People
just pat you on the head and are
condescending to you, because you're a
woman...
From Bapsi Sidhwa to Qaisra Shahraz, most
authors who have emerged on the scene of
English novel writing in Pakistan, happen to
be women. And all of them have, in their own
unique style, elaborated upon the problems
faced by women in our society.
While Bapsi Sidhwa in The Bride
(1983), Tehmina Durrani in Blasphemy
(1998) and Qaisra Shahraz in The Holy
Woman (2001) and Typhoon (2003),
talk about the plight of women married into
rural households, it is in Bina Shah's
Where They Dream in Blue (2001) and Uzma
Aslam Khan's Trespassing (2003), that
one hears the grievances of an educated,
working woman, in our urban society.
Twenty-three-year-old Nazli (in Where
They Dream in Blue), works as an
associate at a Karachi-based NGO. She comes
to office dressed in a crumpled, cotton
shalwar-kameez and casual sandals. Her skin
the colour of milky coffee, her nails
painted purple, she doesn't mind smoking a
cigarette once in a while. Young Karim
having recently arrived from America,
considers her not only attractive but also
intelligent and talented.
One sunny afternoon, Karim finds himself
addressing Nazli, "But you have to realize
that if you're going to be a real, proper
professional, you're just going to have to
get tough. You're just going to have to take
crap from people. It's just a fact of life."
'She stared at him for a minute. "A real
Professional?" She said in a voice far more
acidic than the one, she had used on Rahim.
Her derision reached out and lashed him,
like a whip.'
'Karim bristled. He was only trying to help.
"You know what I mean. You can't expect
extra protection, the kid-glove treatment,
just because you're a woman." He was angry
too now.'
'As Nazli's face crumpled, Karim suddenly
realized that he'd said the wrong thing, but
he was confused. Wasn't that what women
wanted? Feminists had been shouting about it
for decades, he knew his history...'
'Nazli glared at Karim, blinking back sudden
tears. She too was bewildered by the force
of her own fury. Rizwan Rahim had brought to
her mind, all the half remembered but still
fully painful times, when older men -
uncles, father, colleagues - had voiced
their disapproval of her education, her
career, the path she had chosen for herself.
She had made herself as strong as anyone
possibly could in the face of all the
criticism, always done what she knew she
wanted to do but sometimes she wanted
someone in her corner, when she had finished
taking on the world, at the end of the day.
Karim's lack of understanding ruined the
vague, unformed hope, that he might be a
different man than the ones, she was always
fighting against.'
Next day, when Karim tries to apologize,
Nazli's face reddens as she explains, "You
have no idea. No idea, how hard it is for
me. I work so hard to be taken seriously.
People just pat you on the head and are
condescending to you, because you're a woman
and when they think no one's looking, they
try to touch you and whistle at you and
start singing songs and scratching their
c....., when you walk down the street."
One balmy night standing by the poolside at
Pearl Continental, Karim witnesses how
fellow women can be equally callous. '"So
tell me beta, what are you doing these
days?" One of the women was talking to Nazli
now, a plump woman dressed from head to toe
in gold. "Aunty, I'm working these days,"
replied Nazli.'
'"Oh, how nice." From her tone it was
obvious, the woman thought it was anything
but nice. "Where?"'
'"For Samandar, you've heard of it, haven't
you?" This was Nazli's mother.'
"Oh yes, I think so. It's that magazine,
isn't it?"
'"No, its an NGO. Water management, beach
conservation," Nazli started to explain.'
'"And what are your plans?" This was a
second woman, rail thin and tall, in
contrast to the first...'
'"My plans, Aunty?" Nazli said warily...'
'"You know," said the first, golden-clad
woman." When do you plan to settle down? A
girl can't go on working forever. She's got
to marry and have children."'
'"You won't be young forever," said the
second.'
'Nazli's mother broke in, a trifle
defensively. "Well, Nazli only just came
back from England two years ago, she decided
she wanted to work for a bit, before
settling down." She nodded quickly at all
the women...'
'The golden-clad woman said, "Of course, of
course. There's nothing wrong with that.
Just make sure, you don't leave it too long.
There's a time for marriage you know and if
you don't take up on it, you'll miss out."
"Yes after all, a woman's real job is in her
home", laughed the second woman.'
In Trespassing, Uzma Aslam Khan
captures a scene in a London cafe, 'It was
still chilly, but the clouds had lifted.
Sweaters and stockings came off. Cafes with
outdoor seating bustled. Riffat rolled a
cigarillo - slim kebab, between a hot,
sesame-sprinkled naan and bit in. She
scooped the grease, off her chin and sighed.
"When we're back in Karachi, I want you to
take me to all those roadside cafes, my
family insists women should be protected
from."'
'The upper corner of his lip twitched. For
the briefest instant, a dark flint cut his
sparkling amber eyes. He took a sip of lassi
and said nothing, but his face closed. She
wondered, if he'd looked like this that day
he walked out of the door, without showing
her his face.'
'She took another bite. "This is our
cuisine, after all. A shame, half our
population can't enjoy it like this."'
'He pushed his plate back. "You sound so
immature, when you talk that way."'
"Immature?"
"Irrational, then. Its not done Riffat. You
can't transport something that exists here,
to another place."
'She blinked, genuinely confused.
"Something? Like what?"'
"Like another system. You know perfectly
well, it doesn't look good for a woman to
eat in those cafes, men ogle. And if she's
with a man they want to know, why he can't
shield her from their lust. He looks even
worse."
'She puts down her sandwich. It was slowly
making sense. "Democracy, health care and
education, can come from within our
system?"'
"Of course."
"But when women appear in public as
frequently and comfortably as men, that's an
import? An evil outside influence?"
'He shrugged. "Some things will take
longer."'
"Because some people want them to? Could it
be the same people who speak so eloquently,
of new wheels turning?"
'He raised a brow and looked around... She
grabbed his hand. "No. This time you're
going to answer me. You want efficiency,
hygiene and a free press - but not that
modernity should benefit women..."' |
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