A man divorced his wife on Monday and expelled his daughters from his house when on joining Pakistan Awami Tehreek’s sit-in in Islamabad.
Mazhar Hussain, a daily wage worker living in Basti Shumaali near Mian Channu, told The Express Tribune that his eldest daughter, 24-year-old Shaziar had been attending Minhajul Quran gatherings for several years ago.
He said she was convinced that Qadri could save Pakistan. He said she had joined Minhajul Quran under Fatima Nanhi, the Minhajul Quran women wing president of Mian Channu.
He said Shazia also taught at a high school run by Minhajul Quran. He said his other daughters had followed her sister and were studying at the school where Shazia taught.
Hussain said his wife and daughters had gone to Lahore in June to welcome PAT chief Qadri on his arrival from Canada.
He said later, they decided to join PAT’s long march in the first week of August.
He said they returned to Mian Channu on August 28.
“As soon as they arrived home, they started talking about leaving again,” he said.
Hussain said he forbade them from going again.
“I told them that if they wanted to go back to Islamabad, they should at least ensure they went by my leave,” he said.
He said he argued with his wife and forbade her from attending any PAT or Minhaj gathering.
Hussain said at this point, and their daughters beat him up.
He said he was rescued by neighbours. He said he then told his wife he wanted a divorce and told his daughters that they should leave his house. He said some of the neighbours tried to restrain but he did not change his mind.
“No one wants to leave their family,” he said. “The truth is, they left me.”
He said Tahirul Qadri should preach the importance of family values.
“What kind of a scholar teaches women to ignore their responsibilities towards their families,” he said.
He said he blamed Qadri for state of his family.
He said Pakistan Awami Tehreek workers were giving him death threats.
Talking to The Express Tribune, Shazia said her father had abused them in a bid to stop them from attending the sit-in in Islamabad. She said they had rented a house in Jinnah Town after her father told them to leave.
Shahid Mehmood, a neighbour, said Hussain was a gentleman and that his wife and daughters had been unfair to him.
“I work with him every day,” he said. “He struggles to make a living for them and they disregard his efforts.”
Naeem Chaudhary and Mian Jamshed, also residents of the area, also said Hussain was a soft spoken person and had not hurt anyone.
PAT Mian Channu president Matiur Rehman denied that Hussain was being harrassed.
“No one is harassing Hussain as all party workers are busy in Islamabad,” he said. He said Hussain had no grounds for leaving his family.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 12th, 2014.
COMMENTS (17)
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All of you sitting behind you facebook, mobile and laptop screens. I ask you to just go and visit the Dharna's once! Just go and see. and talk to random people over there. See the whole organization. And decide for yourself if they are paid to sit there? or if they are their against their own will !!! There are whole families sitting there. Not just single run away's as this article suggests. And majority of them have better living conditions than at their homes! Since they get a place to sleep and 3 times to eat! Which is not something they get at home. A basic necessity in life. So people just bashing this movement and bashing those people and their leader. HAVE SOME SHAME!!!
@Sharjeel Ashraf: Defintely. Why did reporter ask male neighbors only? There is more to it than meets the eye. btw, if all events are true, i still reject believe the excuse. The family bond was already weak. The dharna was a straw that broke camel's back.
Nobody can believe this article full of errors.. Please be serious!
@Someone: A man can ask but not force them. He doesn't own them. You missed the point. Facepalm to your ignorance.
The gender roles are changing and it is evident in this news story. The good thing is that women of poor families are able to study and find work for them as one of the daughter did. The other wonderful thing to note is politicisation at grassroots level. The women of this family following a cult leader but I am sure there will also be moments of awakening for them.
One sided story! More investigation is needed here. Neighbours claims are not enough. This man must be hiding something.
This is too much. If I were the man I would never let my family go through all these hardships in open to sky. Even if they were committed. I still appreciate the Man's patience for he let them remain there till Aug 28th. And he wouldn't have divorced and expelled hi daughters. Feeling so sorry for them. It doesn't seem a political ideological conflict rather it was a a demand from his wife and daughters had already been met.
i hope this is in qadri's biopic , fingers crossed
This man is extremely right at his place.
ok now. the propaganda is at its peak.. Good work tribune thumbsup
@Ahsan: A man has a right to ask his wife or daughters not to do something without his wishes. Just like the wife and daughters have their rights too, which the father has to fulfil. This has nothing to do with "owning" women. You liberals and your out-of-tune perspectives on the world *facepalm
Man beaten by wife n daughters.....hmmm not sure the word man applies :0
TUQ is a cult leader and he has brainwashed many people into focusing on him alone and forgetting about their families.
I purely feel this is the result of weak family bond instead of some political orientation. Family relationships, if they are strong, do not break up on trivial issues like this..
Wise decision.