Re: The “Mahdern” Pakistani Woman
Sorry PCG, I consider myself Pakistani-Canadian, so I didn’t think this thread/question applies to me.
Also, I have never been treated like a native Canadian (by people abroad) because often I am too conservative for them. Neither have I ever been treated like a pure Pakistani girl by the people in Pakistan because to them I am mixed. And they are both right, I am not one or the other; I have a bit of both cultures in me.
Well, I find that a lot of girls in Pakistan (esp. middle class) get a degree just to score good proposals. All they secretly want is to be a nakhrelo wife and be taken hand to hand in their susraal. A lot of families look for these types of girls who are educated (so they can raise the kids well and be able to support the husband financially if need be) but really, they want her to be a full time housewife and not have a career.
In the upper class, the women who are well educated, some are truly career-oriented and driven. But a lot of them are just social butterflies and running charitable organizations as a sort of popularity contest to see who can outdo the other.
My views may be skewed, because I don’t actually live in Pakistan. So I apologize if my view offends anyone. I have college-going cousins in Pak who update me on the youth culture there… also my close friends here share stories about their relatives back home…plus what the media shows. Oftentimes it comes up that there is so much competition, jealousy, backbiting, showoff and gossip among young girls there that it keeps them from focusing on more serious matters like Pakistani politics, foreign affairs, etc. Every other girl is a self-proclaimed makeup artist. And once you have worn one dress to college or a party, God forbid if you wear the same one again!
As for **shopoholic’s **‘mehnat kar hasad na kar’ advice, hasad kon kar raha hai yar? Pakistani women are generally considered very pretty and I mentioned this among other qualities like being educated and fashion forward.