Pakistan: New Magazine on Sex, Sexuality and Pakistan

The taboo and silence around sex and sexuality are oppressive on all of us, irrespective of gender, and lead, at the very least, to unhappiness in our daily lives and, more often, to violence, shame, depression, ill health and general social malaise. We at Chay Magazine endeavor to bring to the Pakistani reading public a place to converse about those things we are most shy of. Our hope is that, through this, we can become braver and stronger, more powerful, self-assured, and just and fair members of society.

Our focus is on Pakistani society and our themes emerge from this context. However, Pakistan is only our starting point. Chay Magazine aims to enter the fray of international feminist discourse and, as such, we invite writers of all nationalities, geographies, stripes to contribute. We are not so much interested in where you come from as in what you have to say.

For the first few issues, we have outlined some broad themes, which are listed below. While we are looking in particular for work around those themes, we are always looking ahead to later issues so, if you have some work kicking around that you'd like to submit, feel free.

Let's Talk about Sex

o Talking about sex and sexuality - why do it, the taboos around it, the problems with it, the silences o Sex/Gender, gender roles and gender identity o Talking about sex and romance o Standards of "moral" conduct relating to sex

The Politics of Sex

o Sex-positivity

o Sex and feminism in Pakistan

o The politics of shame

o Religion and sex(uality)

o Visions for a new Pakistani Feminism

Marriage

o Sex: enjoyment, coercion, guilt, force o Sex and marriage o Domestic violence and rape o Virginity

Promiscuity

o Saying no and saying yes

o "Sluts" and "whores"

o Sex-work

o Religion and Sex

o Virginity

o Re-appropriating language

We are looking for

- Feature Articles 500-1000 words. These can be analysis, commentary, historical explorations or any other non-fiction on the theme of the issue.

- Poetry and Fiction. There is no real restriction on the subject of the poem or story. If it gives a nod in the direction of the theme, we're happy. Please send no more than 3 poems or fiction pieces in the vicinity of 1000 words.

- Artwork. Again, there is no particular restriction on artwork. If there is particular work you are interested in submitting, please email in with a query.

- Translations. We accept original translations of thematically relevant works in any genre, from any language.

Send queries and submissions to: chaymagazine AT gmail DOT com. Please attach .rtf or .doc files (we cannot accept .docx files), .jpg or .pdf for images. Please send in a small bio along with your submission as well.

We are an utterly non-profit, non-commercial, money-less concern; therefore we cannot offer any compensation to our writers. In time, we hope to become rich, famous and commercial, at which point we hope to offer you pots of money.

Sincerely,
Kyla Pasha and Sarah Suhail
Co-executive editors, Chay Magazine