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THE magnificent obsession with the female form continues in our hallowed halls of power. This time it was the opposition leader Maulana Lutfur Rehman in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly on Thursday who dredged up the issue of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s women supporters ‘dancing’ at the dharnas.
He was taking up the cudgels on behalf of his older brother, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, whose sensibilities have been similarly offended by the sight of the ‘daughters of the nation’ swaying to catchy music. Pandemonium ensued as PTI representatives in the House demanded that the maulana withdraw his remarks.
It seems that for the JUI-F, and others of its ilk, a perfect world would be one in which women are preferably neither seen nor heard, where they are no more than faceless, nameless repositories of patriarchal concepts of honour.
As far as this paper is concerned, one of the more positive aspects of the dharnas staged by the PTI (and, until recently, the Pakistan Awami Tehreek) has been the huge number of women who participated in them, regardless of whether or not they appreciated the music in a way acceptable to the maulanas.
Given that the public sphere in Pakistan is predicated upon the convenience of men, many women braved immense discomforts for weeks on end by dint of sheer determination.
Here, one could also recall the grit and resolve shown by the Baloch women who traversed 2,000km on foot across the country some months ago to bring attention to the issue of the missing Baloch. For despite the many egregious rights’ violations against women in Pakistan, their political participation appears to be increasing.
That is a fact that the JUI-F and other religious parties will, however reluctantly, have to come to terms with. It should really not be that difficult an endeavour, considering the number of issues that require the application of the same level of outrage they muster so easily at the sight of women refusing to conform to their misogynistic notions of propriety.
Published in Dawn, November 1st , 2014
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Comments (60) Closed
Nov 01, 2014 07:59am
women are 50% of the population, how can nation fully realize its potential without them coming out and being equal in many ways with the men.
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Nov 01, 2014 08:00am
Women are the transmitters of culture, as they are the ones who nurse the children with the value-system of the society. So, those who dream of 'naya Pakistaan' are justly inculcating this spirit among women.
Dawn is a torch-bearer that promotes and supports all the positive activities in Pakistan.
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Nov 01, 2014 08:05am
Thanks for the Editorial. Our political, especially religious parties, must change their attitude towards women. This 21st Century. Everyone, men and women, must work for Pakistan. We must remember, as per Pakistan Constituition, men and women are equal rights. The religious parties should not impose their outdated views.
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Nov 01, 2014 08:06am
It is a good thing that women come out and enjoy these gathering and contribute to building a nation. I how ever have to say that it is still a very small minority that can afford to do this . If you look over all Pakistan and the life of a women in general it is not what we see on the TV Screens these days. It is also that these very same women are holding there female servants at home as almost slaves because they come mostly from rural areas and they feel that is what they are used to . Lets not being blinded with this small minority women coming to the Dharnas, the women issue in this country is far bigger than what we can imagine.
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Nov 01, 2014 08:22am
Everyone considers that they are qualified to flay others beyond boundries of decency, but in reality they all are same in decharacterizing others; from pti to pml to ppp to jui -f to ji!!
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Nov 01, 2014 08:28am
The 'sensibilities' of these so called politicians & molanas aren't affected by the stench of burning flesh after a suicide attack or the sight of our security forces being killed by terrorists. How many times has Maulana Lutfur Rehman raised his voice against the terrorists who have held KPK and the whole country hostage to their murderous ways ?
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Nov 01, 2014 09:08am
maulana saheb why are you after pakistani women who are more than half in population and rest of chunk in supportive of PTI is under 30 in age Imran Khan is inexperienced however considered hero to dawn revolution.
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Nov 01, 2014 09:08am
The problem with them is that they consider themselves qualifying to decharacterize anyone who is not the same school of thought as they are, they, in fact, all are same in trespassing the boundaries of decency; from pti to pml to jui-f to ji!!
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Nov 01, 2014 09:19am
Very well written.
Bill Gates was once invited to speak in Saudi Arabia and found himself facing a segregated audience. Four-fifths of the listeners were men, on the left. The remaining one-fifth were women, all covered in black cloaks and veils, on the right. A partition separated the two groups. Toward the end, in the question-and-answer session, a member of the audience noted that Saudi Arabia aimed to be one of the Top 10 countries in the world in technology by 2010 and asked if that was realistic. 'Well, if you’re not fully utilizing half the talent in the country,' Gates said, 'you’re not going to get too close to the Top 10.' The small group on the right erupted in wild cheering.
For any nation to compete in the world today, it has to ensure its women are educated and working. If not for the lofty ideals of gender equality, at least in sheer economic terms, how are you going to compete with a family with two working members, if only one person works in your family? This problem, IMHO, is one of the major reasons of high poverty levels in the Indian sub-continent.
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Nov 01, 2014 09:36am
maulana diesel did not say anything when it was happening in punjab and youth festival. Even on PPP jalsa women were dancing. Care to shed some light on tht events plz?...
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Nov 01, 2014 09:48am
These people are still living in the stone age !! Maulana needs to understand the holy quran !!! Not his own translation !!
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Nov 01, 2014 09:58am
True. The maulvis have to be leashed. The society has tl be radicalized. Please take Pakistan back to 60s
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Nov 01, 2014 09:58am
Maulan ji , Better concentrate on income generating projects for your self and your family.Leave religion to others ,you are only sell able commodity and nothing else .Every govt. buys you ,Every body knows that . So mind your business.
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Nov 01, 2014 10:02am
The upliftment and creating a Women's say in the family matters will rid Pakistan of Terrorism because Women are generally peace loving and they inculcate peace in their children / husbands/ other family members also.
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Nov 01, 2014 10:31am
The men of JUI and the taliban types would rathe rhave women escorted by men, controlled by men and not be allowed to vote. How in the world can women be let free to openly work in political activities / dharnas? Is it not against Islam?
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Nov 01, 2014 10:45am
I was hoping that someone on Dawn would strongly condemn the words used by Fazlur Rehman and his brother. Though this is not a condemnation but still it softly discredits the harsh words used by Fazlur Rehman for our women. I hope that women rights activists stage a demonstration or a Dharna in front of Fazlur Rehman's house, demanding an apology. I hope people from all sectors demand an apology from Fazlur Rehman. I know Malala is too young for this but she should definitely speak against this shameless mindset of using bad language for women.
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Nov 01, 2014 10:49am
Simple fact that escapes the critics is that these women, properly attired expressing themselves not violently, rudely, nor offending. Nothig more needs to be said. In the formation of Pakistan by dismembering India, there were a lot of women who expressed themselves, breaking from traditions. That is why India is what it is today.
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Nov 01, 2014 10:52am
@Saj king khan Please don't degrade the Stone Age :):). They were far more accepting of both men and women. There were matriarchal societies in our past that were far more peaceful than today's/
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Nov 01, 2014 10:57am
People should read Arab Scholar Al Beruni's India. He was amazed that Indian men consulted their women in making important decisions. The culture that Pakistan inherited is being denied now with gross results.
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Nov 01, 2014 11:05am
Well that's a true irony of this so-called islamic country, where Council of Islamic Ideology has a member who has caught drunk a couple of times on Media and nobody has bothered enough to bat an eyelid even over that issue and other Molanas who are busy in preaching sectarianism,taking Islam on contract and demeaning women over their political participation.On the other hand, Punjab Youth Festival can use girls for dance in the name of culture because Molana give them the permit of doing so in the greed for few bucks,Wow!
i wonder how on earth Molana has a lot of Mujra-knowledge,does he belong to the same lot? :(
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Nov 01, 2014 11:19am
Swaying to the catchy party songs of the girls present at sit-ins in Islamabad isn't offensive or objectionable to the standard of modesty in Pakistan. The maulana spoke the minds of millions of conservative Pakistanis who abhor any ostensible participation of females in any sphere of public life. But if Imran and his PTI have gathered young girls around their congregations in masses with the intention of alluring their male counterparts then objections can be raised. It's like Pakistani or Indian masala/formula movies which always have female actors in leading and supporting roles, but what the audience see is these actresses have little or no share in storyline and they only cajole the hearts of male heroes or dancing on catchy numbers. Imran should bring some female party workers/leaders to the podium to cancel this impression. His team of speakers is highly male-dominated.
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Nov 01, 2014 11:28am
If we are Muslims and wanted to be called Muslims then we should understand and practice what ever is ordered by Allah in the Quran. I would request anyone who is interested (specially my sisters) to at-least recite Surah Nisa / Surah Noor with its translation before accusing anyone.
Also dancing on men and women in any sense is wrong whether it be PPP or MQM or PTI or anybody else.
PTI is generally targeted because it started the trend of musical program in its public gathering.
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Nov 01, 2014 11:35am
There is No freedom to anyone without clutching on the Hadood Ordinance .
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Nov 01, 2014 11:45am
"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent." — Eleanor Roosevelt
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Nov 01, 2014 11:57am
Dawn has written a very mild editorial. I was expecting a more bold, outspoken and candid editorial because the continuous rants of JUI-F and others of their ilk deserve a more scathing criticism
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Nov 01, 2014 12:05pm
Participation of women is healthy. However, women dancing in public is not appropriate, mothers of tomorrow should behave decently as ordained by Allah and HIS prophet (may peace be upon him).
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Nov 01, 2014 12:08pm
Once again a great editorial by Dawn. Our political class should know the importance of women participation in the progress of country.
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Nov 01, 2014 12:18pm
@Talha Civil Society has a protest against misogynistic remarks on Sunday karachi press club
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Nov 01, 2014 12:19pm
@shoukat same mentality it's time we stopped pointing out and singling women and work for our betterment
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Nov 01, 2014 12:33pm
I do not agree with PTI's politics much, but it would be unfair not to commend them for few very significant contributions. One that stands out is the represntation of women in their (non-sense) campaigns. Let JUI or all other ignorant fools say what they wish too. Women please do not be deterred by any of this.
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Nov 01, 2014 12:47pm
Misogyny and obscurantism are equal to each other.
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Nov 01, 2014 12:55pm
Juif has nothing to do with Islam. Period.
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Nov 01, 2014 12:58pm
What about Punjab Youth festival, Ppp rally? Btw there are three separate places to sit or stand at dharna, for women, for men and for families.
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Nov 01, 2014 01:03pm
@N.
But they know were not consulted in the performing sethe.
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Nov 01, 2014 01:43pm
Religion and politics should never come together
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Nov 01, 2014 01:54pm
the JUI are unreconstructed dinosaurs, they are still stuck in the 19th century. It is a sign of a developed country to have an educated and informed female populace in the the workforce. the JUI still want to hide women in caves.
PTI needs to be careful with the friends it chooses, as the Jamaat Islami are not much different from the JUI.
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Nov 01, 2014 01:55pm
@EmEn as correct as you are about both genders working as in all countries developing or developed (including many islamic states), however let us not blow this out of proportion as women may have gathered there for a political cause whether its any other larger party as well like PPP or PML N, the fact is that majority of educated (professional qualification) women or semi-educated outrightly do NOT want to work and those who do, at once stop after marriage.
so do not mistake participation of a few thousand middle-class up middle class women in political rallies as equating them to their consent of work. you just transcended through 2, or 3 issues , drawing parallels where there are none.
female higher education has been on the rise in pakistan for last 5-10 years, because demand of an educated bride in the market has risen, not because women wish to contribute.
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Nov 01, 2014 02:11pm
no one is against WOMAN participation.........but most of Pakistani will not allowed their sisters and daughters to dance in DHURNA`s . JUI may be overly sensitive,,, but PTI is more than dull in using woman for their own objectives,, not achieving and targeting woman issues. Asma Jehangir prominent human rights activist is against PTI IK for promoting culture of 'oye, oye' in the country. Asma is yardstick for me to judge 'who is doing what'.??
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Nov 01, 2014 02:27pm
I am proud of my sisters and daughters of PTI. Please do not listen to the illiterate stone age people. Always remember the words of Mohammad Ali Jinnah,
"There are two powers in the world; one is the sword and the other is the pen. There is a great competition and rivalry between the two. There is a third power stronger than both, that of the women. "
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Nov 01, 2014 02:48pm
What a useless topic. We would rather he talk about electricity.
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Nov 01, 2014 03:11pm
" For the JUI-F, and others of its ilk, a perfect world would be one in which women are preferably neither seen nor heard".
Like the street peddlers (of medicines) claiming their concoctions cures every affliction from headache to cancer these self-appointed Mullahs also peddle "bay-hayaee-khatam-karoo" as all-curing remedy of all national problems that would turn Pakistan in to a Utopia. That, the only place for Pakistani women is at home or in the fantasies of these Mullahs and Mullah-lovers.
Only because of our crooked electoral system these people manage to get elected.
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Nov 01, 2014 04:08pm
A large number of women has chosen these days to deface themselves by wearing the black burqas and covering their faces. Apparently, they are hiding their identities, as face is the major part of identity of a person, male or female.
Without an identity, there can be no rights. So, apparently women are content with foregoing their rights by being more 'religious'.
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Nov 01, 2014 05:20pm
Thank you for an enlightened editorial.
Dear Maulanas1
Please read history of the societies and countries who have alleviated ignorance and poverty from their lands.
Unfortunatley, you enjoy undeserved spotlight on the public platform. However, it is never too late to get redeption and reform yourselves.
Without the women's participation, Pakistan in particular and the muslim societies in general, can never overcome ignorance, diseases, poverty, child labor and other social ailments.
I am waiting for the clarification of your statements.
Regards,
A Dawn Reader
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Nov 01, 2014 05:20pm
Women may be 50% of the population but in Imran Khan's jalsas they are roughly 80%.
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Nov 01, 2014 06:00pm
This is good news that women are asserting their rights. Most societies are over 50% women, Women should be in majority in political institutions. If women ran the government, there will be less wars, more dialogue for the betterment of family, health, education, and human rights. Bring on women. Men have failed miserably.
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Nov 01, 2014 06:21pm
Thanks you "dawn" for raising your voice on this issue, hope molana's english translator read this to him.
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Nov 01, 2014 06:32pm
Is this really surprising?
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Nov 01, 2014 08:19pm
The mullahs and the political parties led by these mullahs do not care about their statements because they know very well that they are not going to win on ballot boxes. There supporters who are as ignorant and stone age as these mullahs will support them and vote for them any way no matter how ridiculous their statements are. Since there is no public outrage against these mullahs and their statements they continue to speak such ignorant filled comments without shame. The fact is that these ignorant mullahs do not give these statements because it wins them any support politically but because they believe that they are right and this false notion arise due to their ignorance, lack of intelligence, and backwardness.
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Nov 01, 2014 11:32pm
Maulana is furious because of the reduction in petrol and 'diesel' prices in Pakistan. Less profit is taken as loss by most businessmen.
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Nov 01, 2014 11:59pm
@Abbas Ali Profound observation.
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Nov 02, 2014 02:05am
What is the contribution of religious political parties (as a whole) to the society, development, education, health,.... of Pakistan since 1947??
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Nov 02, 2014 03:23am
March of TIME,cannot be stopped ,reversed,Or slowed.Women all over the world including muslim countries will be, must be treated as a human being,with dignity,respect,equality, opportunities,and relevence.This will come as dogmas retreat as democracy advances,, real education is learned,rational thinking MEN have the courage to support and fight for the cause of WOMEN'S emancipation.Then only the male patriachy will be overpowerd.
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Nov 02, 2014 06:42am
Read 'Supreme Insult' book to appreciate where we are coming from and realise who really is the stronger sex out of the two.
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Nov 02, 2014 06:50am
@N. , so true. Read 'Supreme Insult' to know the journey of mankind and how the world degraded from Indus Valley and Mesopotamia civilisations to medieval and today's misogynic world.
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Nov 03, 2014 06:28am
while they dance and raise their well manicured nails and hands to clap and sway and dance at the dharnas, their underpaid slave maids are breaking their backs cleaning the mess that they left behind at home in the name of fashion(am sure they are spending thousands of rupees for a new dress at every day dharna), living behind dirty clothes, hair lying in bathrooms(after combing and straightenng and colouring), dirty toilets( no toilet etiquettes) and kitchen(splattered stoves and walls),rooms etc . They are at the dharnas to enjoy in the name of change.Ladies first change within then come out to get the change which you are unlikely to make because you have not changed within yourselves.
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Nov 03, 2014 06:32am
@Talha .....why not get your women to start the first protest, am sure by now male members of your household will have no objection
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Nov 03, 2014 06:36am
@N. .....full of men who still believe that women is a sex object.First check your back yard and see the why more women in India get raped
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Nov 03, 2014 10:35am
Let women dance & sing.. They are anyways better than us men @ this!!
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Nov 03, 2014 02:17pm
@rana1 Are you aware that since imposition of Hudood there has not been a single conviction of rape in Pakistan for the past FIVE YEARS?
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Nov 03, 2014 02:28pm
That very last sentence was extraordinarily brilliant!
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