Nuha Faiz
Column: Behind Closed Doors ‘Nuha’ is what you may term when a media communications degree meets a chronic overthinker with a flair for the dramatic, and a long-standing affair with marketing psychology. She started writing to make sense of the madness and now, she thrives in it. In her weekly column, she unpacks society’s contradictions with unfiltered honesty, biting humour, and the kind of observations that make you laugh and rethink your life choices. Basically, if it’s weird, messy, or wildly misunderstood...she’s already writing about it.
Is Political Performance Killing Real Democracy?
In a healthy democracy, the relationship between a leader and the citizen is that of a responsible employer and a hired manager. We, the employers, are supposed to evaluate performance based on deliverables. Is
Is Vijay the Hero Sri Lankan Tamils Didn’t Ask For?
I need to start this with a confession. Those who know me, they know how big a Thalapathy Vijay fangirl I am. The kind of hype I create around each release. Knew the lyrics to his songs. His punch dialogues by heart.
WILL GEN Z’S RAGE BECOME SOUTH ASIA’S RENAISSANCE?
Politics in South Asia has always been a dirty inheritance. In Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh, entire nations were passed around like family heirlooms among elites. Parliament seats weren’t won; they
Sri Lanka’s Women’s Rights: All Talk, No Action?
Let’s pre-empt the eye-roll. Let’s address the sigh that comes with yet another article on women’s rights. “Here comes a feminist rant,” some will think. “Another anti-government tirade,” others will conclude.
Is Charlie Kirk a Victim or the Voice That Mocked Gaza’s Victims?
The shot that killed Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University did more than end a life; it triggered a familiar, suffocating script. The pundits rushed to their cameras; their faces etched with performative gravity. The statements poured in, decrying the “tragic loss of a vibrant voice.” The machinery of collective, uncritical mourning whirred to life, ready to airbrush a controversial figure into a martyred saint. We are expected to play our part.
The Truth That Came Too Late: A Mother’s FGC Testimony
Disclaimer: This story contains graphic descriptions of female genital cutting practices. It is based on a real survivor’s account and her mother’s testimony, shared with full consent. Names have been changed to protect their identity.
Who is Actually Worth Protecting in Sri Lanka?
Behind closed doors these days, there’s a peculiar music playing in the corridors of power. A sudden harmony where discord once reigned.
Did You Know Israel Counts Gaza’s Calories to Genocide?
Let me tell you about a spreadsheet that calculates death. Not metaphorically. Literally. Diving into Israeli government data, you’ll find there isn’t just evidence of war crimes, there’s an instruction manual for genocide, complete with calorie counts, mathematical formulas, and bureaucratic efficiency that would make the Nazis proud. And before you clutch your pearls at that comparison, understand we have the receipts. We have their own numbers
From Childhood Cutting to Marital Pain A Survivor’s Story of FGC Trauma
Her blood dripped on the bedroom floor. Not a few drops. Not the expected bleeding. It spread beneath her feet as she stood, shaking, staring at her husband who looked back with equal horror. This was her first time. This was supposed to be passionate. Love. Instead, it was the beginning of a nightmare that would destroy her sense of self, and nearly her sanity, all because someone had taken a blade to her genitals when she was too young to screa
Is Female Genital Cutting Patriarchy’s Worst-Kept Secret in Sri Lanka?
There are louder ways to be silenced, but my favorite is the quiet kind. A call you’re not copied in. A question disguised as concern. A reminder, subtle but firm: “The author is targeting one particular
Why Does Gaza’s Genocide Still Need Explaining?
For months, we’ve danced around the word. Politicians have carefully avoided it. Media outlets have sanitized it as ’’conflict’’ or ’’war.’’ Even genocide scholars, those whose life’s work is to identify and
Is Making History Optional the Problem or What’s Actually Taught?
Some of you may be wondering why this week’s column shifts from my ongoing series on Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) to something seemingly distant, Sri Lanka’s history curriculum
The Medical Lie of Female Genital Cutting
Writer’s Note: This article is the third in a multi-part exposé on FGM/C in Sri Lanka. I am currently in conversation with leading doctors, legal professionals, and survivors who will speak for
Exposing the False Islamic Defense of FGM in Sri Lanka
I was raised to believe Islam is a religion of mercy. A faith that shields women from harm, uplifts our dignity, and forbids cruelty. And yet, somewhere between those verses of mercy, some
Why Talking About FGM in Sri Lanka is So Hard
In Sri Lanka, we love the idea of peace. We’ve paid for it dearly, through war, displacement, distrust, and loss. Today, the language of reconciliation and unity is deeply stitched into our political fabric. But when peace becomes a reason to stay silent, especially about harm being done in the shadows, we have to ask: what kind of peace are we really preserving?
Here’s What You’re Not Being Told About the Fake IVIG Scandal
I know what hope looks like hanging from an IV drip. I’ve held my mother’s trembling hand during chemotherapy, watched a sister slip away despite every effort, and seen my aunt fight
How Can You Ignore Mass Graves Full of Tamils?
They say the dead don’t speak. But behind closed doors in Chemmani, they scream.In June 2025, 19 human skeletons were exhumed from the Sindhubathi Hindu cremation grounds in
Is Your Marriage a Death Trap?
Let me tell you about the most dangerous place for a woman in Sri Lanka today. It’s not a dark alley. It’s not a war zone.
Who Let the JAFFNA LIBRARY BURN?
Sri Lankans love a good spectacle. When a certain former president’s personal library; a cozy collection of some 2,500 books went up in flames during the 2022 Aragalaya protests, the Colombo elite clutched their pearls.
Behind Closed Doors Ragging or Sick Cult? The Horror You Can’t Ignore
Listen, I’m not here to sugarcoat anything. The stories coming out of Sri Lankan universities about ragging aren’t just disturbing, they’re a gut punch to everything we claim to stand for as a society.
