Females in Pakistan and subcontinent

[shaasavera]

Re: Females in Pakistan and subcontinent

@Jolie

The unmissable irony here is that all three major countries in the subcontinent had produced powerful female Prime Ministers yet these countries never had a Women’s Movement. We have female MPs in the parliament yet Women’s Rights have never been a high priority political agenda or even a popular mainstream debate. These agonising facts define the sorry state of Feminism and Women’s Rights in South Asia.

The vast majority of female Pakistani politicians are a huge disappointment. An utter embarrassment and a collective failure. They themselves are so absorbed in the status quo that there’s very little hope that these women will ever openly and independently talk about the rights of a disadvantaged group, in that case women. Frankly speaking, it is not just about speaking up about Women Rights, in fact expecting female politicians to take a forceful stance on any particular policy or issue is asking for too much. Unfortunately, Pakistanis female politicians are not known for (nor they have the ability) for leading debates, stirring debates or inventing debates on the basis of their experience and knowledge. Most of them don’t even know why they are in politics and what they are talking about.

But why these female politicians don’t talk about Women’s Rights mainly boils down to the issue of class. We are still a very class ridden society. We have a very rigid class structure. We still think and act according to the class lines. So in that context, speaking about rights of women also means simultaneously addressing the grievances of working class, acknowledging deep social and economic inequalities and talking about greater human equality with dare I say, socialist strategies. Sadly Pakistani politics is infested with the feudal class, regardless of the gender of the politicians, they would never actively promote a system that intends to break down the discriminatory social and gender hierarchies that enables rich and powerful to control the poor and weak.

That is an interesting irony considering subcontinental countries have female PMs yet US has not. However, female politicians in the US speak out louder for women’s issues compared to the East. Sometimes i wonder if it’s because the powerful female leaders never rose up the ranks on their own but always rose up through a powerful male relative. All the female PMs were elected because they were related to a powerful male leader. Maybe these females didn’t feel they had much power to support a woman’s movement that they themselves were never part of. I think there are a lot of misconceptions of the women’s movement amongst the public which female politicians do nothing to change. People see it as a western thing, which is anti-family/anti-marriage when in reality local women’s movements exist focusing on local issues whether they be honour killings, acid attacks, dowry murders and rape. Issues very relevant to all subcontinental countries. Probably some part of the blame goes to the women’s movement in these countries for focusing on issues related to a particular class and not being as vocal about issues related to those of lower class and socioeconomic status. Even UK’s Margaret Thatcher, though i disagree with her politics, rose up on her own without support of a male relative. People have given up on politicians and have started their own vigilante movements to protect women. There is this group called gulabi gang which tries to protect women and attacks men/women who are treating females badly. Just shows society no longer trusts politicians and police.

I agree female politicians in subcontinent in general don’t look beyond the status quo and their own position. They don’t initiate debates on important topics or let their fellow politicians know of these issues. They just follow their party line and act as soft image for the party. I hope such politicians do emerge in the future. I wonder if inspiring female politicians exist who are not like the above examples.

Are there inspiring female politicians in Pakistan who have spoken for those of a disadvantaged class? Maybe less well known politicians who have decided to follow their own path. If not trying to break discriminatory hierarchies they can at least try to highlight issues. Unfortunately i don’t think female politicians in any of the other countries are any better. I wonder if a quota system makes it more or less likely that females will speak out about these issues.

The most inspiring Pakistani women i have read about are not politicians. Maybe other non-political leaders can be the way forward for these movements.

15 Of The Most Inspiring Women In Pakistan