Bina Shah

Pakistani author of Before She Sleeps and The Monsoon War. Lying in the gutter, looking up at the stars. My new Substack is in testing phase; link below.

[Bina Shah @BinaShah]

Thank you for this, @MargaretAtwood. I'm truly honored by your words.

[Margaret E Atwood @MargaretAtwood]

Female-centered #Dystopia from #Pakistan: Before She Sleeps, Bina Shah https://t.co/sO2jxa4Iqf @harpercollins Fascinating new angle on "emotional work"!

[Bina Shah @BinaShah]

Yes, they love it when their kids fail even more than when they succeed

[மோஹித பாரதஂவாஜ @vvaayu]

India is one of the only countries where you can run to your parents w/o shame if you fail in life at any stage. They’ll help you w/ their best w/o worrying about their vacations or retirement fund getting ruined.

[Bina Shah @BinaShah]

A giant has gone.

[Bina Shah @BinaShah]

She was a French citizen of Pakistani origin.

Viva nuance.

[Expose Propaganda @EPropoganda1]

Fact Check: 🚨🚨

The @DailyMail has falsely claimed that the victim in the case was a French tourist who was assaulted in front of her three children in Pakistan.

The facts are different: the victim was a Pakistani citizen, not a French tourist. This misleading narrative appears to be part of a recurring pattern in which incidents from Pakistan are framed in a way that fuels negative perceptions, particularly in discussions about sexual violence.

Importantly, the crime occurred in Pakistan, and the Pakistani justice system prosecuted the case. The accused were tried by a Pakistani court and were sentenced to death.

Accurate reporting matters. Misrepresenting the victim’s identity and the facts of the case only serves to spread misinformation and distort public understanding of what actually happened.

Portraying a Pakistani woman as a French tourist is an act of journalistic dishonesty and a serious distortion of the facts. Such misrepresentation undermines public trust, spreads misinformation, and distracts from the actual circumstances of the case.

[Bina Shah @BinaShah]

Combined with a LOT of gender sensitivity training of the police, of course @DrSueTariq leading the charge. Hero.

[Bina Shah @BinaShah]

As I said yesterday, pro-women laws enacted in the last several years have had a good effect on rape convictions in the province.

[Bina Shah @BinaShah]

This happens very rarely. Rapists in Pakistan usually escape punishment, although convictions have risen thanks to pro-women laws enacted in the last ten years or so . Also, the woman was a French citizen of Pakistani origin.

[Daily Mail @DailyMail]

Read more 🔗 https://t.co/6wwvXrosuD ⬇

[Bina Shah @BinaShah]

On his way to an EGOT

[Dalai Lama @DalaiLama]

His Holiness the Dalai Lama was formally presented the Grammy Award at his residence in Dharamsala on June 3, 2026. by Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, accompanied by Amaan Ali Bangash, Ayaan Ali Bangash and Kabir Gill Sehgal. The award was received in the category of Best Audio Book, Narration & Storytelling Recording for the album Meditations: The Reflections of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, a unique collaboration blending His Holiness’ reflections on compassion, peace and the oneness of humanity with Indian classical music. Photo by Tenzin Choejor

[Bina Shah @BinaShah]

Maybe we could use slightly less lurid graphics on stories like this, hmm? @dawn

[Bina Shah @BinaShah]

"AI is now influencing young people learning how to write to the extent that even my best students have started to sound like AI."

From ‘Look me in the AI,’ my essay for Dawn.
https://t.co/VxkDjndtri

[Bina Shah @BinaShah]

"AI is now influencing young people learning how to write to the extent that even my best students have started to sound like AI."

From ‘Look me in the AI,’ my essay for Dawn.
https://t.co/VxkDjndtri

[Bina Shah @BinaShah]

The new BDSM of literature

[Nathan J Robinson @NathanJRobinson]

if you submit AI generated writing to @curaffairs not only will it be rejected but you will receive a rude and demoralizing email castigating you viciously for your laziness and disrespect for the craft of writing

[Bina Shah @BinaShah]

@TulikaBose_ Fatty Fatty Boom Boom by Rabia Chaudhry

[Bina Shah @BinaShah]

@oncologycorner Yes, and factoring in the lack of knowledge or consent makes the whole story more ... I don't know, unnerving? I also recommend Dr. Azra Raza's book The First Cell. That's where I read about HeLa.

[Bina Shah @BinaShah]

He's going to make such a great dad (inshallah)

[Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani @NYCMayor]

Today, I signed an Executive Order temporarily repealing bedtimes in the City of New York so that kids of all ages can watch our team in the NBA Finals.

As Mayor, you’re forced to make many difficult decisions. This was not one of them.

Go Knicks.

[Bina Shah @BinaShah]

Please don't send me articles or essays written with AI. They give me hives.

[Bina Shah @BinaShah]

The best thing we can do is stay humble. The minute we start acting too big, we fuck it up beyond redemption.

[Bushra Rehman @bee_asks]

After working closely (on and off) with policymakers and administrators in Pakistan, I’ve come to a difficult conclusion: Pakistan suffers from collective impostor syndrome.

We are working on a remarkable project, and somewhere along the way it hit me that no one ever really imagined Pakistan deserving the spotlight. Worse, we never imagined it for ourselves.

And yet, we are a country with an extraordinary story to tell. Our people are unlike any other. Our food is unmatched. Our hospitality is instinctive. Even our struggles carry a depth and complexity the world barely understands.

We’ve spent so long playing the understudy that we forgot we might one day be called to centre stage. And now that the spotlight is finally turning toward us, we are not sure what to do.

[Bina Shah @BinaShah]

And Pakistan can have a questionable human rights record, censorship, and overt militarism, but still be inching towards a progressive vision at the community/grassroots/civic society level.

Societies are complicated.

[Bina Shah @BinaShah]

A few weeks ago I posted about this book. And now here is Pope Leo being presented the book by its co-authors Abdul Karim and Christophe de Contenson in the Vatican. The Pope saw fit to bless the book so that it is a success in building a bridge between faiths in Pakistan.

[Bina Shah @BinaShah]

‘Look me in the AI’ - my essay in today's Dawn
https://t.co/5FE3G5fPzr