Tag: social media

  • X user wins hearts by sharing story of inter-faith marriage of Palestinian parents

    X user wins hearts by sharing story of inter-faith marriage of Palestinian parents

    An X (formerly Twitter) user, Beisan, is winning hearts on social media by sharing the love story of her Palestinian parents. Beisan revealed her parents, a Muslim man and his Christian wife, have been married for over 40 years.

    In her next post, Beisan shared that inter-faith marriages were not permitted in Israel, where under the law, interfaith unions are not legally recognised. Because of this, her parents had to move to Canada in order to legalise their union.

    Twitter users were moved by Beisan’s dedication to her parents, a reminder of the enormous love Palestinian men hold for their families.

    A user shared: “In high school I went on a trip to Nippissing & the weather was colder than I packed for. When I got home & told my father he was furious that I didn’t call him to bring sweaters, it was only a 3 hour drive. It’s hard to describe the intensity of a Palestinian father’s love.”

  • Filipino Catholic nun chooses to stay behind in Gaza, defying mandatory evacuation

    A 63-year-old Filipino nun is making international headlines by defying the Philippine government’s evacuation attempts and choosing to stay in Gaza. Since the genocide began on October 7, the Philippine government has successfully evacuated 111 civilians from the region. However, the unnamed nun who is from the Missionaries of Charity, has chosen to remain as the last Filipino in Gaza.

    Most of the evacuees were forced to leave family residents behind.

    The Philippines Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Eduardo De Vega spoke to Arab News about the nun and how her defiance of the Filipino government makes her a symbol of “Filipino spirituality”:

    “She’s with the Missionaries of Charity… they will not leave. After all, they believe…that (what they are doing) is spiritual,” he said.

    “She will be the last Filipino left in Gaza, (and) is a symbol of Filipino spirituality and how we pray for solidarity with those suffering, and for world peace.”

    Dr Vega reported the nun is safe right now. The Philipine DEmbassy of Jordan has remained in touch with her, to whom she had simply asked to ‘pray for her’.

    Several other Filipino’s in Gaza have expressed uncertainty in leaving because of their attachment to the place, while others have refused because their Palestinian spouses would not be able to join them.

    “We are still trying to convince them to leave,” De Vega responded. “We hope we can evacuate them all.”

  • Alia Bhatt is done with criticism of husband Ranbir Kapoor

    Alia Bhatt is done with criticism of husband Ranbir Kapoor

    Bollywood A-list couple Alia Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoor were embroiled in several controversies due to the latter’s sexist comments. In August, the actor was slammed by netizens for being a “toxic, privileged man” following Alia’s revelation in a Vogue interview that Ranbir didn’t allow her to wear lipstick when the two were dating.

    READ MORE: ‘While we were dating, Ranbir told me not to wear lipstick’: Alia’s Vogue interview sparks outrage

    Now, Alia has addressed the criticism directed at her husband in an interview on Koffee With Karan.

    “I have a very candid way of speaking…things just get picked out of context which happened recently. My team told me ‘Ye kuch out of hand jaara hai’. There were serious articles written about how he was a toxic man.”

    Alia added that she was concerned about the criticism, as Ranbir is the opposite of toxic.

    Ranbir’s advice was to ignore what the media said about her, as long as her career was doing well, Alia narrated.

    “Ranbir says this, ‘Alia the audience owns you, they can say whatever the hell they want to say about you, as long as your movies are doing well please don’t complain sitting in your apartment in Bandra.”

    Speaking about the criticism, Ranbir revealed he was okay with being labelled as an example of ‘toxic masculinity’, because the fight was bigger than him:

    “Recently, I was reading an article about being toxic and something relating to some statement I made, and I understand. Listen, I am on your side. Whatever you are fighting against this toxic masculinity, I am on the side of people who are fighting for it. So, if they want to use me as a face, I am fine because their fight is bigger than just me feeling bad about them having an opinion on what I said.”

    READ MORE: ‘It doesn’t matter’: Ranbir Kapoor responds to label of ‘toxic masculinity’

  • ‘If Ahsan Khan had not been married, I would have taken him’: Saba Qamar

    ‘If Ahsan Khan had not been married, I would have taken him’: Saba Qamar

    Actor Ahsan Khan invited Lollywood A-lister Saba Qamar as a guest for his Youtube session ‘Lo Kar Lo Baat’. As the two actors drove around, discussing various topics, Saba hilariously revealed she would have married Ahsan had he not been committed to someone else.

    Ahsan asked the ‘Kamli’ star which actor she would have married had he not been committed, after which the actress cheekily pointed to him.

    Saba then revealed that she had a crush on the ‘Udaari’ actor before she became a big star.

    “Back when I wasn’t an actress, I managed to swipe Ahsan Khan’s number from somewhere and I would send him missed calls and messages. Just to tell him that one day I will work with him.”

    “And the day I began working with Ahsan,” Saba recalled while laughing, “You started a fight with me after which I hated you. I cried a lot but I forgive you now.”

    Ahsan apologised for the fight, and joked that he had fights with all of the actresses with whom he had good chemistry on screen. Saba then said that after their fight, she began understanding him and fell even more in love. But by the time she would have confessed her feelings, Ahsan got married.

    Ahsan said he was shocked, and thought Saba wanted to remain an independent woman to which the actress laughingly said “When girls say ‘No I won’t get married’, it actually means they want to!”

  • Beloved Gazan Christian music teacher bled to death after Israeli troops shot her

    Palestinian music teacher Elham Farah bled to death in Gaza after she was shot by IDF soldiers and left alone to bleed on the street for hours. Her family members and students are recalling her as a woman known for her smile.

    Fareh, the daughter of the Palestinian poet Hanna Fareh, lived in the al-Rameh neighbourhood of Gaza, teaching music for decades before retiring. She had been sheltering inside a church during Israeli airstrikes, and had stepped outside to check if her home was bombed when she was shot.

    Hammam Farah, her relative, posted on X that during his aunt’s last moments, her phone battery ran out so she couldn’t reach out to relatives for help. Other civilians or rescue personnel couldn’t rescue her because of intense shooting in the area. Hammam said that IDF snipers shoot civilians in the leg in order to bait fighters who might try to rescue the injured person.

    Since her death, Gaza residents have flooded social media with tales of Farah’s resilience, warm heart and good nature.

    “Oh my love, Miss Ilham, my love!!!! The music classes we took with you at Cairo School were some of the best. We used to love when you would play for us and sing: ‘I write your name, my country, on the sun that never sets, neither my money nor my children, for your love there is no lover.’”

    Another user shared a video of Elham playing the piano at Kamaliyah School, which was the oldest school in Palestine.

    “Martyr teacher Elham Hanna Farah in 2021 returns to her childhood memories and plays inside the Kamaliya School in the Al-Zaytoun neighborhood in the Old City of Gaza, which is the oldest school in Palestine. The activity was a celebration of restoring and cleaning the place in an initiative by the Iwan Center for Cultural Heritage of the Islamic University of Gaza.”

  • ‘Grace is a quality few have’: Indian designer Masaba Gupta shuts down Ramiz Raja over racism

    ‘Grace is a quality few have’: Indian designer Masaba Gupta shuts down Ramiz Raja over racism

    Pakistani commentator and former cricketer Ramiz Raja landed in a storm of controversy when a viral video showed him laughing at a racist joke about West Indies cricketer Sir Viv Richards and his former partner actress Neena Gupta.

    The clip was from Cricket Mastiyan on Suno News HD where Ramiz was seen laughing about a racist joke regarding Vivian’s skin color. One of the hosts said: “I do watch cricket matches and my heart broke when Vivian Richards went into a relationship with Neena Gupta. I wrote a couplet then. ‘Jo ladkiyan khud ko kehti hain malika-e-aliya, Unko fir milta hai Mr Kaliya.’”

    The couple’s daughter, fashion designer Masaba Gupta slammed Ramiz, calling him out in a tweet on X (formerly Twitter)

    “Dear Ramiz Raja (sir) grace is a quality few have. My father, mother, and I have it in spades. You have none. Sickening to see you laugh on national TV in Pakistan at something the world stopped laughing at about 30 years back. Step into the future. All 3 of us are here with our chin up.”

    Sharing her tweet on her Instagram account, Masaba wrote she will never stop calling out those who target her mother with racist comments.

    “It’s nearly 2024 – no matter who you are I will call you out on racism and shaming my mother on television. Won’t have it. That is still my fight.”

    The incident follows the scandal of former cricketer Abdul Razzaq who was slammed for a misogynistic comment about Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai during a panel. Shahid Afridi, sitting next to Razzaq, laughed at the distasteful comment.

    Razzaq has since issued an apology.

    Social media users applauded Masaba for calling out sexist behavior, and slammed Pakistani cricket players for using women as punching bags to score points.

  • Osama Bin Laden’s ‘Letter to America’ is going viral on TikTok

    Osama Bin Laden’s ‘Letter to America’ is going viral on TikTok

    Almost 12 years after he was killed, Osama Bin Laden is back in the mainstream discourse after an essay he wrote in 2000, titled ‘Letter To America’, went viral on TikTok. Users began sharing a link from The Guardian on the social media platform, which the website has now removed. In the widely circulating letter, Osama addressed the American public to explain Al-Qaeda’s militant philosophy. Notably, he talks about Israel’s occupation of Palestine.

    Read the full letter below:

    The letter has since then gone viral on Twitter and TikTok with users declaring the letter has changed their perspective of 9/11 attacks. Users reported the hashtag had gained over 9 million views on the social media platform

    TikTok has said in a statement that they have removed the videos as the trend violates rules about “supporting any form of terrorism.” But the letter and excerpts from TikTok videos are still available on Twitter.

  • Palestinian content leaves Israel miles behind on social media

    Palestinian content leaves Israel miles behind on social media

    While activists and civilians flood the streets across the world protesting for Palestine, social media is actively reflecting the changing tides. Currently, the hashtag #FreePalestine has over 2 billion views on TikTok, while in contrast the hashtag #standwithIsrael has over 162.8 million views.

    In a statement posted on Monday, the social media platform responded to US Representative (R) Mike Gallagher’s allegations that TikTok was “controlled by America’s s foremost adversary, one that does not share our interests or our values: the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)”, calling for America to ban the app.

    TikTok said the overwhelming support teens have for Palestine is dominating the app’s algorithm.

    “Support for Israel (as compared to sympathy for Palestine) has been lower among younger Americans for some time. This is evidenced by looking at Gallup polling data of millennials dating as far back as 2010, long before TikTok even existed. A March 2023 Gallup poll, before the war, shows young adults have rapidly shifting attitudes towards the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. While an Echelon poll from October 26, 2023 shows that US TikTok users under 40 are more likely to support Israel (33% vs 28% for Palestine), and the proportions broadly reflect the split in the general under 40 population (32% for Israel, 23% for Palestine).”

    Other social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram show more audiences engage with the pro-Palestinian content than with Israel’s. Instagram shows that the hashtag #FreePalestine has over 6 million views, while in comparison #IstandwithIsrael has gained only 233,000 views.

    Instagram was being taken to task by users for censoring and shadow banning prominent pro-Palestinian voices who were reporting on the ongoing genocide in Gaza. Freelance journalist Plestia Alaqad reported her Instagram account was hacked.

    Furthermore, journalist Ahmed reported he was locked out of his Instagram account and was warned it would be shut down for violating the company’s guideline.

    On Facebook, the #FreePalestine hashtag has over 11 million views while in comparison the #IstandwithIsrael hashtag has over 323,000 views.

  • Deepika finally responds to criticism of Koffee with Karan interview

    Deepika continues to live her best life while living rent free in the minds of haters.

    A few weeks back, Deepika and Ranveer raised eyebrows with their ‘Koffee With Karan’ interview where the two revealed they casually dated for a couple of months before getting engaged. The ‘Om Shanti Om’ actress recalled ending an abusive relationship not ready for a serious commitment. The two actors, therefore, kept seeing other people while dating each other. After the two got engaged, they decided to remain a monogamous couple.

    Deepika became the target of sexist jokes, and claims that she cheated on Ranveer during their relationship. Now, during an interview with Vogue India, the actress has declared she is past the point of letting trolls dictate her opinions.

    “When I feel really strongly or passionately about something, I don’t think twice about expressing myself. I’ve grown to become this person where I’m not afraid of speaking my truth or owning up to mistakes. I’m not afraid of saying sorry,” Deepika responded, as according to Mashable India.

    While social media users had Deepika’s back to protect her from the naysayers, the industry did as well. Host of ‘Koffee With Karan’, Karan Johar, did a livestream where he addressed the criticism over Deepika’s comment, and shut down her critics.

    “Do what you need to do because no one’s looking,” responded the celebrated director according to The Hindustan Times. “Trolling gets you nowhere. You are landing nowhere.”

  • Iqra Aziz wants new moms to remember it’s okay to prioritise themselves

    Iqra Aziz wants new moms to remember it’s okay to prioritise themselves

    Actress Iqra Aziz is back on our screens, starring as the main lead in the rom-com ‘Mannat Murad’, ending the break she took from work after the birth of her and Yasir Hussain’s son, Kabir. During an interview with BBC Urdu, Iqra shared an important message about the pressure new moms face in balancing their home life and their careers.

    The actress recalled the time when an actor visited her house, and was aghast with how she was sitting at home while her husband was the one who was working and finding new projects. Reflecting on this encounter, Iqra said she was working on social media, if not on the field as an actress, and was enjoying her time home while taking care of her son.

    “I can’t pressurise myself to break out of a relaxing phase because of ambition. It was my personal choice to sit back and take some time to reflect on myself. I began working from a really young age, and I have been working every day. Before meeting Yasir, I was even working on Sundays. It’s my choice that after working so much, I have reached a phase where I would like to relax and enjoy my life. This was my first son and I wanted to make every moment memorable.”

    We will completely endorse this message and applaud the actress for stressing on this incredibly important factor because so many new moms suffer from mental health problems because of the pressure to juggle their social commitments, while also learning to be there for their newborns. We’re so happy Iqra isn’t letting others dictate her choices. Giving birth isn’t easy and every mom should do what suits her mental health.