A thumps up to the maulana!

ISLAMABAD, June 22: The hardliner Islamist political party, Jamaat-e-Islami, Chitral chapter, outclassed all the secular and so-called enlightened political parties by bringing out female university students to Ataleeq Bazaar in Chitral to hold a rally against non-allocation of funds for the establishment of a university in Chitral. This was perhaps the first ever protest of its kind in the history of Chitral in which female burqa-clad university students took to the streets with full enthusiasm, chanting slogans against the provincial government led by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). Many termed this a step towards women empowerment and emancipation in Chitral. And at the protest were, among others, the JI leaders. The initiative taken by JI Chitral will be instrumental in women empowerment and grooming the university girls through such activities, especially in a male-dominated society like Chitral where women can only be seen talking behind closed doors. The girls who thronged to Atlaeeq Bazaar, a marketplace where a woman could hardly be seen walking on foot, passionately listened to a hard-hitting speech delivered by former member National Assembly Mualana Abdul Akbar Chitrali. Maulana Chitrali negated the very impression of being a hardliner and his party of being accused of discouraging women from taking part in politics. The step taken by the JI leader will go a long way in making the backward women self-sufficient by raising voice through such forums for their rights instead of relying on men. The rally should have been addressed by Bibi Fozia, member provincial assembly, who has especially been handpicked by PTI chairman Imran Khan. However, the lady lawmaker preferred to stay away. Saleem Khan and Sardar Hussain, the MPAs of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) – a centre-left, progressive democratic political party – have also failed to even slightly implement their charismatic leader Benazir Bhutto’s motto of women empowerment. Lack of patronage is one of the factors Chitrali woman still lag behind in politics despite holding higher educational qualifications than men. A comparatively less qualified Lakshen Bibi can better represent the people than a university qualified Bibi Fozia as she has more exposure to the outside world. “For a woman doing politics in Chitral is the most difficult thing. You cannot succeed in politics unless you don’t have a strong backing. If I’m alive in Chitral’s politics it’s because I’ve some ghundas,” remarked a female political worker who declined to be named. She said the exploitation of the women particularly when they go outside Chitral for education, jobs, etc. was mainly due to the lack of awareness as they remained confined to their homes. “Most of the women in Chitral are comparatively shy compared to their counterparts in Gilgit-Baltistan. They don’t have confidence and we ourselves are responsible for making our daughters as parasites,” she lamented.  ]]>