Charity

On Main Boulevard, the Ramzan traffic comes to a halt. The car heater makes a whirring noise. A thin layer of fog hovers in front of our Honda City.

On the radio, the singer Junaid Jamshed recites a naat. In an interview, he has said that Pakistani women should stay at home. Now Mama says, If more women worked, the economy might be better. Then I say, The field hands in the countryside are mostly women. Mama makes a face. The traffic clears, I push the race pedal but as we reach the crossing, the signal turns red again. […]