ISLAMABAD: Hypocrisy of the powerful and the honourable
ISLAMABAD, Oct 26: Unicef representative Carol Lang called for equal opportunities for education among women and children to enable them to grow in an environment which fosters their self esteem and helps their consciousness to grow.
She was speaking at the book review session of Dr Fouzia Saeed,s book “Taboo” at the WTO auditorium on Friday evening.
The book review session was sponsored jointly by Social Sciences Forum and the Asian Study Group.
The focus of the book is on the maligned section of women, and attracted intellectuals, social thinkers and activists. Dr Inayatullah, Forum’s president chaired the event. Noted poet Kishwar Nahid and academician Prof Tariq Rahman spoke on the occasion.
Ms Lang said Taboo, portrayed real people. It was universally acknowledged that women were very often the breadwinners of the family.
She regretted that in many places women and small children lived in an environment where prostitution flourished. In this inhibiting circumstances they had restrictions placed on their lives since cildhood and the spectre of AIDS and other delibitating diseases haunted them forever.
Poverty was the root cause for prostitution to flourish in places where people could not make wise decision and few options were available to redeem their sufferings
Kishwar Nahid said, she was aware of the appalling condition of the Red Light area of Lahore. It may shock some to describe the area as the real academy for performing arts. But it was true that at one time the choicest singers and musicians could be found there.
She said that within the past 40 years the commercial sex workers have moved to posh areas and in the process we lost many virtuoso in sitar and sarangi, she said. Many famous people who had made it big in the show buisiness came from this area.
She recalled many stories of famous people focus the human dimension of the “profession whch had been encouraged and sustained by people in power” as she put it.
Professor Tariq Rahman called the book a classic case study and the first work of its kind which brought forth the hyprocisy prevalent in the society which exploited women and also delighted in colonial usage of power, as he called it.
In her presentation the author Dr Fouzia Saeed said “Taboo” was an anthropological study of prostitution in our society and also a journey of self discovery that her husband encouraged and worked alongside her.
Dr Saeed looked at the common household with a new perspective, where women are blamed for bringing dishonour while men indulge in shameful acts and are not censured for bringing dishonour to the family.
Dr Inayatullah praised the book on the treatment of sociological and anthroplological aspects, described in a narrative form to read like a novel. The book related to the political system as well as provided a deep insight on factors that created prostitutes.—Jonaid Iqbal
