Re: pakistan politics- oxford and cambridge danger
http://www.storyofpakistan.com/person.asp?perid=P030&Pg=3
" Elections were held on January 2, 1965.
Miss Jinnah’s greatest advantage was that she was the sister of the Founder of Pakistan. She had detached herself from the political conflicts that had plagued Pakistan after the Founder’s death.
The sight of this dynamic lady moving in the streets of big cities, and even in the rural areas of a Muslim country, was both moving and unique.
She proclaimed Ayub Khan to be a dictator.
Miss Jinnah’s line of attack was that by coming to terms with India on the Indus Water dispute, Ayub had surrendered control of the rivers over to India.
Her campaign generated tremendous public enthusiasm. She drew enormous crowds in all cities of East and West Pakistan.
Miss Fatima Jinnah lost the election of 1965 and Ayub Khan was elected as the President of Pakistan.
The election infuriated the opposition who claimed it had been rigged, especially as the huge crowds who attended the opposition rallies had led them to believe in victory, in spite of the indirect election method.
It is believed that had the elections been held via direct ballot, Fatima Jinnah would have won. The Electoral College consisted of only 80,000 Basic Democrats, who were easily manipulated.
The importance of this election, lay in the fact that a woman was contesting the highest political office of the country.
The orthodox religious political parties, including the Jamaat-i-Islami led by Maulana Maududi, which had repeatedly declared that a woman could not hold the highest office of a Muslim country, modified their stance and supported the candidature of Miss Fatima Jinnah.
The election showed that the people had no prejudice against women holding high offices, and they could be key players in politics of the country. "
http://boards.historychannel.com/thread.jspa?threadID=800021525