Samira Shackle

“The legacy of the Enlightenment has to be protected”

Q&A with Margaret C. Jacob, author of "The Secular Enlightenment".

5 February 2020

“The only way to fight a false story told well is to tell a true story better.”

Q&A with Suketu Mehta, author of "This Land Is Our Land: An Immigrant's Manifesto".

21 January 2020

“The problem with the marketplace of ideas is that it is more like an oligarchy of ideas”

Q&A with journalist and author Nesrine Malik.

27 November 2019

“Ignorance really is blissful, especially for the powerful”

Q&A with Linsey McGoey, author of "The Unknowers: How Strategic Ignorance Rules the World".

12 November 2019

“Laughing is not a political action”

Q&A with Ece Temelkuran, author of "How to Lose a Country: The 7 Steps from Democracy to Dictatorship".

6 November 2019

“If I had my way, we would drop the word ‘Renaissance’ from our historical lexicon”

Q&A with Felipe Fernández-Armesto, author of "Out of Our Minds: What We Think and How We Came to Think It".

9 October 2019

“There is no valid race science because race is not a valid scientific concept”

Q&A with Angela Saini, author of "Superior: The Return of Race Science".

2 October 2019

“Privatising the causes of stress dovetails nicely with neoliberal ideology”

Q&A with Ronald Purser, author of "McMindfulness: How Mindfulness Became the New Capitalist Spirituality".

19 September 2019

“Science deniers embrace a double standard of evidence”

Q&A with Lee McIntyre, author of "The Scientific Attitude".

28 August 2019

“Terrorism is almost always male violence”

Q&A with Joan Smith, author of "Homegrown: How Domestic Violence turns Men into Terrorists".

6 August 2019

“The opposite of philosophy is taking things for granted”

Q&A with Jonathan Rée, author of "Witcraft: The Invention of Philosophy in English"

31 July 2019

“Nature can be made to march under almost any political banner”

Q&A with Lorraine Daston, author of "Against Nature".

3 July 2019

“Brute animals make better use of reason than men”

Q&A with Justin E. H. Smith, author of "Irrationality: A History of the Dark Side of Reason"

11 June 2019

“Apparently, wombs can be as dangerous as bombs”

Q&A with Shakira Hussein, author of "From Victims to Suspects: Muslim Women Since 9/11"

4 June 2019

“Life hacking creates a type of tunnel vision”

Q&A with Joseph Reagle, author of "Hacking Life: Systematized Living and its Discontents"

23 May 2019

“Consent is a radical concept”

Q&A with Milena Popova, scholar, activist, author of "Sexual Consent".

8 May 2019

“Insomnia does not equate to sleep deprivation”

Q&A with Guy Leschziner, author of "The Nocturnal Brain: Tales of Nightmares and Neuroscience".

16 April 2019

“China is actively exporting its model of the internet”

Q&A with James Griffiths, author of "The Great Firewall of China".

26 March 2019

“We often tend to automatically equate disability with suffering or tragedy”

Q&A with George Estreich, author of "Fables and Futures".

18 March 2019

“The blanket framing of a group can fuel contempt and hatred”

Q&A with James Morrison, author of "Scroungers".

5 March 2019

“This commonly held Western perception is actually profoundly misguided”

Q&A with John McHugo, author of "A Concise History of Sunnis and Shi‘is".

6 February 2019

“Secularism in India is almost a defeated force”

Q&A with James Crabtree, author of "The Billionare Raj".

9 January 2019

“We have no real answer to the question ‘what is consciousness?'”

Neuropsychologist Marc Wittman on what we can learn from the study of altered states of consciousness.

2 January 2019

“Borders are man-made fictions, inequality is a man-made reality for millions”

Q&A with Lyndsey Stonebridge, author of "Placeless People"

13 December 2018

Atheist bloggers in Bangladesh are still under threat

After a spate of murders in 2015, freethinkers still face the dual pressures of fundamentalist threats and official persecution.

12 November 2018

“The modern faith in democracy is sometimes perverse”

Q&A with James Miller, author of "Can Democracy Work?"

6 November 2018

“In Northern Ireland, many shy away from reliving the nightmare”

Q&A with Deric Henderson and Ivan Little, editors of "Reporting the Troubles: Journalists Tell Their Stories of the Northern Ireland Conflict"

1 November 2018

Can we learn from history?

Q&A with Alex Rosenberg, author of "How History Gets Things Wrong".

19 October 2018

What humans can learn from termites

Q&A with Lisa Margonelli, author of "Underbug: An Obsessive Tale of Termites and Technology".

3 October 2018

“To understand magnetism is to understand how the universe and Earth came to be”

Q&A with Alanna Mitchell, author of "The Spinning Magnet".

7 August 2018

“The most important challenge of our day is to escape the borders of nation states”

Q&A with Lorenzo Marsili and Niccolo Milanese, authors of "Citizens of Nowhere: How Europe Can Be Saved From Itself"

1 August 2018

The problem with identity politics

Q&A with Asad Haider, author of "Mistaken Identity: Race and Class in the Age of Trump"

13 July 2018

“We are in the middle of the fight”: the globalisation of LGBT rights

Q&A with Frédéric Martel, author of "Global Gay: How Gay Culture is Changing the World"

4 July 2018

“Computers aren’t capable of using common sense”

Q&A with journalist and software developer Meredith Broussard.

21 May 2018

Why do we venerate CEOs despite their obvious inadequacies?

Q&A with Peter Bloom and Carl Rhodes, authors of "CEO Society: The Corporate Takeover of Everyday Life".

9 May 2018

“War is the way Americans learn geography”

Q&A with peace activist Medea Benjamin, author of the new book "Inside Iran".

3 May 2018

Is there a way back from sectarianism in Iraq?

Dictatorship, invasion and war have placed Iraq’s religious and atheist minorities under mortal threat.

5 March 2018

“Secularism is under threat”

Q&A with Andrew Copson, chief executive of Humanists UK and author of "Secularism: Politics, Religion and Freedom".

5 February 2018

“The women of the past have traditionally been caricatured”

Q&A with Jane Robinson, author of "Hearts and Minds:The Untold Story of the Great Pilgrimage and How Women Won the Vote".

9 January 2018

Why does psychoanalysis use the couch?

Q&A with Nathan Kravis, author of "On the Couch: A Repressed History of the Analytic Couch from Plato to Freud"

8 November 2017

“We live in a culture of ignorance”

Q&A with Daniel DeNicola, author of "Understanding Ignorance".

30 October 2017

What is behind the violence in Myanmar?

Francis Wade, author of "Myanmar's Enemy Within" explains the deep roots of the violence, and the long-term persecution of the Rohingya people.

17 September 2017

Exit strategies

After a spate of terrorist attacks on European soil, getting deradicalisation programmes to work has become more important than ever.

11 September 2017

Why do we use social media?

Q&A with Marcus Gilroy-Ware, author of "Filling the Void".

31 August 2017

The power of small acts of resistance

Q&A with Steve Crawshaw, author of Street Spirit, a book on the power of mischief in protest.

7 August 2017

“I’ve been told I’m going to hell. People don’t realise I don’t believe in it.”

Q&A with Boyd Sleator, development officer for Northern Ireland Humanists .

10 July 2017

The tragedy of Pakistan’s blasphemy law

Mashal Khan, a student describing himself as a humanist, was murdered at his university in Mardan.

22 May 2017

What is the point of education?

Q&A with Lawrence Busch, author of a new book on the neoliberal takeover of higher education.

15 May 2017

What do algorithms know about you?

Q&A with Ed Finn, author of "What Algorithms Want: Imagination in the Age of Computing".

3 May 2017

“We are familiar with the other but only in negative terms”

Q&A with sociologist Nilüfer Göle, author of "The Daily Lives of Muslims".

28 April 2017

Why do we use reason to reach nonsensical conclusions?

Q&A with Hugo Mercier and Dan Sperber, authors of a new book about the evolution of reason.

20 April 2017

“Secularism isn’t about the absence of religion, it’s about the structure of the state”

Q&A with Yasmin Rehman, veteran campaigner recently named Secularist of the Year.

30 March 2017

“Without the evolution of locomotion there would be no sex, no photosynthesis, no ecology”

Q&A with evolutionary biologist Matt Wilkinson.

23 February 2017

“Shyness is very difficult to define precisely because it’s so contradictory”

Q&A with Joe Moran, author of "Shrinking Violets: A Field Guide to Shyness".

2 February 2017

What does it mean to be nonreligious in the modern era?

A Q&A with academic Lois Lee, a sociologist whose work focuses on atheism.

4 January 2017

How offence taking became a political weapon

A Q&A with Cherian George, author of Hate Spin: The Manufacture of Religious Offense and its Threat to Democracy

2 November 2016

How can we make sense of death?

Q&A with Andrew Stark, author of a new book on the stories we tell ourselves to comprehend mortality.

25 October 2016

Reforming Pakistan’s madrasas

Numbering in the tens of thousands, are Pakistan’s infamous religious schools really beyond reform?

26 September 2016

What is Salafi jihadism?

A Q&A with Shiraz Maher, whose new book explores the intellectual underpinnings of this warrior doctrine.

19 September 2016

“Arabs are practising democracy, and we don’t even talk about it”

Q&A with author Robin Yassin-Kassab.

30 August 2016

The EU debate did not create racism in Britain

But the surge in hate crimes after the result demonstrates that racists feel legitimised.

22 August 2016

“This is a predominantly English movement”

A Q&A with Anthony Barnett on Brexit, the role of English nationalism in anti-EU feeling, and the potential break up of the UK.

29 June 2016

Scrap the “toxic” Prevent strategy, says Andy Burnham

Shadow home secretary says that the scheme is "building a climate of mutual suspicion and distrust".

13 June 2016

How do people gain – and keep – power?

A Q&A with Dacher Keltner, author of a new book on the psychology of power.

6 June 2016

“It would be good if we could learn to listen to reason again”

A Q&A with James Garvey, author of a new book on the persuasion industry.

1 April 2016

Age of extremes

Is the government’s Prevent strategy a defence against terrorism or a threat to free speech?

14 March 2016

“More needs to be done about mainstream racism and the practice of the state”

A Q&A with Hsiao-Hung Pai, author of a new book about Britain's far-right.

3 March 2016

What place is there for faith in public life?

A new report suggests that Britain's public policy needs a major overhaul to adjust to a society of many religions and none.

8 December 2015

What does it mean to devote yourself wholly to helping others?

A Q&A with Larissa MacFarquhar, author of a new book about moral extremity.

3 December 2015

South Asia’s age of intolerance

Attacks against secularists and religious minorities have deep historical roots.

25 November 2015

“Don’t waste time on climate change deniers – put your energy into action”

An interview with author and environmentalist Tim Flannery

17 November 2015

When was modern science invented?

"All intellectual life is polemic". A Q&A with David Wootton, author of a new book about the scientific revolution.

9 November 2015

A deadly battle of ideas: murder in Bangladesh

The vicious murders of four atheist bloggers in Bangladesh are only the latest acts of violence against unbelievers in the country.

5 October 2015

Bangladeshi militant group publishes international hitlist of secularists

The list names secularist writers and activists in the UK, Germany, US, Canada, and Sweden.

23 September 2015

Indian rationalist murdered at his home

Dr Malleshappa Kalburgi, who had received threats from Hindu hardline groups, shot dead.

1 September 2015

What is wrong with the way we think?

A Q&A with social psychologist Richard Nisbett, who researches the processes of reasoning and decision-making.

26 August 2015

Can non-Europeans think? An interview with Hamid Dabashi

A Q&A with Hamid Dabashi, whose new book examines knowledge, power, and European dominance.

29 July 2015

Who is to blame for the current chaos in the Middle East?

A Q&A with Jean-Pierre Filiu, whose new book examines the role of Arab dictators in encouraging jihadism.

8 July 2015

The Vatican: Ireland’s gay marriage vote is “a defeat for humanity”

The remarks were made by a Vatican official second only to the Pope.

27 May 2015

A lesson in failure

Issues at religious free schools have raised serious questions about the direction of education policy in Britain.

26 May 2015

Another atheist blogger hacked to death in Bangladesh

Ananta Bijoy Das is the third blogger this year to be murdered.

12 May 2015

Africa’s many Christianities

A Q&A with Paul Gifford, author of "Christianity, Development and Modernity in Africa".

28 April 2015

How does the internet help religious extremism?

A Q&A with David Stevens and Kieron O'Hara, authors of a new book on religious extremism online.

20 April 2015

Science and serendipity: famous accidental discoveries

Most scientific breakthroughs take years of research – but often, serendipity provides the final push, as these historic discoveries show .

2 April 2015

In western democracies, is reading a political act?

Azar Nafisi, author of Reading Lolita in Tehran, discusses her new book, on the importance of fiction to democracy.

18 March 2015

MPs criticise official response to Trojan Horse allegations

Education select committee says that the investigations were "worrying and wasteful".

17 March 2015

Saudi Arabia accuses international media of “politicising” human rights

The kingdom responds to criticism over harsh punishment of liberal blogger Raif Badawi.

10 March 2015

Atheist bloggers are under attack in Bangladesh

The country's polarised politics provide fertile ground for extremism to grow.

2 March 2015

How Boko Haram will impact the Nigerian election

The vote has been delayed to give the authorities time to contain the threat - but will it work?

24 February 2015

The west should stand up to Saudi Arabia’s crackdown on dissent

Raif Badawi's plight is indicative of much wider-scale human rights abuses.

16 February 2015

New campaign to end blasphemy laws worldwide launches

2 February 2015

“Humanism must go beyond aggressive atheistic denial”

A Q&A with Philip Kitcher, whose new book argues that secular humanism can be a fulfilling framework for life.

20 January 2015

Support for the British far-right is at a 20 year low

The splintering of the EDL and BNP have weakened far-right movements, according to a new report by Hope Not Hate .

14 January 2015

Muslims ethnically cleansed in Central African Republic, says UN

12 January 2015

In Germany, 18,000 people attended an anti-Islam rally. Why?

Record numbers turn out in support of the Pegida movement, which criticises "Islamisation". But the group has not gone unopposed.

6 January 2015

Robin Ince: “Don’t be scared of ideas!”

The comedian discusses secularism, Christmas, and space exploration.

15 December 2014

Legal recognition of humanist weddings blocked

Despite strong public support, Number 10 says humanist weddings are a "fringe" issue.

15 December 2014

The right to non-belief is under threat

A new report shows an increase in hate speech and repressive laws specifically targeting atheists.

10 December 2014

Mapping extremism

Religious fundamentalism comes in many different forms. Here's a short guide.

9 December 2014

Is atheism a “British value”? The Department for Education doesn’t think so

New schools guidance no longer recommends the study of atheism and humanism alongside religious belief systems.

2 December 2014

“People care about their own rights – it’s other people’s that are more challenging”

A Q&A with Shami Chakrabarti, director of the human rights organisation, Liberty.

26 November 2014

What does it mean to be an Arab atheist?

An interview with Brian Whitaker, author of a book about non-belief in the Arab world.

25 November 2014

Religious extremism is now the main driving force of terrorism worldwide

Previously, nationalist separatist groups were responsible for most attacks.

19 November 2014

Rowan Williams, the face veil, and the controversy that wasn’t

The former Archbishop's comments about the difference between literal and metaphorical speech have been taken out of context.

17 November 2014

Group of Pakistani private schools holds “I am not Malala day”

The All Pakistani Private Schools Federation says that the Nobel Peace laureate is "playing into the hands of the west".

12 November 2014

Are atheists as moral as anyone else?

A new survey suggests that half of Britons say yes.

5 November 2014

Faith schools censured for failing to promote “British values”

New guidance, which requires faith schools to teach tolerance of homosexuality, sparks controversy.

3 November 2014

Homeopaths offer to help contain Ebola outbreak

The National Center for Homeopathy announces that it is working to gain access to Ebola-affected countries.

31 October 2014

UK to deport Pakistani activist who has received Taliban death threats

The case reveals the hardships of the country's Hazara minority.

20 October 2014

Is the Vatican changing its stance on homosexuality?

"Homosexuals have gifts and qualities to offer the Christian community", say bishops.

14 October 2014

Northern Ireland’s new health minister says he will not abandon his religious principles

Jim Wells emphasises "protecting the unborn child, supporting the concept of marriage".

9 October 2014

Can prejudice ever be eliminated?

Stephen Eric Bronner, the author of "The Bigot", discusses the defining features of bigotry and how it can be tackled.

30 September 2014

India’s High Court rules that people have the right to “no religion”

29 September 2014

Will US airstrikes stop ISIS?

A Q&A with Peter Neumann, Director of the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation at King's College London.

23 September 2014

Will the deaths of 700 migrants at sea prompt change in border policy?

This year, at least 2,500 migrants have died on the Mediterranean - but the focus in Europe remains on keeping people out.

17 September 2014

After the “Trojan Horse” scandal, Ofsted announces snap inspections of schools

40 schools across England will be subject to "no notice" inspections, to tackle concerns about governance and radicalisation.

16 September 2014

Why Greece’s anti-discrimination bill is unlikely to stop hate crimes

The country has recorded more than 400 incidents of racially-motivated assault since 2012.

8 September 2014

Top human rights activist detained in Bahrain

Maryam al-Khawaja, prominent pro-democracy activist, arrested as she attempted to visit her father.

2 September 2014

Nigerian “witch-hunter” sues BHA over distinction between Satanic and vampiric possession

Evangelical pastor Helen Ukpabio launches libel action against British Humanist Association.

1 September 2014

“There are two places for an atheist in sharia communities: the closet or the grave”

Leo Igwe, a prominent Nigerian humanist, discusses witch-hunting, Boko Haram, and the danger of being openly atheist in his home country.

27 August 2014

Schools for scandal

Allegations of an Islamist plot to take over Birmingham schools caused a national outcry. What really happened?

26 August 2014

How inhumane laws make things easier for people-smugglers

The discovery of 35 Afghan Sikhs in a shipping container at Tilbury Docks highlights how inhumane European immigration policy can be.

20 August 2014

Wole Soyinka: “The scroll of faith is indistinguishable from the roll call of death”

Nigerian Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka and Pakistani activist Gulalai Ismail honoured at World Humanist Congress.

11 August 2014

Maoist cults, “sextremists”, and pacifism: the best New Humanist summer reads

4 August 2014

Where is the line between protest and abuse?

There has been a rise in anti-Semitic attacks since the Israeli bombardment of Gaza began.

30 July 2014

Founder of Britain First quits over “counter-productive” mosque invasions

Jim Dowson stands down, saying that the far-right Christian group he founded is "overrun with racists and extremists".

28 July 2014

The problems of policing FGM

The government is announcing new measures to stamp out this brutal form of violence against women and girls.

22 July 2014

What is it like to be excommunicated from the Mormon Church?

A Q&A with Kate Kelly, who has been excommunicated after starting a campaign to ordain women.

17 July 2014

Are religious leaders out of step with their congregations on assisted dying?

Religious leaders unite to voice their opposition; but research shows that a majority of believers back a change in the law.

16 July 2014

Why is Kenya beset by terrorist violence?

A Q&A with David Anderson, professor of African history at Warwick University.

14 July 2014

The ripple effect of the US ruling on corporations’ religious freedom

Last week, the Supreme Court ruled that companies could refuse contraceptive cover to employees. That decision has empowered the religious right wing.

9 July 2014

Should compulsory worship in schools be scrapped? The Church of England thinks so

Head of Church board of education says that compulsory Christian worship is counter-productive.

8 July 2014

Does the Catholic Church believe it is “above the law”?

Vatican refuses to provide documents to Australian commission on child sex abuse.

7 July 2014

Nigerian atheist “drugged on a daily basis”

A Q&A with the blogger campaigning for Mubarak Bala's release.

3 July 2014

What is a caliphate?

ISIS has declared a new caliphate in Iraq and Syria - but has overstated its theological authority.

2 July 2014

How Britain First aims to polarise communities

A new report shows how the far-right group, which has taken over the EDL's anti-Muslim activism, emphasises extreme Christian identity politics

23 June 2014

How many Syrian refugees has the UK taken in? Just 24

17 June 2014

How did militants seize control of Iraq’s second biggest city?

Sectarian divisions provide the space for militancy to flourish.

12 June 2014

Is India serious about tackling sexual violence?

9 June 2014

How blasphemy laws have exiled India’s miracle-buster

Sanal Edamaruku, who challenged the claims of gurus, has now been in Finland for two years.

4 June 2014

What is Hindu nationalism?

A short guide to the ideology of India's new prime minister, Narendra Modi.

27 May 2014

Is Bhutan still the “happiest nation on earth”?

19 May 2014

Peter Tatchell: “Same-sex marriage is a great victory. But it isn’t quite equality”

The tireless human rights campaigner talks to New Humanist about the marriage law, homophobia and why he's turning his attention to tackling anti-Muslim prejudice

19 May 2014

India’s election: is secular democracy under threat? Writers, artists and businessmen give their views

13 May 2014

How Saudi Arabia is seeking to censor the web

The kingdom has issued a series of harsh sentences to bloggers.

8 May 2014

Has Spanish minister gone too far by giving a policing award to the Virgin Mary?

Secularists are taking the government to court.

7 May 2014

Rescuing the missing girls, not sectarianism, must be the priority in Nigeria

6 May 2014

Will Iraq’s election ease sectarian tension?

Against the backdrop of bloody violence, it is a victory that voting took place at all. But the real challenge will lie in securing the country's fragile peace, writes Samira Shackle

2 May 2014

Who are Boko Haram – and how can they be stopped?

Samira Shackle takes a closer look at the Nigerian Islamist group, which has killed 1,500 people this year alone, and asks what could be done to end the organisation's increasingly brutal attacks

24 April 2014

Why is Britain deporting LGBT asylum seekers to Uganda and Nigeria?

15 April 2014

Does Britain have a problem with Islamophobia?

New report shows that sporadic acts of "domestic terrorism" directed against Muslims continue.

14 April 2014

Would a Hindu nationalist election victory threaten India’s religious minorities?

As voting begins, the BJP's Narendra Modi leads the polls. These are anxious times for Indian Muslims, reports Samira Shackle

10 April 2014

Saudi Arabia’s “atheism = terrorism” law is part of a wider crackdown on dissent

2 April 2014

How Turkey’s Twitter ban backfired

25 March 2014

The strange story of Burkina Faso’s “pleasure hospital” tells us about the difficulties in eradicating FGM

19 March 2014

Should Hamlet travel to North Korea?

12 March 2014

What risk do foreign fighters in Syria pose on their return?

4 March 2014

War without an end

Violence in the Central African Republic has escalated to the point where the UN warns of genocide. Is religion to blame, asks Samira Shackle

27 February 2014

Thirteen years after the invasion, how much have women’s lives improved in Afghanistan?

Some positive steps might have been taken, but abuses continue, writes Samira Shackle

18 February 2014

Anti-abortion ‘counselling’ services peddling misinformation to vulnerable women

11 February 2014

Why is it so difficult to secure convictions for rape?

Samira Shackle unpicks the complex issues surrounding the crime.

5 February 2014

UK agrees to take in 500 Syrian refugees – but is it enough?

29 January 2014

“Benefits tourism”: myth or reality?

Samira Shackle looks at the thinking behind one of the week's top stories.

21 January 2014

Nigeria’s gay community needs our help

How effective are western threats to withdraw aid, asks Samira Shackle

14 January 2014

The case of Masood Ahmad reveals how blasphemy laws in Pakistan are used to persecute minorities

7 January 2014

What is modern slavery?

Recent media coverage should provoke a serious discussion about how to protect the most vulnerable, writes Samira Shackle

18 December 2013

Girls can’t do physics? How schools are failing to tackle gender stereotypes

A new report suggests that stereotypes persist, writes Samira Shackle

9 December 2013

Budget cuts push domestic abuse services into a ‘state of crisis’

According to a new survey, the services to help domestic abuse victims in England are at a 'breaking point', with refuges having to turn away hundreds of women and children. But, we must work to guarantee that victims continue to receive the support they need, writes Samira Shackle

3 December 2013

We still can’t talk about sex

The national survey on sex, published every ten years, shows that attitudes are continuing to liberalise. But the media reaction suggests we’re still incapable of a mature national conversation about the subject, says Samira Shackle

26 November 2013

The hidden cost of Qatar’s World Cup

A new report sheds light on the appalling conditions of migrant labourers working on the 2022 Fifa World Cup sites.

18 November 2013

Is bribery the best way to encourage breastfeeding?

In a newly launched pilot scheme, UK women will be offered shopping vouchers, writes Samira Shackle

13 November 2013

Female Genital Mutilation is child abuse

It may seem like stating the obvious, but when cultural sensitivities lead to the toleration of FGM, it’s vital that we treat the practice as the crime it is, says Samira Shackle

4 November 2013

War will always traumatise soldiers, so why do we ignore it?

A new report suggests teenage combatants are particularly vulnerable to post-traumatic stress disorder. It’s vital that we support those who return from war, says Samira Shackle

28 October 2013

The Maryville rape case raises questions about online vigilantism

Support from Anonymous appears to have given rape victim Daisy Coleman the strength to pursue justice. But does this kind of web activism risk undermining the legal process, asks Samira Shackle

21 October 2013

Why conspiracy theories about Malala won’t go away

Pakistanis have reason to mistrust the actions of governments, but this risks obscuring a very real need to fight for education and against extremism, writes Samira Shackle

14 October 2013

Pakistan bombings are an attack on everyday life

This morning's explosion near an anti-polio vaccination drive in Peshawar is the latest high-profile attack in Pakistan. The targets of the attacks may vary but the goal is always the same – to spread terror and instill fear into daily life. Samira Shackle reports

7 October 2013

Britain’s fear of being seen as a soft touch has led to inhumane asylum policies

Theresa May's immigration bill continues a worrying trend pursued by all political parties, writes Samira Shackle.

2 October 2013

Most Pakistanis are horrified at attacks on Christians – now it’s time to speak out

Sunday’s bombing highlights the dire reality faced by religious minorities in the country, writes Samira Shackle

23 September 2013