anwer.mooraj@tribune.com.pk
From time to time, the PPP came out with full page advertisements at the taxpayer’s expense, lauding its many achievements. It would, therefore, be grossly unfair to maintain that the party didn’t accomplish any worthwhile undertakings. In fact, though it was operating in what is probably the world’s most misogynistic, testosterone fuelled male chauvinist society, the PPP did manage to push through certain reforms designed to treat women as human beings rather than cattle to be bought and sold in the market place. This resulted in the establishment of a women’s bank run exclusively by women and also a police station manned exclusively by them. Of course, it is quite another thing that the government didn’t receive any cooperation from the police and retrogressive sections of society that condoned prehistoric customs like vani. But at least, they made the gesture.
The more intelligent members of the party point to the constitutional reforms carried out by their lawyers, particularly the Eighteenth, Nineteenth and Twentieth Amendments, which provided for provincial autonomy, the transfer of presidential power to parliament, the smooth installation of caretaker governments and most important of all, the striking down of the president’s power to dissolve the assemblies. There is also a whole string of other accomplishments, as long as my arm, which the provincial governments trumpeted from time to time, like lifting the ban on trade union activities, reinstating workers previously sacked, increasing the wages of workers on two occasions and giving labour the right of pension after retirement. However, in spite of all this, voters rejected the party at the national elections.
I have always found a contradiction in the original manifesto of the Pakistan Peoples’ Party. The creed was quite straight forward. “Islam is our religion/ Democracy is our politics/ Socialism is our economy/ All power to the People.” The party also promised the elimination of feudalism in accordance with the established principles of socialism. We still had intellectuals in those days who argued that Islamic Socialism was a contradiction in terms. Either you had Islam, or you had Socialism. You couldn’t have both. And then there was this business of abolishing feudalism. While the slogan shone with a copywriter’s burnish, it didn’t really make any sense, especially as among the founding fathers of the party were quite a few feudal chieftains. In fact, the first line of the manifesto destroyed the myth that the PPP was a secular party.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 1st, 2013.
Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.
COMMENTS (6)
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ
@Dasmir: History has already judged Zardari as an opportunist, a murderer, and one of the most corrupt person to hold public office. Why did he work with rivals? To serve the interest of the public or to make sure that he does not see the world from behind the bars again? What could be the motives of CJ for bias against Zardari? Was it not Zardari and his co who did not re-appoint dismissed judiciary and made every effort (although in effective) to avoid doing so? Was it not him who had criminal cases against him in international courts and was hiding under the canopy of chair that ensured in immunity?
I agree with you on half-educated anchors and journalists, in fact, I would say that are less than half-educated.
And I believe nobody in the country needs certificate from Mooraj,
To the author: In the article you said: "reforms designed to treat women as human beings rather than cattle to be bought and sold in the market place" implying that in Pakistani society women are subjected to subhuman treatment. If this is not exaggeration, please share a few incidents that are worthy of generalization to the extent of society at large.
Not to say that you are plainly exaggerating but I was born and raised in Pakistan and apart from a few incidents of criminal nature (which you can find even here in the West), I can not find any incidents that can logically infer that Pakistani society is not a place for women. We all have women in our families, leading a normal, decent, helping life.
To call PPP as a Socialist or Secular is factually incorrect actually they are supporting the feudal and Islamists. Most of Sindh has lost Secularism due to PPP because PPP is a conservative Islamist Party.
When you sow a seed and nurse it against all odds in desert you will appear like Zardari,a 10% man,cheshire cat smile and what not! But what he did for Pakistan will realise its true meaning in ten to hundred years time when one will marvel at his tenacity,his capability of working with erstwhile bitter rivals facing a extremely biased and hostile CJ,hostile and viputerve half educated anchors.One will have nothing but admiration for Zardari. He doesn't need certificates from likes of Meeraj. History will judge him and will judge him high .
On Mr Zardari you have exercised been quite restrained, if you had said more I doubt anyone would have objected. On the PPP's efforts you have been extra charitable and I doubt if many would agree with you.