An unfulfilled promise: History will remember Gullana Bibi for daring to dream
The widowed mother of four and former PK-69 candidate passed away in Tank last week.
Gullana Bibi. PHOTO: FILE
DI KHAN:
None of the handful of women who vied to contest last year’s general elections in defiance of tribal traditions were able to win from their respective seats.
Perhaps this is why when Gullana Bibi, who aimed to represent her people from Tank’s PK-69 seat, passed away on May 2, it was only her close relatives who mourned her.
The 63-year-old widow and mother of four was laid to rest in Dabara, the Bhittani tribe’s village in Tank.
Even though Gullana withdrew her nomination papers for the elections after two armed men claiming to be the Taliban threatened her with dire consequences if she continued campaigning, she will always be remembered in the area for daring to dream of something that was hither to unheard of. In the conservative male-dominated tribal society of Tank and its surrounding areas, Gullana tried to reach for the stars.
However, she could not turn her dream into reality as her earnest desire to represent the poor and downtrodden of society was thwarted owing to the region’s precarious law and order.
“Being tribesmen, we did not want her to be exposed to the public but her desire compelled us to let her contest the elections. She did not hold public gatherings and instead campaigned door to door in the settled areas of Tank,” said Khana Dar, one of her sons, while talking to The Express Tribune.
Gullana belonged to the Qabar Shadi Khel Kalay area of Frontier Region Tank but moved to Babara, Tank after her husband was killed over a family enmity.
Without ever having seen the inside of a school, Gullana was educated enough to understand that the area’s politicians always banked on votes of the poor but did very little for them once elected. This love for the poor, who were similar to her, is what compelled the shepherdess to aim for the provincial assembly seat.
“I will help the poor, and if elected will build a girls school in Qabar Shadi Khel Kalay, my hometown,” Gullana had told The Express Tribune during last year’s general elections.
The seat was eventually clinched by Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl’s Mahmood Ahmed Khan.
Gullana ardently believed women had the power to change society but traditions had restricted them to the houses. She died with the unfilled desire of becoming a public representative and seeing the poor segments of her society benefit from a legislator that actually cares about them.
For this, Gullana’s name will be remembered in Tank for daring to dream of equality and a better future.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 6th, 2014.
None of the handful of women who vied to contest last year’s general elections in defiance of tribal traditions were able to win from their respective seats.
Perhaps this is why when Gullana Bibi, who aimed to represent her people from Tank’s PK-69 seat, passed away on May 2, it was only her close relatives who mourned her.
The 63-year-old widow and mother of four was laid to rest in Dabara, the Bhittani tribe’s village in Tank.
Even though Gullana withdrew her nomination papers for the elections after two armed men claiming to be the Taliban threatened her with dire consequences if she continued campaigning, she will always be remembered in the area for daring to dream of something that was hither to unheard of. In the conservative male-dominated tribal society of Tank and its surrounding areas, Gullana tried to reach for the stars.
However, she could not turn her dream into reality as her earnest desire to represent the poor and downtrodden of society was thwarted owing to the region’s precarious law and order.
“Being tribesmen, we did not want her to be exposed to the public but her desire compelled us to let her contest the elections. She did not hold public gatherings and instead campaigned door to door in the settled areas of Tank,” said Khana Dar, one of her sons, while talking to The Express Tribune.
Gullana belonged to the Qabar Shadi Khel Kalay area of Frontier Region Tank but moved to Babara, Tank after her husband was killed over a family enmity.
Without ever having seen the inside of a school, Gullana was educated enough to understand that the area’s politicians always banked on votes of the poor but did very little for them once elected. This love for the poor, who were similar to her, is what compelled the shepherdess to aim for the provincial assembly seat.
“I will help the poor, and if elected will build a girls school in Qabar Shadi Khel Kalay, my hometown,” Gullana had told The Express Tribune during last year’s general elections.
The seat was eventually clinched by Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl’s Mahmood Ahmed Khan.
Gullana ardently believed women had the power to change society but traditions had restricted them to the houses. She died with the unfilled desire of becoming a public representative and seeing the poor segments of her society benefit from a legislator that actually cares about them.
For this, Gullana’s name will be remembered in Tank for daring to dream of equality and a better future.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 6th, 2014.