"This book identifies and analyzes the impact of the various ways in which local people are responding, taking stands, recapturing their culture, and saying ‘stop’ to the violent extremism that has manifested over the past decade (even longer) in Pakistan. Based on close ethnographic study of ground realities, it looks at not only what people are doing but why they are selecting these kinds of actions, how they are creating alternative narratives about culture and identity, and their vision of a future without violence."

“Although scholars and practitioners have identified explicit structural impediments that constrain countries’ efforts to alleviate poverty and promote sustainable social development, there has been limited research conducted to identify the specific barriers to development that prevail in Pakistan today. The authors … go far toward filling this void….”

“In Pakistan, myriad constituencies are grappling with reinterpreting women’s rights. This book analyzes the Government of Pakistan’s construction of an understanding of what constitutes women’s rights, moves on to address traditional views and contemporary popular opinion on women’s rights, and then focuses on three very different groups’ perceptions of women’s rights…Weiss analyzes the resultant ‘culture wars’ that are visibly ripping the country apart, as groups talk past one another—each confidant that they are the proprietors of culture and interpreters of religion while others are misrepresenting it.”