Laloo all the way
By Huma Khawar
SALIM Saifullah, Secretary General PML (Q), is a politician by birth as it runs in the family. Although he lost his seat from wherever he contested in the last elections, by virtue of his present position he can still pull strings.
As he walked in to attend the parliamentarians’ conference in a local hotel, the hall was full to capacity. He quietly seated himself in the last row, but made sure he was visible enough for any PML jiyala to spot him. The wish came true in less than 30 seconds as one of the organizers provided him the conference folder, pencil and notepad. But this was not enough — the seat was still at the back. After about 10 minutes, a die-hard got a seat vacated in a better row — a journalist on the left and a diplomat on the right — and ushered the Secretary General forward. Better, certainly, but still not the best. A couple of minutes later, another worker approached and informed him that he can move further. After a bit of hesitation, he moved where he wanted to be in the first place.
The hotel lobby, buzzing with activity, gave an impression of warmth and vitality as the 59-member Indian delegation with a pledge to ‘create an atmosphere conducive to talks between New Delhi and Islamabad’ brought a message of ‘love and peace’ to the capital. Men in white chooridar pajamas, lungis, turbans and kurtas were to be seen all over the place. Parliamentarians, journalists and experts from both sides of the border seemed to be genuinely involved in the conference on understanding confidence building and conflict resolution, organized by the South Asia Free Media Association (SAFMA).
Although the delegation comprised Indian political bigwigs such as Balbir Poonj, Mani Shankar and the 80-plus Ram Jethmalani, it was the former Chief Minister of Bihar and chief of Rashtriya Janta Dal, Laloo Prasad Yadev, who became the apple of the media’s eye and focus of everyone’s attention throughout the conference. Clad in a chequered kurta, white pajama and white kohlapuri slippers, Laloo Prasad was followed by a long trail of cameramen and photographers wherever he went. He probably knew it and adventured with the idea. He surprised everyone by showing up at the Capital’s popular Itwar Bazaar in G-6. Talking to shoppers, he went around the vegetable shops telling them: “We are all neighbours.” When asked why his wife, Rabri Devi, Chief Minister of Bihar, is not accompanying him, he replied, “Bihar ko kaun dekhta?”
Later, Laloo Prasad headed for Lal Haveli, Sheikh Rashid’s residence, only to find the Minister of Information not home. Sheikh saheb, who was at a gym at the time, rushed home to greet his guest. Traffic in the area came to a standstill as hundreds of people gathered around Lal Haveli when they came to know about Laloo’s arrival.
The Pakistani side was also well-represented by Maulana Fazalul Rehman, Chaudhry Shujaat, Amin Fahim, Kanwar Khalid Younas and Farooq Leghari. Other than Tehmina Daultana and Sherry Rehman, Kashmala Tariq, Sumaira Malik and Ayla Malik made a healthy gender balance of Pakistani parliamentarians.
Opening and closing ceremonies, lunches and dinners, the entire three days provided unprecedented media coverage throughout the subcontinent. “You can change friends but you can’t change your neighbours,” was a phrase being heard again and again.
The parliamentarians from both sides of the border parted with a pledge that in future talks should be “integrated and uninterrupted.”
SWARA: AN EYE-OPENER
Swara is a custom of revenge or badal, in which a minor girl is given away in marriage to the family whose member has been killed by the girl’s father or brother. Practiced in Pakhtoon culture for God knows how many years, Swara is, in fact, the price young, innocent girls pay for the doings of their male family members.
A female member from the grieved family goes to the murderer family’s house and selects a girl for Swara. The girl is sent to the enemy’s house when she reaches puberty. If the murder has been of a prominent person, two girls are demanded as Swara.
Through a 40-minute documentary film, Samar Minallah, an anthropologist from the NWFP, has tried to bring to light this inhuman custom of the Pukhtoon culture. Screened at the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI), Swara: A Bridge over Troubled Water, is a collage of interviews of women, Swara victims, tribal elders and religious scholars.
Once the decision is made, the childhood is sacrificed and lost forever. “Such girls are destined to go through an immense ordeal because they are treated very badly by their in-laws,” a tribal woman was quoted as saying. Although the aim of this custom is to settle a murder dispute between two families, the versions of the people proved that Swara never played a role in establishing cordial relations between two clans. “It is more of a face-saving for the family, eager to get the dispute resolved. Although the dispute ends once the custom takes place, but not the hatred. The girl’s presence in the enemy’s house is a constant reminder of a crime she never committed.”
“She will get food and clothing, but you can’t expect me to treat her well. She is the price of my son’s murder and will not be allowed to participate in any festivity,” were some of the views of tribal men. A judge of the Federal Shariat court was quoted as saying, “There is no law, no standing of such a doing in Islam as it is nikah bil jabr (by force), and the woman’s consent is missing, which is unIslamic.”
The film is a revelation, an eye-opener for anyone who is sensitive to the atrocities committed against women. Samar has used it as a tool by mirroring the hidden customs of remote areas to the world at large. “My main target audience are the people sitting and taking decision in the jirga,” Samar told the participants of the discussion.
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