Archive for the ‘Women’ Category

I am staring at a picture of myself 21 years back. I am a little older than Sara but with the same innocent smile and eyes spilling over with mischief. It could have been me lying flat on the floor of a posh hotel lobby, electrocuted to near death. And it is slowly sinking in… how every child holds within them their parents universe. I have been singularly covering three and a half year old Sara’s story for 4 days now, fighting off pressure from all corners. This is no achievement of mine. It is an excuse to ponder over the questions we no longer ask ourselves collectively, as a nation. Questions to which, answers are neither simple nor easy. How will Pakistan develop a collective consciousness? How do you make Pakistanis care for and respect one another? How do you make Pakistanis strong and brave enough for them to stop getting intimidated from any pressure or threat, whether personal, corporate or from another country? How do you inculcate a sense of community amongst Pakistanis? And finally, how do you make Pakistanis work hard for the development of this community? These are daunting questions indeed.

For those of you who are still unaware of whom Sara is, she is these daunting questions personified. Her limp body lying in one of Lahore’s private hospitals is symbolic of one and only one truth: we are a nation petrified. Reason, humanity, morality, courage all fade out in the face of pressure, connections and money. Sara was electrocuted in one of the leading chains of Pakistani hotels, the Pearl Continental. Criminal negligence on behalf of the hotel management, in failing to ensure safety precautions with regard to the decorative lights lining the hotel lobby, led to leakage of current and almost immediately, collapse of Sara’s heart and brain. She remains alive on machines, lost in coma, and disowned by governments both federal and provincial. The terror of Hashwaani Group has rendered most of mainstream media silent, the government inactive, and the law enforcing agencies reluctant. Nevertheless, media pressure, if only from one group, finally ensured the registration of a FIR much to the dismay of PC Hotel, only to be followed by a suo-moto notice of the case by the Chief Justice of Pakistan himself. Till Friday, June 11 PC management managed to avoid answering any questions or exhibiting moral courage to appear on television and give their stance. Wednesday, June 9 General Manager PC agreed to appear in front of the curious nation, only to decline one hour before the show went on air, leaving us with a shocking official stance of PC with regards to Sara, that of  ‘no comments’. Alas a public notice was printed in all leading newspapers of the country by the lawyer on behalf of his client PC; a dismaying, distorted version of the truth, ridding the leading hotel of all responsibility of Sara’s condition and the unfortunate event itself. All possible absurdities were exercised in print, ranging from Sara having choked on her food to preaching parenting to Sara’s parents and clients in general. The public notice even went on to concoct lies in the form of an ambulance and first aid being present at the hotel at the time of the accident, contrary to the fact that if it had been the case, Sara would probably be in a far better medical condition than she is in now. However, classic was the warning! The public notice in not so many words threatened my channel and I, including Sara’s parents, of “action” that will be taken against us for daring to malign the reputation of the hotel. Media, it read, for ‘unknown reasons’ had hyped up the issue!         

The problem here is not of explaining to the learned advocate and his client that professional medical records attest the fact that Sara did not merely choke, but was electrocuted nor that choking does not result in burn marks of the entry and exit of electric current- the same being blatantly visible on Sara’s body. Neither is it time to explain to the PC and its well reputed advocate that parenting lessons and hallucinations of conspiracy can be left to another day. The fact is, Sara is lying on a time bomb. Instead of wasting millions of rupees in professional fees to a lawyer and printed public notices, lost credibility and damaged reputation can be rescued by merely exhibiting sensitivity and moral courage. Every hotel has dedicated funds for such accidents and emergencies. PC needs to step up and do immediate damage control by flying Sara out of Pakistan for the best medical treatment available in the world. Now is not the time to fret over legalities and indulge in blame games but to prove to the world that PC is indeed committed to its client’s wellbeing, health and security. Loud claims, tag lines and drawing out 5 stars is child play, put the money where your mouth is. 

My detailed conversations with some of the PR personnel and management of PC, during the time I was trying to convince them to display courage and join me on television, ended up only convincing myself that they might just be beyond reason. Alas, the hotel management was suspicious of whose tunes Sara’s parents and I might be dancing to. For the love of God, explain to the high and mighty, raising the voice for justice does not mean some of us are on the payrolls of your competitors or enemies. Coupled with this, only hard cynicism and ruthless bitterness would convince someone that a dying baby’s parents would be more interested in squeezing financial mileage out of the crisis that envelops them.   However, what is even more interesting is the complete distance the government of Punjab has maintained from this entire case. For reasons known to many and unknown to the rest, ‘Khadim-e-Alaa’ is unwilling to own a dying Sara altogether. His government claims this case is strictly between a private party and the police. Explain to me please, when your law enforcing agencies refuse to register a FIR for 11 days and extend any possible aid to citizens of your province, just how does this remain a case not deserving of your attention and time? I will not even indulge in the moral demands expected of the CM, such as a helpless mother appealing to him for help, exposing her vulnerability to the world by admitting she does not have the financial means to get her infected, lifeless daughter treated abroad. Silence continued to echo from the chambers of Khadim-e-Alaa till late Saturday afternoon. The first intervention came in the form of an activated Rana Sanaullah, taking the law, order and humanitarian demands of the case in his hands. Currently, he has given his personal assurance to media that Sara’s medical costs will be fully taken care of and a medical board will be constituted at the earliest to monitor her health.    

Deteriorating law and order situation has made it mandatory for all hotels to maintain records of their CCTV footage for 14 days before erasing it. This critical piece of evidence has been withheld by PC management to date.  Investigations and criminal proceedings will unfold at their own pace; a little child in the mean time is battling against time and tide – both of which wait for no man. It is ironic how the unfortunate death of a young boy in an amusement park caught the attention of all of media and even put into action our forever frenzied Interior Minister in shutting down all such parks in Islamabad, suspending the concerned officials and contractors, yet little Sara remains largely unnoticed. Corporate pressures and political overtones continue to thrive in my country. It is high time indeed we seek answers to the questions Sara has raised. This is time for collective reflection and introspection, what does it mean to be a Pakistani?

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Topic: Followup: Supreme Court Takes Action on Honour Killing Case from Naseerabad

Guests: Hina Jillani, Dr. Fouzia Saeed, Fareeda Shaheed

Will the case of the 4 Baloch women killed in the name of honour be resolved? Will witnesses’ step forth and evidence be presented or will we continue suffocating under tribal feudalistic norms and traditions? How will former CJP Dogar’s suo moto notice be different than present CJP Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry’s self intiated action? As the Supreme Court demands relentless investigation into the incident will the local administration be able to hide the facts much longer? If the powerful and privileged top echelons of society continue to justify such practices in the name of tradition and custom, is there really any hope? I find it hard to hold onto optimism and hope in light of the fact that the very family accused of being involved in this case enjoys public offices today. However, the show must go on.

The controversy and confusion remain over issues of justice, women’s rights, culture, tradition, state control, mutual agreements, intrepretation of Shariah, and the future of Pakistan. Conflicting statements and shocking confessions are consistently pouring in from all sides. I will be doing a follow-up this evening, stay tuned for Nai Rahain at 7:00pm, Live on Samaa Tv.

Post-Show:

On-Air: Friday, April 03, 2009 (the show will be available online shortly)

The civil society demanded the right to address this issue through an unbiased platform. I invited leading women’s rights activist Samar Minallah, a woman who not only helped get this footage to us but has also been at the receiving end of death threats by militants. She has lived in Swat for 2 years and is still in touch with the locals.  Joining her were Senator Iqbal Haider, Chairperson Human Rights Commission Pakistan (HRCP) and Islamic Scholar Dr. Khalid Zaheer from the Lahore studios. We were joined yet again by Shahraaz Khan, Ameer of Malakand from the Peshawar studios.

Samaa employees, including a NWFP reporter and myself were threatened by TTP the previous evening for sharing the specific video with the world.  However, it is a matter of honour for Samaa TV to have initiated a process whereby CJP Chaudhry Iftikhar Mohammad has taken suo moto notice of this gross violation of human rights. In light of Haji Muslim Khan’s statement endorsing such a punishment to be valid and deserved, who will guarantee us that such an incident will never take place again? I ask all those individuals, including Information Minister (ANP) Iftikhar Hussain who blame the civil society for creating a hue and a cry over something which is outdated (according to him the incident took place on January 2^nd 2009). Commissioner Swat takes the cake. The man denied the incident altogether. The fact that Taliban Commandos are oft found sharing a cup of tea or having supper in the Commissioner House is interesting. If not that, then witnessed accounts of the Commissioner reading prayer behind Maulvi Fazlullah in the good old days definitely gets the ball rolling.

This follow-up actually gives the real story behind the public harassment and flogging of the teenage girl known as Chaand Bibi. A local family friend of Chaand Bibi’s family, who requested to remain unnamed for security reasons, joined us on the line during the first half of the show. Chaand was neither flaunting about unaccompanied in the market nor having an illicit affair, as so many of us are made to believe. Chaand made the mistake of refusing a Taliban Commander for marriage.  

Thereafter Ameer Izzat, spokesperson of Tehreek Nifaz Shariat-e-Muhammadi (TNSM) joined us on the line during the live show and was heavily questioned. What is after all TNSM’s role in the peace deal and their realistic power in influencing Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP)? What guarantee can they extend as to this incident never being repeated again?  

To Ms. Samar Minallah’s inquiry for confirmation, Ameer Izzat accepted and agreed to two women being beaten by militants a few days earlier for leaving their homes unaccompanied by their men. Although they had left in ‘burqa’ (completely veiled from head to toe) he held that they shouldn’t have conversed with a shopkeeper.

Mr. Shahzaar Khan changed his stance ever so conveniently, denying ever having accused Samaa for doing a disservice to Pakistan by the release of this video. He strongly felt, that the release of this video was, alas, propaganda against their people and Shariah Law.

Dr. Khalid Zaheer shared a beautiful a’hadith in the beginning of the show which left one wondering just how far we are from the true spirit and essence of Islam. It speaks of a time when women will feel so secure and safe that they will be able to walk from one end of the world to the other, carrying valuables and gold, without any threat or risk. That will be Islam.

I couldn’t help but notice that there was no mention of a ‘mehram’ in this a’hadith.

On-Air: Thursday, April 2, 2009 (7:00pm LIVE, 3:00am, 12:00pm (PST))

Breaking this horrendous footage to Pakistan and the rest of the world was neither simple nor easy. On Thursday, April 2, 2009 at 7:05pm when I went on-air with this video, there was a whirlwind of emotions and sentiments raging inside of me. Is this current? Will it negatively impact the already fragile image of Pakistan? Is it professionally and morally correct to shelve it? Are our women being subjected to such beastly treatment whilst we remain completely ignorant and unaware? How will Pakistan receive this? Will it shed light on the February 15^th peace deal struck between the local government and the Tehreek Nifaz Shariat-e-Muhammadi? The teenage girl’s piercing screams were echoing in my head from the start till the end of the show. The next day Friday, April 3, 2009, Pakistan and the rest of the world finally took notice. An explosion of shock, rage, frenzy and sheer disbelief ensued.

A day earlier I had interviewed panel of four guests, including the Ameer of Malakand Shahraaz Khan and local government Awami National Party’s MPA Shagufta Malik from Samaa’s Peshawar studios. Gender studies expert and scholar Dr. Rubina Saigol and Pakistan Muslim League (N) MPA Maiza Hameed joined me from Samaa’s Lahore studios. Both my Peshawar guests were in complete denial of women’s rights being violated in Swat, to the extent that Mr. Shahraaz Khan accused Samaa of ‘making up’ this video and doing a great disservice to Pakistan by airing it. Ms. Shagufta Malik was firm in her belief that her government had a solid control of the area and post peace-deal no such events had taken place. They both denied women being banned from leaving their homes or accessing public places, even though my sources confirmed that due to threats from TTP, shopkeepers of popular markets in Swat and Malakand including Bara Market, Sitara Market, Abaseen Market, Waqar Market and Waqas Market had strictly prohibited women coming unaccompanied by male family members. Coupled with this, transfer deadlines extended by the Taliban to EDO Naheed Khan, a female official who has already been transferred from Swat to Malakand due to life threats was also seen as a singular, misleading example of women being prohibited from holding public offices or working.

During the show we got Haji Muslim Khan, spokesperson Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan on the line who went on to endorse Baitullah Masud’s version of what was correct, incorrect, acceptable and unacceptable in Islam regarding the status, livelihood, mobility and conduct of a Muslim woman. He took ownership of the footage, claiming that this girl had committed a ‘grave’ sin and that she was lucky that she hadn’t been stoned to death, only flogged.

As an introductory episode on the status of women in Swat and the break through footage, I would like to say that this show broke my heart as well as left me more disillusioned about the steadily deteriorating fate of women in Pakistan. Either the people of Swat are genuinely convinced that we are against them, hail from a different world with a different reality or else they are living in denial – both the men of influence and the local government. The common man of course if nowhere to be mentioned. The discussion steadily boiled down to different interpretations of Islamic values and morality.

It saddens me to say that even today, the only controversial and undecided issue in Islam remains to be that of a woman.