Latest posts by Ayesha Saldanha
‘Shots Started Ringing Everywhere. Then What? Then People Being Hit, Screams, Utter Chaos’
A young Gazan man recalled on Facebook the death and devastation he witnessed during the Israeli assault on Khuza'a, which killed two of his cousins.
How the Portuguese Influenced Indian Cuisine
During four centuries in India, the Portuguese left their mark on Indian cuisine. We look at just a few of the dishes that have Portuguese flavor.
No Longer Silent: “Queer Pakistan”
Pakistan’s shunned LGBT youth have a new place to seek support online. Global Voices speaks with one of Queer Pakistan's founders.
Protsahan, Encouraging Girls Through the Arts in India
The young innovators of Protasahan aren't expecting governments alone to make gender equality a reality in India. This post belongs to a series exploring post-2015 ideas for development.
Exploring India's History Through Family Photos
The Indian Memory Project describes itself as "a visual and oral history of the Indian subcontinent via family archives". Global Voices has spoken to founder Anusha Yadav about what inspired her to set up the website, and how it works.
What Should International Development Look Like After 2015?
The United Nations Millennium Development Goals are eight development objectives to be achieved by United Nations member states by 2015. But what happens after 2015?
Contemporary Indian Art Explored in Video Conversations with Artists
The Regarding India project is a series of video interviews with Indian artists about their work conducted by Kathryn Myers, a painter and professor of art at the University of Connecticut.
Indian Ruling on Vedanta Mining Plans Favours Tribal Rights
India's Supreme Court recently ruled that village councils should make the final decision as to whether controversial British company Vedanta Resources can mine for bauxite in the eastern state of Odisha. Vedanta wants to mine on land that the local Dongria Kondh people hold sacred.
Are Indian Companies “Land Grabbing” in Africa?
As foreign companies and governments buy or lease land in countries across Africa, the debate continues as to whether this will encourage development or is simply land grabbing. The Hindu's Addis Ababa correspondent Aman Sethi has taken part in a Q&A session on Facebook on the issue of Indian "land grabs" in African countries.
Mauritania Through a Portuguese Artist's Eyes
Portuguese artist Isabel Fiadeiro lives in Nouakchott, Mauritania, where she paints and runs an art gallery. Fiadeiro also sketches from observation, filling her blog Sketching in Mauritania with images of daily life in the West African nation. Global Voices spoke to her about how her art has helped her get to know the country.
Fixing Taps to Save Water In India
Author and painter Aabid Surti may have won awards for his writing and art, but he has also made a mark in another field: water conservation. For the last seven years, the 77-year-old has spent his Sundays going to apartments in Mumbai, and volunteering to fix leaking taps.
India: Playwright Girish Karnad Slams Award for V.S. Naipaul
The audience was surprised at the Tata Literature Live! festival in Mumbai on November 2, when playwright Girish Karnad spoke angrily about the presentation of an award to Nobel laureate V.S. Naipaul, who Karnad accused of being anti-Muslim.
India: Online Video Archive for Performing Arts
Shabda is an unique online archive of videos presenting lecture demonstrations on various Indian art forms. Inspired by the TED talk format, Shabda's creators invite experts in music, dance or theatre to give a lecture on the topic of their choice for twenty minutes.
Saudi Arabia: The “Faceless” Experiment
Rana Jarbou is a Saudi blogger who has decided to carry out an experiment. For a week she is wearing the niqab or face veil, to see how she feels, and to see if she is treated differently.
Mauritania: A Rich Culture of Games, Dance and Music
Mauritania lies at the point where Arab and African cultures meet; it is the link between the countries of North and West Africa. This has given it a special character, evident in Mauritania's rich tradition of games, dances and music. In this post we will show you some examples.
Mauritania: Remembering the Country's First Military Coup
July 10, 2012 marked the 34th anniversary of the first military coup in Mauritania, when the military overthrew President Moktar Ould Daddah. Mauritanian activists remembered the anniversary of the 1978 coup by blogging and tweeting about it, and criticising military rule in Mauritania.
Mauritania: Anger at Foreign Minister's Support for Assad
In his speech at the Friends of Syria conference on July 6, the Mauritanian foreign minister Hamadi Ould Hamadi described what was happening in Syria as "violence and counterviolence". This comment was considered to be an expression of support for Bashar Al Assad's regime, and angered activists.
Egypt: First Free Presidential Election Underway
Egyptians are voting in the country's first free presidential election. While large queues have formed at some polling stations, the turnout seems to be lower than for the parliamentary elections in November 2011. This may reflect a disillusionment with the candidates felt by many.
Lebanon: UK Ambassador to Chat on Twitter with Haifa Wehbe
The British Embassy in Lebanon has announced an online discussion between the UK ambassador (@HMATomFletcher) and Lebanese singer Haifa Wehbe (@HaifaWehbe), to take place on May 18 at 6pm (Lebanese time), tweeting under the hashtag #HaifaHMA.
Mauritania: Opposition Sit-in Attacked by Security Forces
A sit-in in Nouakchott by opposition groups was violently dispersed by security forces in the early hours of May 3. It was the latest of a series of protests that have taken place in Mauritania.
May Day Marked Around the Arab World
May Day, or Labour Day, is commemorated in many Arab countries. In this post we look at some of the day's events this year: in Libya it became a national public holiday, in Bahrain demonstrations were attacked by riot police, and in Lebanon the website of the Ministry of Labour was hacked.
