Gauher Aftab: Paasban – The Guardian

Sarika D. Mehta » Podcast

For my podcast, Intersections Radio, I’m doing a series on South Asian comic/graphic/cartoon artists who use their talent and artwork for social justice. This is the first in the series:

Gauher Aftab is one of the creators of the Pakistani comic series, Paasban – The Guardian. The back story and intent of this comic is as impressive as the actual series: the CFX Comics team aims to combat terrorism and radicalization in young people in Pakistan through comics, not through violence.This project was catalyzed after the devastating massacre of the school in Peshawar, Pakistan – in which more than 150 people were killed, most of whom were children.

As a young person, Gauher found himself on the path of radicalization and can relate personally. The team also conducted data-driven research to investigate how young people receive information and think about it critically. For those with Urdu fluency, you can access the comics online for free.

For the April 13, 2016 episode of Intersections Radio, Gauher Aftab joined me on Skype from Lahore. Check out the podcast!

Air date: 4/13/2016 https://sarikadmehta.files.wordpress.com/2016/04/gauheraftab_xray.mp3

**You can read a transcript of the interview: 041316 Intersections with Gauher Aftab transcript