong done to her.

Though she lacks Jiya’s superpowers for fighting evil, Nasreen’s missions are more dangerous. The Burqa Avenger fights for the empowerment of women, but Nasreen fights serious crimes like terrorism and human trafficking and all of the evils that come with them, including corruption. But, of course, Bloody Nasreen wasn’t made with an audience of children in mind.

In a way, Zaidi’s character reflects what is happening to Pakistani society and the way it has narrowed the public spaces available to women. In fact, the visibility of women in public spaces is minimal, and over the years, a majority of Pakistani women have opted to wear black abayas (a black long cloak-like outer garment common in Arab and Gulf countries).

Saudi-ization of Pakistan
Hoodbhoy, who has taught for four decades at Quaid-e-Azam University, considers the increase in abaya-clad Pakistani women a natural response to the ongoing “Saudi-ization” of Pakistan. He explains that the groundswell of Islamic zeal arose during military dictator Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq’s time in power (1978 to 1988), as part of his endeavor to Islamize the country.

This required that culture be redefined and Pakistanis be persuaded that, if they were to be good Muslims, they must exchange their South Asian identity for an Arab-Muslim one.

“Two decades back, the fully veiled student was an absolute rarity on Pakistani
university and college campuses. The abaya was unrecognizable a word in Urdu. Today shops across the country specialize in abayas. At colleges and universities across Pakistan, the female student is seeking the anonymity of the burqa,” Hoodbhoy wrote for Newsline magazine in 2009.

Talking to MintPress, Hoodbhoy says the “unyielding version” of Wahabi Islam has steadily displaced the pluralistic Indo-Pakistani culture, and it has also taken away “the kinder, gentler Islam of the Sufis and saints.”

The Afghan War in the 1980s, when Saudi-funded charitable organizations acted as a front, provided Afghan rebels with billions of dollars to fight the Soviet-backed Afghan government, indoctrinating young soldiers to puritan Islam in the process.

A 2013 report by the European Parliament, however, reveals that when Pakistan reaches out to Saudi Arabia rulers for help to prop its economy, it comes with conditions to propagate the more puritanical Wahabi version of Islam.

“Now, with petro-dollar backing, the Saudi Salafi/Wahabi penetration of Pakistani society is deep, insidious, and ever increasing. By reducing women to property, it has brought about increased tolerance for cruelty against women, deprivation of their rights, and loss of precious freedom. We are witnessing today a re-tribalization of society, a return to the dark prison that women had briefly escaped from,” Hoodbhoy concluded.

Bloody Nasreen, it seems, represents a welcome change of pace.

 

[IrbiS]

If I may put forward my two cents, the days of reading are fading and visual consumption in the form of videos, movies and cartoons is where we are heading. In my opinion there needs to be co developed cartoons which should be run in cooperation with the cartoon network of the region through which they will reach a much larger audience.
comics are a nostalgiac tool for us but ask the children about spiderman or batman and they will recall the cartoons rather then the comics.... If cartoon network can make tops interesting for the children of today, this is a theme also.

Let the ideas flow in and then present 'em in desired forms. We gotta start somewhere. TV channel can make pictorial stories for start of these comics and also make 'em available online for mobile devices.

Batman was the idea of comic book man

 

[Dubious]

If I may put forward my two cents, the days of reading are fading and visual consumption in the form of videos, movies and cartoons is where we are heading. In my opinion there needs to be co developed cartoons which should be run in cooperation with the cartoon network of the region through which they will reach a much larger audience.
comics are a nostalgiac tool for us but ask the children about spiderman or batman and they will recall the cartoons rather then the comics.... If cartoon network can make tops interesting for the children of today, this is a theme also.

Just because it is fading we should help it make a come back....Much of educating one relies on ability and interest to read....It is a founding stone to further ourselves and hence it needs to be drilled in since childhood or else it causes problems!

True videos are useful but the dying culture of reading is def in need of revival - More for our own good

 

[Jf Thunder]

Make a copy for Maulana Abdul Aziz. I'm sure he'll like it

she is here to shoot him

 

[Gufi]

Just because it is fading we should help it make a come back....Much of educating one relies on ability and interest to read....It is a founding stone to further ourselves and hence it needs to be drilled in since childhood or else it causes problems!

The wish of the populace to go back to reading is one which has been attempted various times with varying degrees of success but nothing real has come of it. The thought is noble in nature but should not be left to hoping and trying new methods but using tested methods The whole concept of reaching out to the youth should not be on how we want them to get the message but how best they will get the message with least change in life style. I wish the comics the best of luck.

 

[Azizam]

Upper/middle class citizens in South Asia are disconnected from the majority. This type of action may work in the west where people have easy access to information but not in South Asia. So I think this is more like an attempt to get more publicity.

 

[Dubious]

The wish of the populace to go back to reading is one which has been attempted various times with varying degrees of success but nothing real has come of it. The thought is noble in nature but should not be left to hoping and trying new methods but using tested methods The whole concept of reaching out to the youth should not be on how we want them to get the message but how best they will get the message with least change in life style. I wish the comics the best of luck.

Reading has never been a stable culture once upon a time the problem was lack of books or even too expensive now the problem is too much technology....But many have realized they need to revive the culture as it is necessary as reading also helps brain development and esp neuron development

 

[Gufi]

Reading has never been a stable culture once upon a time the problem was lack of books or even too expensive now the problem is too much technology....But many have realized they need to revive the culture as it is necessary as reading also helps brain development and esp neuron development

Your thoughts are idealistic but not practical. Which is why a visual cue is what is used to promote any product to children, cartoons are made to make things seem attractive, and no one uses brochures or pamphlets any more for children. To simplify, It takes 5 years to revive reading to 30 percent of population, It takes one month of advertisements to get majority of the children to sit in front of the TV to watch cartoons and enjoy themselves.