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56 years of women’s rights activism

* Tahira Mazhar Ali Khan talks to Daily Times on Women’s Day

By Ali Waqar

LAHORE: Prominent women’s rights icon and political activist Tahira Mazhar Ali Khan stressed the importance of education, revival of political activism and equality of rights for the country to progress in an exclusive interview with Daily Times to commemorate the Women’s Day.

Recalling the history of women’s rights in Pakistan, she said right after independence there was the All Pakistan Women’s Association, which was close to the establishment, and Young Women’s Christian Association. “We formed the Democratic Women’s Association (DWA) in 1950, the country’s first independent women’s organisation.”

She said the association observed the International Women’s Day in Pakistan for the first time and protested against the Vietnam War. “Women have always been on the forefront against war. They did not want their sons and husbands to die.” She said Alice Faiz, Hajira Masroor, Khadija Omer, Khadija Mastoor, Kaniz Fatima, wives of journalists and workers and working women from Northern Lahore participated in the protest. Tahira said there was a need for information about what was going on in the world and gatherings should be arranged not in five star hotels but at public places.

She said there could be no progress without equal rights and the association struggled not only for women’s issues but also for trade union rights.

Ayub Khan banned the organisation for its resistance to dictatorship, she recalled, and restricted the members’ movement. She said Bhutto allowed more freedom of movement, assembly and expression, but recalled that the Bhutto government stopped the DWA from inviting Indian women activists to celebrate International Women Day in Pakistan. “We wanted closer ties with India and invited the activists without the government’s permission.”

After restrictions on the association in Ziaul Haq’s dictatorship, the Women Action Forum (WAF) was formed, she said, adding that the new resistance movement had more diverse membership.

She said the situation of human rights in general and women’s rights in particular had improved, but no specific laws had been made to address women’s issues. “Women’s rights are more than just constitutional,” she said. “Despite the improvement, women do not have an equal status – not even in Europe and America.” She commended the law of reserved seats for women in the assemblies, but warned against “retrogressive elements”. She held religious groups responsible for denial of women’s rights and said there was a need to fight against them.

“Being liberal does not mean being obscene,” she said. “People must understand that liberty does not mean taking clothes off. It means we should have our rights. Women should not be killed for honour and should not be treated as chattel, and this must be reflected in the country’s laws and policies.”

She said despite an increase in awareness of people on women’s rights, the civil society has been weak. “We have been talking of the Iraq war and the role of Muslims. There were anti-war protests in London, Rome, New York, and other parts of the world, but in Lahore there were only 1,200 protestors.”

She said the Pakistan Army, the American Central Intelligence Agency and Benazir Bhutto’s government supported Taliban. She said Osama Bin Laden and his companions were America’s friends and Pakistan had opted for America’s slavery.

“What were the people promised at the time of partition?” she asked. “It was said that the country would be a paradise for Muslims and minorities, but it has almost become a hell. Now it seems that the Ideology of Pakistan was to be hungry and uneducated and giving no human rights. It seems like the ideology of Pakistan was that the poor will become poorer and the rich will become richer.

She was unhappy with the role of young people. “What are young people doing?” she asked. “Are they siding with their mothers, daughters, sisters, and female friends? There will be no progress unless people begin thinking and speaking of women’s rights, there are debates on women’s issues in the assemblies and the country’s criminal and social justice system progresses.” She blamed the poor education during 12 years of Zia’s dictatorship for young people’s “failure”. She said young people must think about political issues and should prefer actions to drawing room politics.

“Religion is a private matter. You will not get a lawyer to defend yourself on the day of judgment,” she said, “So do not impose restrictions in the name of Islam.”

She stressed the importance of efforts to promote education, literacy, equal distribution of wealth and equality of rights for all classes and sexes. She said only women’s effort was not enough. “Let everyone speak and learn principals of politics.”

She said she visited women in far-flung areas in all provinces during the previous elections and women told her they wanted more schools, but the government had given everything to the private sector. “Education and health are the state’s responsibility,” she said adding that all governments had failed to fulfil the responsibility and were keeping people uneducated despite heavy loans from international donors. She said the curriculum should be improved and religion should be focused on only in the religious studies syllabus. Tahira said there was no democracy in the country’s political parties, and she condemned horse-trading, corruption and bribery. She said there was need for political education and activism in the country.

She said Pakistan’s leaders were made by the army, including Bhutto. “Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto could have delivered,” she said, “but he failed because he turned away from people, and that is why he was hanged.” She said Bhutto was hanged over a petty and false issue and called it the most wicked judgment she had ever seen. She said only women protested against Bhutto’s hanging.

In a special message, she said the world was changing very fast, and structures, people and relationships were changing with it. “In this perspective, there is a need for friendship with neighbours and a battle against wars.”

She said young women should demand more schools and educate themselves to have careers and become economically independent so that men could not dominate them.

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