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Footprints: The bhuttay wali of Seaview
KARACHI: If you have seen her, you’ve probably passed her off as a customer standing by the roasted corn on the cob cart. But Manzoora Mai is, in fact, the vendor pushing her roasted-corn cart on Abdul Sattar Edhi Avenue, also known as Seaview, and doing good business.
Dressed in a light-coloured cotton shalwar and kameez with a chador to cover her head and protect it from the sun, Manzoora sells roasted corn on the cob from morning till evening. Then she returns home to her husband and children.
Why doesn’t the husband work? “He can’t,” she says. “His hands and feet don’t function very well — he’s crippled.” Further questioning reveals that he used to work as a driver with a family. Sixteen years ago, he was in an accident that left him injured. “What happened, stays happened,” says Manzoora. “I don’t like to bring up the past. May God give him a long life, even though he cannot earn or help himself,” she adds before turning to a young customer.
It is after 1pm, the peak time for selling her roasted corn to children coming out of schools. But Manzoora stands on the service road on the side of the avenue where there are townhouses. “I am not allowed to park my cart outside the schools here. The vigilance team doesn’t allow it,” she says. “So I stand here at this time. The DA Model School and City School are at equal distances in opposing directions from here. Besides, the children know where to find me,” she smiles.
That is true. Several cars come by. Manzoora listens carefully to each child’s order and preferences such as extra masala, no masala, more lemon, etc. She seems to be popular with the kids. “I’m a mother first, so understanding what the little ones want and satisfying their needs comes with the territory,” she says.
The conversation moves to her children. Doesn’t she have a son who can do all this work in her place? Manzoora shakes her head. “I am the mother of one son and five daughters. My son is only 14, and he’s in school. I won’t let him sell corn on the road. He will sit in an air-conditioned office when he grows up.”
About the five daughters, she says that three are married, one died and one is too young. “I can do the work very well,” she says with pride. “Maybe standing in the sun too much has given me a lot of wrinkles and a darker complexion, but I am not that old. I’m up for all kinds of challenges,” she adds, telling me about how she stands up to the police and the vigilance teams around the beach; they can view vendors like her as a nuisance. “They often confiscate my cart. But then, I am also Manzoora Mai,” she says, rolling up her sleeves. “I get it back from them!”
She talks about her daughter who passed away, who used to come with her to the beach. That was before she became too sick. “Her kidneys had failed but even then she used to accompany me as she would get anxious and worry about me working alone here,” says Manzoora. “One day she became very weak. I had to rush her to the hospital. I called for an ambulance and in my haste left my cart for another vendor to keep an eye on. On my way to the hospital I received a frantic call from him, saying that the vigilance team had dragged away my cart because it looked unmanned. They were confiscating it.”
“I looked at my daughter lying in the ambulance. She asked me not to worry about her and save the cart first,” she muses. “I was also weighing the situation. My cart is after all my bread and butter. I explained this to the ambulance driver and he turned the vehicle around. We found the men in uniform with my cart loaded on their white pickup truck. I was so angry, I gave them a piece of my mind. They were really embarrassed and apologised. The senior one amongst them asked me to forgive them and begged me to take my child to hospital. He asked me for my address so that they could drop off my cart at my place. And they actually did that,” she says.
“You have to stand up for yourself in this world or you will be crushed. My daughter died two and a half years ago,” says Manzoora Mai, showing me a picture of her that she has saved in her mobile phone. “She may be gone but the others are alive. I have to keep on going for them.” Then, she asks me how I like my roasted corn.
Published in Dawn, December 1st, 2017
Comments (45) Closed
What an inspirational story! More power to you Manzoora Mai!
Very bold and strong will powered lady. May God bless her and her family.
God bless her and her family.
This woman has put me to shame. Despite the hardships, she is so optimistic and here I am with my hardships that seem like a mountain to me but are nothing compared to hers. She is such an inspiration.
Bravo Manzoora. I am deeply touched by your indomitable spirit. You have the right attitude toward your family especially your children’s education. Good education for boys AND girls is the key these days. Also save some money regularly, however little, somewhere safe, not at home. Remain blessed.
Respect to Manzoora Mai.
I hope the Pakistanis realise that this woman’s bravery is the real stuff. Violence has unfortunately become a stand-in for what passes as bravery thesedays but the courage Manzoora Mai displays (and there are millions like her) are the real lion hearts we should be proud of
What a great mother I salute you.
Keep on writing such articles .
Wonderful keep it up
Another inspirational and tough Pakistani...God bless you Mai :)
Real face of hard working Pakistanis. You are better face of our country then some of our politicians. Keep it amma Jee. God bless u and ur every effort toward proseperity.
Honours for the honourable lady.
Govt of Sindh must bear the expenses of education of her child, I salute this brave and hardworking woman
Can School provide her place inside the school?
And a week ago there was an article that women in Pakistan are discriminated against and don't have rights. See this is the ground reality. There are so many women who believe in doing, than just talking. Manzorra Mai is a great role model for both women and men.
A marvellous character.food for thought for our so called leaders who could hardly do for the society/peopl3 in real need,they preferred to loot the country as much as they could& ignore their basic duty of service to the nation.beaurocracy at all echelons is equally responsible for failure on its part ,as they have undertaken,but failed to fulfil their obligations.surely,they should not feel free, as they are answerable to someone if not here, then in the life shortly ahead.
Truly Inspirational !
Thanks Dawn for giving this coverage to Manzoora
Brave woman
A vey courageous lady.
salaam to the brave mother ! truly inspiring
salute to your courage
Manzoora Mai, a woman of substance. Salute you and the thousands of other women, teaching us about courage and human dignity.
I am from Lahore, but she is on the visit list, when ever i visit Karachi. May all the people in Pakistan get to be like her.
This is a good example of 'halal money' and working hard, and such people are admirable and have integrity.
Heart touching and really inspirational! Salam to her courage and resilience
Excellent reporting by Dawn news.
May she always prosper. Amin
So sweet------ a story of struggle and perseverance.
Now these are the type of people we are proud of -- Brave woman
Given a chance Pakistani women can perform miracles.
"You have to stand up for yourself or you will be crushed". Brave lady , you said it all.
What a great human being! Wisdom, tenacity, dedication and love! Yes, she is FIRST a mother! She could run the city efficiently and with love!
I visited Karachi in March after 20 years away from Pakistan, she was the highlight of my trip. Amazing lady. By the time she was done I gave her a hug and everything I had in wallet. Really an inspiration and iron strong lady.
Woowww this is the passion of a brave mother,her passion has no limits,parents can do their best to nurture their children. I won't let him to sell corn on road,I want him to sit in an air conditioned room. This sentence tore my heart...
Look at the poor Manzoora Mai who is toiling hard to meet both ends. On the other hand the thief Nawaz Sharif is enjoying the state protocol.
Inspirational and powerful .... would love to read more stories of heroes of our society
Mashallah
Huge respect to her.
I am amazed in Karachi's noise hustle and bustle how Manzoora Mai caught Shazia Hasan's attention and this interesting article followed.
If Pakistanis had grain worth of self pride... such mothers would have been supported by the community...
The problems of common people are so common all around the world.