Category Archives: Women

For Perween Rehman

Notable Personalities, Women

For Perween Rehman

 By Anwar Rashid

You got scared

of an innocent fledging little bird

like all cowards

how easily scared you are

The twitter of bulbuls

the softness of the clouds

the refreshing spray of cold water

has scared you

like all cowards

how easily scared you are

 

You can kill one Perween

but you cannot kill

the power of an idea

what you have done

has increased commitment and courage

and sense of purpose

 

The light of knowledge

will continue to spread

and with it awareness

in the villages and fields

 

On the lips of those

who have no shoes

there will be the smile of contentment

in the dancing fields

the sound of bangles

on the cheeks of the workers

the glitter of earings

 

These symbols of love

are messages to the enemies of peace

listen to them cowardly assassin

for we are not alone

we are not alone

(Translated from Urdu by Arif Hasan)

Lighting the torch

Education, Social Issues, Women

By Zubeida Mustafa

ACCORDING to the Annual Status of Education Report 2012, only 37 per cent of three-to-five-year-old children are enrolled in pre-schools in rural Pakistan. The enrolment is slightly higher in the urban areas (55 per cent).

This is a serious problem that has profound implications for the goal of ‘education for all’.

Having neglected the education sector for decades, the state is now faced with a huge backlog of out-of-school children the majority of whom have parents with no or little schooling themselves. This, plus poverty, has aggravated the crisis in education for which innovative solutions are now needed. Continue reading Lighting the torch →

“I have a problem, Baji”

Health, Population, Social Issues, Women

By Zubeida Mustafa

Yasmin has five children and she is just 27 years of age and has been married for nine years. The youngest son was born in July last year and was unplanned. In fact Yasmin had been quite happy with the one boy and three girls she already had.

When she came to me to break the news, she just said, “Baji, I have a problem.” These words captured succinctly the failure of the population planning programme in Pakistan. How else would you put it when a woman is saddled with an unwanted pregnancy, besides poverty and lack of education? Continue reading “I have a problem, Baji” →

One billion rising and…

Social Issues, Terrorism and Violence, War and Peace, Women

By Zubeida Mustafa

EVE Ensler, the American playwright and feminist activist, is set to give the final push that she believes will banish violence against women from our lives for ever. She has declared Feb 14, St Valentine’s Day, as V-Day.

Moved by the oft-quoted figure that one woman in three worldwide — that is one billion — is subjected to some form of violence in her lifetime, Ensler has in effect declared enough is enough. It is time for women to rise to proclaim their aversion to violence. Hence the campaign for One Billion Rising (OBR).

These are the women whose problem Ensler wants to bring into the public consciousness. She wants governments to know that “ending violence against women is as important as ending poverty, or AIDS or global warming”. Continue reading One billion rising and… →

Changing mindsets

Culture and the Arts, Economy, Social Issues, Women

By Zubeida Mustafa

WHEN Sheema Kermani launched her play Zehreela Dhooan, she probably didn’t realise how formidable would be her battle against the cigarette. In this play a cast of eight earnest people take on the mighty tobacco giants. That is what it amounts to when one tries to persuade smokers to quit smoking, as the play attempts to do.

Photograph courtesy of Tehrik-e-Niswan. Photograph by Lesley D. Biswas.
Photograph courtesy of Tehrik-e-Niswan. Photograph by Lesley D. Biswas.

A powerful presentation — patterned on street theatre with penetrating dialogues rather than elaborate stage props — Zehreela Dhooan does not allow the spectators to go home without provoking some serious thoughts.

True, we are all well-informed about the dangers of smoking — the warning on cigarette packs are a constant reminder of the hazards for smokers. But the play goes beyond that. It stirs one’s emotions. Who will not share the grief of the mother mourning her deceased daughter who fell victim to tobacco? That is what all of Sheema’s presentations set out to do to make a powerful impact on the audience when it identifies itself with the characters in the play and internalises its message. Continue reading Changing mindsets →