Alizeh Kohari

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Alizeh Kohari a Pakistani journalist who divides her time between Karachi and Mexico City. She reports on identity politics, ethnic conflict, and social justice. Her work has been published or is forthcoming in The New Yorker, Harper’s, Wired, Caravan, BBC, Reuters, Dawn, Herald, and The News on Sunday.

Latest Stories

How Himalayan Salt Sold a Rosy Dream

This pretty pink rock has been touted as a cure for COVID and a healthy staple of wellness culture. But behind that salt lamp glow hides many falsehoods — it’s not even from the Himalayas.

Alizeh Kohari

Ice manufacture near Allahabad in 1828, by skimming ice from water-filled pots

How Ice Heated Up Trade Between India and America

This quirky blip in the history of global trade — when merchants would ship ice from Boston to Bombay — teaches us what happens when globalization and unfettered demand mix.

Alizeh Kohari

A groups of thugs strangling a traveller on a highway in India in the early 19th century. Anonymous Indian artist. Made for Capt. James Paton, Assistant to the British Resident at Lucknow, 1829-1840.

Thuggee: “The Cunningest Robbers in the World”

In the 1800s, the British claimed to have vanquished a secret cult of Kali-worshipping murderers in India. But did they ever exist?

Alizeh Kohari

The Fight for Dalit Rights in Pakistan

Despite the country’s refusal to acknowledge caste, pockets of activists continue to challenge an entrenched system of discrimination.

Alizeh Kohari

Jinnfluencers: Inside the World of Internet Exorcisms

The internet is making faith healers more popular than ever. Is this deterring people from seeking professional mental health treatment?

Alizeh Kohari

Illustration for The Juggernaut by Aziza Ahmad

Lesbian Lovers, Dildo Shopping, and Other Mughal-Era Poems

Rekhti, a lost genre of Urdu poetry, centered the female experience — despite being written by men.

Alizeh Kohari