Opinion

Changing values

Ayesha Siddiqa May 15, 2010

Just imagine if a prominent law college or university conferred a doctoral degree on Mukhtaran Mai. This was a question which came to my mind as I attended the graduation ceremony of a friend’s daughter at the City University of New York (CUNY) School of Law. What I had imagined to be a few hours of drudgery turned out to be a refreshing experience. The most exciting part was the speech made by Lilly Ledbetter, a woman from Alabama on whom CUNY Law School had conferred an honorary doctorate degree for being the cause of a vital change in American legal and human rights history.

Ledbetter is known for the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act 2009 passed by the US Congress allowing plaintiffs to challenge discrimination in pay beyond the statutory 180 days. Ledbetter, who was employed by Goodyear Tyre in Alabama in 1979, sued her employer after seeking early retirement in 1998 to remove the discrimination in her pay versus that of her male colleagues. In 2007 the US Supreme Court turned her down on the basis of a technicality that she should have sued the employer at the time of settlement of claims rather than afterwards. She didn’t give up and lobbied for support from Congressmen, especially at the Democrats convention in Denver. The new legislation has not affected her but it has changed the lives of hundreds of working American women. The CUNY faculty, comprising some of the best names in the legal profession, decided to appreciate the efforts of this simple but determined woman.

But would we in Pakistan appreciate Mukhtaran in a similar fashion for her bravery and turning her tragedy into opportunity for girls and women in her village? She used the money provided by international donors to establish a school in her area. I still remember the cynical smiles of many seemingly progressive and highly literate men and women who immediately reminded us of how much money Mukhtaran suddenly had in her bank account. For these commentators, the money was due compensation for the travesty of her honour.

Such views are not odd in a country whose president believed that women got themselves raped to seek American and Canadian visas. Pervez Musharraf, whom many amongst the educated elite and intelligentsia considered a symbol of the middle class value system, had blocked her travel to the US. Later, she was allowed to travel after American diplomatic intervention.

Mukhtaran’s efforts may be wanting at many levels but they were an individual’s attempt to start a process to improve women’s rights which she was unable to do because of her lack of education and inability to generate a popular movement (at the time). Her school may be a tree for powerless women to rest under for a little while but it’s not enough for those confronted with brutality.

The present government and some of its parliamentarians like Sherry Rehman must be appreciated for campaigning on the floor of the parliament to bring some changes to the existing legal system particularly in laws pertaining to sexual harassment and the Hudood Ordinance. But more needs to be done. Attention is specifically required to alter the value system in educational institutions whose products will become policymakers of tomorrow.

CUNY law school has a distinction of producing public interest lawyers but many that graduated this year will steer away from the course of serving the public. But the fact that one of the students from the graduating class made a speech highlighting how universities in America have deviated from their initial idealism showed that the capacity to dream and think outside the box will survive.

Published in the Express Tribune, May 16th, 2010.

COMMENTS (5)

sasha | 14 years ago | Reply it is really sad when educated Pakistani sit abroad and obsess in Pakistani newspapers about how to turn Pakistan around...they should be ashamed for romanticizing about the problems(quite a cliched exercise) and return to become part of the solution

Zara | 14 years ago | Reply After years of supporting Mukhtaran Mai, I read a book called Into the Mirror by Bronwyn Curran. Ms Curran spent months researching and writing this book. And I was saddened after reading it. There was a lot more to the case that was made public at that time. So please read the book and draw your own conclusions

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Syed A. Mateen | 14 years ago | Reply There are many people in Pakistan who are serving masses and doing every day some thing good for the country. But efforts of such people did not come in the lime light as to reasons that whatever good they are doing is not publicized in the media and secondly if it comes in the media the authorities do not take any notice to reward the person. Honouring with Doctoral Degree to Mukhtaran Mai or to other people who are serving the country is a matter to be acknowledged by the people who are sitting at the helm of authorities. But in Pakistan awarding a Doctoral Degree to some one who has done some thing well for the country is beyond imagination. The only case which came in the lime light was of Abdul Sattar Edhi, but there are uncounted more Edhis who are or have contributed towards the country. Similarly, Presidential Awards are awarded to selected people every year. These include people from Armed/Security Forces as well as from the civilians. I have no objection in awarding Presidential Awards to those people who have really done some thing good for the country. But on the other hand there are many Presidential Awards awarded to such civilians in the country who do not deserve these awards from any point of view. Every year there is a long list of such people who pursue the authorities to get these awards and some of them achieve the targets. One of the main reasons of brain drain from Pakistan is that government does not recognize the services of such people who have spent their entire lives to serve the masses for the betterment of the country. What one can expect from such a person – he or she finally leaves the country to serve in some other country where his or her services are recognized by foreign governments.

Shahd | 14 years ago | Reply Remember Safia Bibi, the blind girl who was sentenced to suffer whipping after she was unable to present the necessary four witnesses under the Hudood laws in the Zia era? The same system continues in Saudi Arabia today as highlighted by some cases when the Saudi government punished the rape victim for "publicizing" her case. Our medieval, male chauvinistic mentality is visible amongst the elite and upwardly mobile urban middle class as well who use religion top justify their barbarianism and inhumane treatment of woman. These self styled protectors of national security, integrity and self righteous opportunists who had the audacity of claiming that a rape victim "used" her case and was "bad image" for the country should be sentenced to suffer the same fate and realize the horrors of such acts. You are entirely correct that the intelligentsia and elites also will cry if a university bestows a honorary doctorate upon Mukhtaran, for them it is a "bad image" and Mukhtaran is funded by "foreign agenda".

Nadir El Edroos | 14 years ago | Reply One of the important points to take away from this article is that in both the cases of Lilly Ledbetter and Mukhtaran Mai, circumstances had placed them in a situation where they were able to use their misfortune and walk away by adding to the common good. Both could have demanded individual compensation and that would have been that. However, by their relentless efforts wider society has benefited. It goes to show how individuals can change their communities or even nations for the better. One does not have to be a full-time public interest lawyer or activist. In Mukhtaran Mai's case,after going through so much she was still able to give back a lot to a society that had essentially failed to protect her. Perhaps we are not as impotent and powerless as we are made out to be?

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