We stand against the rise of religious extremism and the suppression of minority rights across South Asia, including India, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. Secular values are under attack, and marginalized communities— women, children, and the poor—face growing
injustces, often fueled by propaganda and diaspora support.

We stand against the rise of religious extremism and the suppression of minority rights. Secular values are under attack, and marginalised communities, including women, children and the poor, face growing injustices, often fuelled by propaganda and diaspora support. The Secularist is an independent media platform dedicated to examining these developments through evidence-based analysis, critical journalism, and informed public debate, providing a space for writers and researchers to explore the social and political consequences of religious authority and its impact on human rights.

THE LATEST STORIES
The Olympics’ transgender athlete ban is a legal and moral minefield

The Olympics’ transgender athlete ban is a legal and moral minefield

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has confirmed it is introducing a controversial new policy that will ban transgender athletes from...
Read More
Land Day and the Palestinian struggle after 30 months of genocide

Land Day and the Palestinian struggle after 30 months of genocide

Every year on 30 March, Palestinians mark Yom al-Ard, Land Day. The phrase sounds almost harmless to those who have...
Read More
Our generation will continue resisting the Taliban’s restrictions on women and girls

Our generation will continue resisting the Taliban’s restrictions on women and girls

I am well familiar with the term “war between the Taliban and the government” because I have witnessed the trade-offs...
Read More
A war without accountability: why the Middle East crisis is also a legal quagmire

A war without accountability: why the Middle East crisis is also a legal quagmire

What began with surprise US and Israeli strikes on Iran one month ago has hardened into a grinding stand-off, with...
Read More
Would Epstein victims have been denied help after changes to UK slavery system?

Would Epstein victims have been denied help after changes to UK slavery system?

Survivors of sex trafficking offences similar to those committed by Jeffrey Epstein may be refused support under the UK’s modern...
Read More
How did an Afghan woman journalist’s writing resonate in China?

How did an Afghan woman journalist’s writing resonate in China?

When Afghan journalist Khadija Haidary fled the Taliban, she never imagined that her writing would reach readers thousands of miles...
Read More
How AI weaponises confusion to fuel harm and block accountability

How AI weaponises confusion to fuel harm and block accountability

Every morning, millions across conflict zones reach for their phones. They search for news. What greets them – alongside the...
Read More
Fake visas and complex databases: Tech’s role in exploiting migrant workers

Fake visas and complex databases: Tech’s role in exploiting migrant workers

From Saudi Arabia to Nepal and the UK, vulnerable workers are exploited due to a lack of digital and financial...
Read More
Menstrual leave is not just a holiday but a necessary relief

Menstrual leave is not just a holiday but a necessary relief

Some people menstruate. That is not a mere thought or a social construct; it is a biological reality. Yet, societies...
Read More
Undoing a decade of progress for transgender rights in India

Undoing a decade of progress for transgender rights in India

Transgender people in Banaras gather on March 20, 2026, to express concern over the proposed Transgender Rights Amendment Bill 2026....
Read More
Silence between two fires: The psychological reality inside Iran

Silence between two fires: The psychological reality inside Iran

US-Israeli bombing of Tehran on March 3, 2026. Photo by Avash Media on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0). In Iran...
Read More
Shabana Mahmood is wrong: refugee status was never ‘permanent from day one’

Shabana Mahmood is wrong: refugee status was never ‘permanent from day one’

The UK’s asylum system is being overhauled. The home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, has laid out a series of reforms that...
Read More
Pakistan bombed a Kabul rehab centre. Where’s the outrage?

Pakistan bombed a Kabul rehab centre. Where’s the outrage?

As rain continued to fall, a mother trudged through the mud carrying her baby son. The playful yellow onesie she...
Read More
Veterans Who Depend on Mental Health Care Keep Losing Their Therapists Under Trump

Veterans Who Depend on Mental Health Care Keep Losing Their Therapists Under Trump

As Jason Beaman recounts his long slog searching for mental health therapy last year, he sounds defeated. The first therapist...
Read More
Authorities push back against International Women’s Day march in Pakistan

Authorities push back against International Women’s Day march in Pakistan

This year, on March 8, International Women’s Day, participants of the Islamabad chapter of the Aurat March (Women’s March) faced...
Read More
Democracy needs women: Feminist leadership in times of shrinking enabling environments for civil society

Democracy needs women: Feminist leadership in times of shrinking enabling environments for civil society

At a time when democratic backsliding is no longer an abstract warning but a lived reality across continents, feminist leaders...
Read More
‘We’re the good guys’: why moral storytelling doesn’t make the war on Iran necessary or legal

‘We’re the good guys’: why moral storytelling doesn’t make the war on Iran necessary or legal

Legal experts have said the attacks violated Article 2(4) of the UN Charter, which prohibits the use of force against...
Read More
Preventable deaths in a warming world: how politics shapes who lives and who dies

Preventable deaths in a warming world: how politics shapes who lives and who dies

In Brownsville, Texas, three members of the Galvan family died after a malfunctioning air conditioner left them exposed to extreme...
Read More
The Epstein Files: A Scandal That Power Tried to Outrun

The Epstein Files: A Scandal That Power Tried to Outrun

A disturbing revelation of the past few years has repeatedly been featured in news reports worldwide. It was not a...
Read More
Street theatre: A Powerful Metaphor for explaining Participatory Research

Street theatre: A Powerful Metaphor for explaining Participatory Research

In both the street theatre and research, hierarchy is unsettled. The ‘platform’ needs to dissolve. Knowledge does not descend from...
Read More
THE LATEST STORIES
The Olympics’ transgender athlete ban is a legal and moral minefield

The Olympics’ transgender athlete ban is a legal and moral minefield

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has confirmed it is introducing a controversial new policy that will ban transgender athletes from...
Read More
Land Day and the Palestinian struggle after 30 months of genocide

Land Day and the Palestinian struggle after 30 months of genocide

Every year on 30 March, Palestinians mark Yom al-Ard, Land Day. The phrase sounds almost harmless to those who have...
Read More
Our generation will continue resisting the Taliban’s restrictions on women and girls

Our generation will continue resisting the Taliban’s restrictions on women and girls

I am well familiar with the term “war between the Taliban and the government” because I have witnessed the trade-offs...
Read More
A war without accountability: why the Middle East crisis is also a legal quagmire

A war without accountability: why the Middle East crisis is also a legal quagmire

What began with surprise US and Israeli strikes on Iran one month ago has hardened into a grinding stand-off, with...
Read More
Would Epstein victims have been denied help after changes to UK slavery system?

Would Epstein victims have been denied help after changes to UK slavery system?

Survivors of sex trafficking offences similar to those committed by Jeffrey Epstein may be refused support under the UK’s modern...
Read More
How did an Afghan woman journalist’s writing resonate in China?

How did an Afghan woman journalist’s writing resonate in China?

When Afghan journalist Khadija Haidary fled the Taliban, she never imagined that her writing would reach readers thousands of miles...
Read More
How AI weaponises confusion to fuel harm and block accountability

How AI weaponises confusion to fuel harm and block accountability

Every morning, millions across conflict zones reach for their phones. They search for news. What greets them – alongside the...
Read More
Fake visas and complex databases: Tech’s role in exploiting migrant workers

Fake visas and complex databases: Tech’s role in exploiting migrant workers

From Saudi Arabia to Nepal and the UK, vulnerable workers are exploited due to a lack of digital and financial...
Read More
Menstrual leave is not just a holiday but a necessary relief

Menstrual leave is not just a holiday but a necessary relief

Some people menstruate. That is not a mere thought or a social construct; it is a biological reality. Yet, societies...
Read More
Undoing a decade of progress for transgender rights in India

Undoing a decade of progress for transgender rights in India

Transgender people in Banaras gather on March 20, 2026, to express concern over the proposed Transgender Rights Amendment Bill 2026....
Read More
Silence between two fires: The psychological reality inside Iran

Silence between two fires: The psychological reality inside Iran

US-Israeli bombing of Tehran on March 3, 2026. Photo by Avash Media on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0). In Iran...
Read More
Shabana Mahmood is wrong: refugee status was never ‘permanent from day one’

Shabana Mahmood is wrong: refugee status was never ‘permanent from day one’

The UK’s asylum system is being overhauled. The home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, has laid out a series of reforms that...
Read More
Pakistan bombed a Kabul rehab centre. Where’s the outrage?

Pakistan bombed a Kabul rehab centre. Where’s the outrage?

As rain continued to fall, a mother trudged through the mud carrying her baby son. The playful yellow onesie she...
Read More
Veterans Who Depend on Mental Health Care Keep Losing Their Therapists Under Trump

Veterans Who Depend on Mental Health Care Keep Losing Their Therapists Under Trump

As Jason Beaman recounts his long slog searching for mental health therapy last year, he sounds defeated. The first therapist...
Read More
Authorities push back against International Women’s Day march in Pakistan

Authorities push back against International Women’s Day march in Pakistan

This year, on March 8, International Women’s Day, participants of the Islamabad chapter of the Aurat March (Women’s March) faced...
Read More
Democracy needs women: Feminist leadership in times of shrinking enabling environments for civil society

Democracy needs women: Feminist leadership in times of shrinking enabling environments for civil society

At a time when democratic backsliding is no longer an abstract warning but a lived reality across continents, feminist leaders...
Read More
‘We’re the good guys’: why moral storytelling doesn’t make the war on Iran necessary or legal

‘We’re the good guys’: why moral storytelling doesn’t make the war on Iran necessary or legal

Legal experts have said the attacks violated Article 2(4) of the UN Charter, which prohibits the use of force against...
Read More
Preventable deaths in a warming world: how politics shapes who lives and who dies

Preventable deaths in a warming world: how politics shapes who lives and who dies

In Brownsville, Texas, three members of the Galvan family died after a malfunctioning air conditioner left them exposed to extreme...
Read More
The Epstein Files: A Scandal That Power Tried to Outrun

The Epstein Files: A Scandal That Power Tried to Outrun

A disturbing revelation of the past few years has repeatedly been featured in news reports worldwide. It was not a...
Read More
Street theatre: A Powerful Metaphor for explaining Participatory Research

Street theatre: A Powerful Metaphor for explaining Participatory Research

In both the street theatre and research, hierarchy is unsettled. The ‘platform’ needs to dissolve. Knowledge does not descend from...
Read More

SOUTH ASIA

Shame in English? India Deserves Better Than Linguistic Distractions

Shame in English? India Deserves Better Than Linguistic Distractions

A fresh round of political controversy has erupted after senior figures aligned with Prime Minister Narendra Modi suggested that Indians...
Read More
When Clothing Becomes a Crisis: Why India Must Outgrow Fragile Sentiments and Focus on Real Problems

When Clothing Becomes a Crisis: Why India Must Outgrow Fragile Sentiments and Focus on Real Problems

The recent incident in Mumbai where a priest dressed the idol of Goddess Kali as Mother Mary because “she appeared in his...
Read More
Bangladesh students reject PM Sheikh Hasina’s olive branch after deadly protests

Bangladesh students reject PM Sheikh Hasina’s olive branch after deadly protests

Students set wood on fire as they protest against quotas in government jobs at Dhaka University in the capital on...
Read More
Delhi Riots: Case Against 13 Muslim Women Reveals Singular Focus To Pin Violence On Anti-CAA Protesters

Delhi Riots: Case Against 13 Muslim Women Reveals Singular Focus To Pin Violence On Anti-CAA Protesters

More than eight months to a year after hundreds of Muslim women gathered under a Delhi metro station to protest...
Read More
Sonakshi, Swara, Richa And The Right To Choose

Sonakshi, Swara, Richa And The Right To Choose

When Swara Bhasker announced last year that she was marrying Fahad Ahmad, I thanked her for being a lighthouse for...
Read More
Who can form a government in Pakistan’s post-election chaos? The answer isn’t straightforward

Who can form a government in Pakistan’s post-election chaos? The answer isn’t straightforward

Since the founding of Pakistan in 1947, not a single prime minister has served the full five-year term. If this...
Read More
Indian Voters Deliver Blow to Prime Minister Modi and BJP

Indian Voters Deliver Blow to Prime Minister Modi and BJP

India, the world’s largest democracy, recently concluded its six-week-long election and delivered a blow to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), whose...
Read More
Laws that limit women’s employment in India

Laws that limit women’s employment in India

In India, women continue to face discrimination as job seekers because of their gender. This discrimination is reinforced by the...
Read More
Under threat of jail, microfinance pioneer vows to keep lending to poorest Bangladeshis

Under threat of jail, microfinance pioneer vows to keep lending to poorest Bangladeshis

The Nobel peace laureate and microfinance pioneer Muhammad Yunus has said that years of fighting what he calls “dirty” politically...
Read More
India: Why Hindu nationalism and Zionism are ideological cousins

India: Why Hindu nationalism and Zionism are ideological cousins

The results are in for India’s general election. The country’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, has won enough seats to stay...
Read More
Historic Sikh Court in the UK Sparks Concerns Over Women’s Rights

Historic Sikh Court in the UK Sparks Concerns Over Women’s Rights

The Secularist condemns the announcement of the world’s first Sikh ‘Court’ in London in April 2024. Please note that Secular legal systems provide...
Read More
Shame in English? India Deserves Better Than Linguistic Distractions

Shame in English? India Deserves Better Than Linguistic Distractions

A fresh round of political controversy has erupted after senior figures aligned with Prime Minister Narendra Modi suggested that Indians...
Read More
When Clothing Becomes a Crisis: Why India Must Outgrow Fragile Sentiments and Focus on Real Problems

When Clothing Becomes a Crisis: Why India Must Outgrow Fragile Sentiments and Focus on Real Problems

The recent incident in Mumbai where a priest dressed the idol of Goddess Kali as Mother Mary because “she appeared in his...
Read More
Bangladesh students reject PM Sheikh Hasina’s olive branch after deadly protests

Bangladesh students reject PM Sheikh Hasina’s olive branch after deadly protests

Students set wood on fire as they protest against quotas in government jobs at Dhaka University in the capital on...
Read More
Delhi Riots: Case Against 13 Muslim Women Reveals Singular Focus To Pin Violence On Anti-CAA Protesters

Delhi Riots: Case Against 13 Muslim Women Reveals Singular Focus To Pin Violence On Anti-CAA Protesters

More than eight months to a year after hundreds of Muslim women gathered under a Delhi metro station to protest...
Read More
Sonakshi, Swara, Richa And The Right To Choose

Sonakshi, Swara, Richa And The Right To Choose

When Swara Bhasker announced last year that she was marrying Fahad Ahmad, I thanked her for being a lighthouse for...
Read More
Who can form a government in Pakistan’s post-election chaos? The answer isn’t straightforward

Who can form a government in Pakistan’s post-election chaos? The answer isn’t straightforward

Since the founding of Pakistan in 1947, not a single prime minister has served the full five-year term. If this...
Read More
Indian Voters Deliver Blow to Prime Minister Modi and BJP

Indian Voters Deliver Blow to Prime Minister Modi and BJP

India, the world’s largest democracy, recently concluded its six-week-long election and delivered a blow to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), whose...
Read More
Laws that limit women’s employment in India

Laws that limit women’s employment in India

In India, women continue to face discrimination as job seekers because of their gender. This discrimination is reinforced by the...
Read More
Under threat of jail, microfinance pioneer vows to keep lending to poorest Bangladeshis

Under threat of jail, microfinance pioneer vows to keep lending to poorest Bangladeshis

The Nobel peace laureate and microfinance pioneer Muhammad Yunus has said that years of fighting what he calls “dirty” politically...
Read More
India: Why Hindu nationalism and Zionism are ideological cousins

India: Why Hindu nationalism and Zionism are ideological cousins

The results are in for India’s general election. The country’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, has won enough seats to stay...
Read More
Historic Sikh Court in the UK Sparks Concerns Over Women’s Rights

Historic Sikh Court in the UK Sparks Concerns Over Women’s Rights

The Secularist condemns the announcement of the world’s first Sikh ‘Court’ in London in April 2024. Please note that Secular legal systems provide...
Read More
EUROPE