Since it’s 6th September today it’s that time of the year when I tell my nana’s 65 war story. My nana, Major Ahsan Omar is the taller of the two gents in the picture below. He was always a bit of a rebel and joined the army because his mother told him he could not. He was methodical, meticulous and in many ways well suited to the army. But he took early retirement and never continued with the army and when asked why he did that he responded with “I was only a war time soldier” - and he really was - brave, resilient and idealistic.

On how banks discriminate against women in Pakistan - I remember when I was buying my first car as a salaried person working in Pakistan in a ‘permanent’ job - I applied for a car loan to a bank. I was told My father had to be the guarantor. He was traveling and out the of country at the time. I asked if my mother who works at the American school and has a stable and well paying job could sign the paperwork instead.