The Stuggle Continues...

Daily Times, Wednesday, November 09, 2005
WASHINGTON DIARY: The struggle continues —Dr Manzur Ejaz

Amrita, Mukhtar Mai and Asma are all brave daughters of Punjab who, like Heer, are continuing the fight for their rights and human dignity. Heer symbolises all the oppressed women of this world who are not surrendering to oppression

The news of the end of Amrita Pritam’s accomplished life at 92 came as I was listening to the story of Mukhtar Mai’s painful suffering and her on-going struggle. Amrita Pritam’s poem on the partition of Punjab “Aj aakhan Waris Shah noon” (Today, I address Waris Shah) has haunted Punjabis since 1947. As Mukhtar Mai described the helplessness of millions of “daughters of Punjab” it still seemed relevant.

Listening to Asma Jahangir the next day at the Woodrow Wilson Centre for Scholars, I was again reminded of Waris Shah’s Heer who would not bow to her oppressors — her parents, tribe, mullah, qazi and the ruler (raja). Amrita, Mukhtar Mai and Asma are all brave daughters of Punjab who, like Heer, are continuing the fight for their rights and human dignity. Heer symbolises all the oppressed women of this world who are not surrendering to oppression.

Mukhtar Mai, not very educated but rich in wisdom, was aware of the difference between being a mere victim and a campaigner against injustice. She seemed to be full of insights about the way the oppressive system around her works. Her strategy of educating men first, so that they may rebel against the feudal system that oppresses women showed her deep understanding. The way she handled questions about the role of the military showed her political maturity.

Responding to a question about Dr Shazia Khalid, Mukhtar Mai expressed sympathy and solidarity with her as a fellow victim of rape. However, she made a subtle distinction between herself and Dr Shazia Khalid suggesting that the good doctor may have abandoned the struggle by leaving the country. This reminded me of two famous characters from Waris Shah’s epic story.

Waris Shah distinguishes between love as a vehicle of social struggle — to overcome class, creed and tribal prejudices — and the desire to be with the lover by any means. Heer chooses to fight the predominant socio-economic system by openly embracing a buffalo herder, Ranjha. By contrast, her sister-in-law Sehti, portrayed as a very scholarly woman, seeks personal resolution by eloping with her lover, Murad Baloch. Heer, a woman of knowledge and faith, has to confront her family, tribe, religious institutions and legal system. Sehti takes the easy way out.

Waris Shah makes the point that mere suffering or its awareness are not enough to change an oppressive system. He is so intent on distinguishing between social struggle and efforts for self-gratification that his hero Ranjha refuses to elope even when Heer, in a weaker moment, suggests that. He says,

Heeray ishq na mool swad dainda nal chorian atay udhalian dey

(O Heer, the love, carried through deceit and elopement, is never fulfilling.)

Incidentally, the genius that is Bollywood actor/director Raj Kapoor also understood this point. In his film Prem Rog he creates a similar situation. The uncle of an upper caste widow (Padmani Kohlapuri) asks the preacher’s nephew (Rashi Kapoor) to take her and disappear in the night: no one would follow them. The lover protests that the fight for a widow’s right to remarry a man of her choice has to be fought openly.

That is what Asma Jahangir said in her presentation in Washington. The system is such that people cannot get their rights through regular channels: How many times, and for how many Mukhtar Mais and Shazias, can the prime minister and the president intervene? They are behaving like the uncle of the widow in Prem Rog. While it is hard making an honest living in Pakistan, as an ally of the military one can get away with murder. She also took the US to task for narrowly defining its interests at the expense of Pakistani citizens.

In Asma Jahangir bluntly telling her American audience how their support for Gen Pervez Musharraf was hurting Pakistan and how their obsession with ‘fighting terrorism’ was resulting in the deaths of innocent children and women, one saw the fearlessness of a legendary woman. In her rebuttal of the charge that Islam is unique in inducing terrorism, one could hear Heer thundering in front of the qazi forcing her to wed the stranger, Khaira.



Nit shahr dey fikar ghultan rahnday aihoo shamtan rab dey marian noon

Khawan wdhian nit eman waichan aihoo mar hey qazian sarian noon

(Their curse is that they pretend to be immersed in solving the problems of the city.)

([The fact is] all qazis are addicted to taking bribes and selling their faith.)
Asma Jahangir was cognisant of the loss of role models in Pakistan. In her view, educational institutions, trade unions and civil society organisations lack people who can serve as role models. This has created a vacuum in the society that is being filled by religious extremists. In other words, no Ranjhas and Heers are left to inspire the youth in their formative years.

Mukhtar Mai can only become Pakistan’s Rosa Parks — to whom she was compared in the US –if there is a Martin Luther King to lead her. Ms Parks triggered an upsurge by her defiance but then she also worked as a political worker under the leadership of Martin Luther King.

The Pakistani society is going through a difficult time but we are still hopeful because we see glimpses of the struggling Heer in Asma, Mukhtar Mai and many others. Even our puritan friend, Ahmed Shakil Mian, correspondent of weekly Takbeer, agreed that Asma Jahangir was a genuine leader.

Amrita Pritam had asked Waris Shah to speak from his grave. He is speaking through these brave women. The question is whether people like Mukhtar Mai will continue their struggle like Heer, even after receiving the attention of many powerful factions. Or will they become showpieces for bleeding-heart liberals who feel good in honouring them?

Random musings: Several years ago I asked Amrita Pritam to be the guest of honour at the annual conference of the Academy of the Punjab in North America (APNA). She told me that her health did not permit her to travel. When I insisted, she said, “I know I am quite young in your mind. You guys do not realise how old I am now.” She was right — in our minds, she was always the spirit of youth and life. She not only ushered in a new era of 20th century poetry, she also embodied that era. Along with Mohan and Pooran Singh, she was a prophetess of modern Punjabi literature.

The writer is a freelance journalist based in Washington DC