The Girl in Yellow

Enough said and talked about the girl in yellow who dared to propose in public to her university fellow, followed by a hug and an expulsion. There has been a rave of reactions to the incident, mostly cussing and cursing and a few statements of appreciation with respect to love and freedom. The advocacy has been from top class media figures who believe in being daring and pioneers. The swift response of the university management is also notable. They issued a show cause notice to the couple, who decided not to show up and hence the disciplinary committee decree a one-sided expulsion notice to the couple. 

I can understand the hurry of the university, for the incident had not just violated the university rules, religious rules and social rules of the Pakistani society, but had the parents, especially the parents of all girls, sit up in petrified horror. What? Is this what happens in universities? And soon we may have witnessed numerous withdrawals from, not just the said university, but the universities all over Pakistan. I feel that the university should have taken some precautionary steps way ahead. For example, judging by the visuals of the incident, there appears to be no dress code at the university. At least not in implementation. What? Dress code? What about freedom of dressing? Yes, don’t you know? There are dress codes in the West for every place, from offices to parties to beaches. You are not allowed party clothes in the office and not allowed sleeping pajamas at parties and not allowed the judge’s wig and gown at the beach. Going a step even prior, why are there not girl’s universities and boy’s universities in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan? Or at least separate campuses for boys and girls of the same university? Although, a rise in segregated universities will also give rise to the matrimonial business in Pakistan for our aunties rarely like a girl in presence. But that is a story for another time.

What? Segregated universities? First the expulsion, and now this talk about segregated universities? Surely, the Aurat March would pick up new banners against this. For the Aurat March is all about women’s rights and freedom. And the girl in yellow did exactly that. She exercised her Islamic right to choose her marriage partner and she exercised her Aurat March freedom to say it out loud. Now what would the Aurat March do, if the girl was imprisoned for doing so? Surely they would make brand new placards, hosting her picture in duo and shout themselves hoarse demanding her release from prison. Please note that although I may not sound so right now but I am a selective supporter of the Aurat March, for they do have grounds to be marching, but a selective opponent of it as well for some of their unIslamic demands. But what shocked me through and through was when I saw a video of the Karachi Aurat March where the Aafia Movement supporters are trying to join them and are blatantly being refused to join by the Aurat March management! Why? Is Aafia not a woman? Does she not deserve freedom? In fact, she is not very different from the girl in yellow whom the Aurat March would love to support right now. I remember a video of Aafia … she was also wearing yellow and speaking out loud … at a conference in America about the women’s rights in Islam. The memory seems to have an eerie resemblance and resonance to the Aurat March and the girl in yellow today, because she was also standing up for women’s rights, dressed in yellow. But what is haunting is the fact that the Aurat March would discriminate so rashly and stand up for the rights and freedom of one girl in yellow while expelling the rights and freedom of another girl in yellow … for what reason?

Just about now, most of the far rightists of the Pakistani society and bearers of Islam would smirk and say, ‘See what a sham the Aurat March is?’ Tut, tut, they stand up for women’s rights and freedom and at the same dot moment are refusing to stand up for the rights and freedom of a particular woman, Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani and a Muslim. Really? Is that so bad? For I have some breaking news for you. Most of the religious organizations of Pakistan also refuse to speak up for Aafia Siddiqui! Can you believe that? They dodge and evade the topic and when asked point blank, ‘Why do you not speak up for Aafia Siddiqui?’ They say, ‘Ours is a religious, educational and Dawa oriented organization while the case of Aafia is a political issue. Religion and politics cannot be mixed …’ Well, let me remind you, that not so far back, only about twenty years ago, when Islam was on the rise in Islamabad, the refusers would refute by saying, ‘Deen and dunya cannot be mixed …’ to which the Islam bearers would then reply, ‘Islam is a way of life, encompassing all the spheres of life … no exclusion!’ Then what happened post 9/11, that politics was conveniently put outside the sphere of Islam? The case of Aafia Siddiqui is a clear case of a Muslim, female prisoner-of-war in captivity and holds more sanctity than the sanctity of Kabah itself. So if we are done with our tawafs and bashing the girl in yellow, can we now do something for another girl in yellow who has not seen her mother, sister or children in eighteen years ? Do we dare to pioneer her freedom ?

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Why Aurat March ?

Aurat means ‘woman’ in the Urdu language, while in Arabic, it means a blemish, a fault, a shame … something that needs to be covered up. Now before you build an antagonism against the Arabic language, let me clarify that Arabic does not use this word to address women. Rather, the word that is used is Nisaa, as it comes in the title of chapter four of the Holy Quran, and it is simply the opposite of Rijaal, which means men in Arabic. Why Urdu took this particular unflattering word, aurat, from the Arabic language to address women, I don’t know, but since Urdu is a mixed language and takes its vocabulary from Arabic, Persian, Hindi and English, perhaps it took some of their ideas as well. Now I do not want to go into too much depth in here about the different cultures and how each of them views women, in the past and in the present, and neither do I want to put the blame of our doings upon others. But, what I do know for sure is that, throughout the human history, women have had to struggle hard for survival, basic human rights and the right to speak out.

Have you heard the joke where a girl gets married and on the first day, when she addresses her mother-in-law with the word ‘Aunty’, she corrects her and says, ‘Its Mother’. And then she addresses her father-in-law with the word ‘Uncle’, she corrects her again and says, ‘Its Father’. So in the evening when her husband comes home, the girl decides to be smart and says, ‘Mother, father … brother is here !’ Lol … now, now, I know I must be annoying you all by touching upon the so saintly ethical family values of our society. No doubt it is very sweet to consider his parents as your own, for that is what Prophet Muhammed Pbuh has taught us,

‘Thy have three parents … thy biological parents, they in-law parents and thy teachers !’ [Reference]

Now I have checked this Hadith with a magnifying glass but I have found no indication whatsoever that this Hadith is directed only to women, but the fact of the matter is that, our society applies it only upon women. No ? How many men have you seen or heard about who call their wife’s parents, Mother and Father?

To make the martial marital law easier to preach, they have come up with a new wonderful analogy, which I am sure they think is so very clever of them to think up. Sigh, if only they would have put their brains to bring up better boys and better in-laws ! Now listen carefully. The West says that children become adults at the age of eighteen. We Muslims, hold up our holy finger and negate solemnly, ‘No, according to Islam, children become adults as soon as they reach puberty, which is in early teens …’ They are fully responsible adults now, fully accountable by Shariah and fully eligible for adult responsibilities, to the extent that they can even get married! Tut, tut, the government of Pakistan, under the pressure of the West, have set the legal age of marriage at sixteen for girls and eighteen for boys. What a pity, that our youngsters are ready for marriage but the government won’t allow them …

What about ourselves ? Are we ready to allow a newly married girl to be in charge of her home ? Are we ready to allow a newly married girl to lead her family ? Ah! But they say that by Islam, a woman cannot lead but only a man can lead. The mother-in-law is an exemption of course ! Either she is not a woman anymore and has become a Hitler by now, or some sort of Islamic twist exempts her from the ban of leadership. For the so smart theory and advice that they to give to a newly wed girl is, 

‘Consider yourself a soldier who is entering an army camp. Consider the mother-in-law the commander-in-chief. Commit yourself to do her bidding at every beck and call. Then one day, many years later, you will also rise to the position of commander-in-chief and can enjoy the same powers …’

How disgusting ! You are actually preaching a cycle of abuse. Like the infamous picture of the little boy who grows with abuse and learns to abuse and metes out abuse to another little boy all over again. When the girl is legally responsible for her Salah and her Fasts and her Hijab … why is she legally not responsible for her home and family ? Why should she be shoved to become a subordinate once again after being qualified for Nikah and adulthood ? And I have yet to state the punchline of the martial marital law. Because the father-in-law is usually non-bothersome, non-interfering and easy-going with the daughter-in-law, the daughter-in-law should immediately and urgently distance herself from him so that the commander-in-chief mother-in-law can feel secure !   

So what happens in the story next ? The newly wed girl gets all confused by the confusing set of laws, hears about an Aurat March on TV and sets out to join it, vaguely remembering that she is supposed to be some sort of a soldier. Hence, the aurat march !

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Ustaad ka Izzat Do

I attended a demonstration at the Islamabad Press Club a few weeks back. It was held by the Private Schools Association of Islamabad. They, including I, were protesting the continued closure of schools while everything else has been opened. For example, offices, markets, banquet halls … even mosques. So why the closure on schools ? So there were two slogans being shouted … Taleem ko Izzat Do … and … Ustaad ko Izzat Do …

It kind of resonated with Maryam Nawaz’s Vote ko Izzat Do … for we all know what that Izzat actually means. In other words, it means that forget our corruption and reinstate the Pakistan Muslim League of Pakistan. P.S. Not just any PML but particularly PML-N … yes that’s right ! Now the democracy is complete !

Well, I could somewhat agree with the slogan … Taleem ko Izzat Do … but the slogan … Ustaad ko Izzat Do … had a strange ring to it. Now the interesting fact is that I myself am a teacher, and who does not desire respect for one’s profession ? But the question stands, do we, ourselves respect our profession ourselves ? Why did I choose to become a teacher ? Was I a bored housewife sitting at home with nothing to do so I decided to become a teacher ? Were our home expenses running a bit tight so my husband started nagging me to become a teacher and share the expenses ? Was I a failure in my professional career and decided to become a teacher if nothing else ? Note the word professional … that is used for all professions except the teaching profession ! By the way, have you ever heard of a teaching institute, college or university in Pakistan ? Where they would teach one to become a teacher ? None. There are budding some small departments within organizations who are conducting some short courses and workshops about teaching … but we still have a long, long way to go …

Well, why do you think there aren’t any teaching colleges ? Why do you think teaching is not considered a profession ? Even if, why do you think teaching is not respected as a profession ? The billion dollar answer is… there is not much money in it. So like all fake and façade relations of our society, the profession of teaching is also now measured upon the scales of money. If the money is good, we quickly switch to the Prophetic Hadith …

‘The prophets do not leave behind themselves dirhim and dinar but they have left the legacy of scholarship …’ 

meaning that the scholars and teachers are the heirs of the prophets.

Once the money has been secured, we now seek to secure respect as well. 

The question is, who is it who evaluates the teaching profession in terms of money ? The teachers or the society ? The answer is both. If the son says one fine day that he would like to become a teacher when he grows up … the parents almost have an heart attack. What ? School teacher ? Are you a sissy ? There is no money in it ! There you go … the first link up of education to money. Next, let us have a look at the teacher him/herself. One fine day, s/he is working as a teacher in a school, and the mobile bell rings … bingo ! Someone is calling with a job offer of a few thousands more … rap ! The heir to prophet hood drops the pens and papers and rushes out to put up  his/her resignation. It won’t matter if the school is in the middle of the academic session. It won’t matter if the final exams are just around the corner. It won’t matter if the teacher had just newly been hired and the school had just sighed a sigh of relief to have placed a teacher in the said class. It won’t matter if the students have already built an emotional connection with the teacher.  The dollar bills in the eyes blinds the teacher to ethics, love and everything.

They say love is blind ? Well, money also makes blind ... !

Another question is … is the quest for money all that bad ? Do not teachers have the right to dream of a comfortable and luxurious life ? Of course they do, like everyone else … but the issue is, who will pay that salary ? The teacher’s salary is generated from the student’s fees. Are the parents willing to pay a good fees to see a good teacher standing in their child’s classroom ? Our society is happy to pay thousands upon dinners, clothes, entertainment, etc, but if the school fee is running into thousands, they get a seizure ! So who will pay ? Will the government pay ? Our governments are happy to pay the ministers’ electricity charges, petrol tokens and medical bills from London, but when schools, teachers and education have to be funded, the national treasury is empty !

But lets imagine utopia. Our teacher’s begin to get a five to six digit salary … will they start teaching in the class ? Will they start following instructions  ? Will they start working hard ? Will they stop ignoring students ? Will they stop humiliating students ? Will they stop doing personal work during office time ? Will they stop using mobile phone during class ? Will they stop switching jobs for a few thousand more ? Will they stop ogling at the ‘free’ summer salary or step forward to work ahead ? Will they become committed to the cause and mission of educating the Muslim nation back to the Ottoman days of glory ? Well, an increment in the salaries of the government school teachers has not seen much …

The fact of the matter is that the greed for money and a materialistic mentality has corrupted the entire Muslim nation, and that is exactly what Prophet Muhammed Pbuh feared about us since fourteen hundred years. And that is why there is an allegation upon the schools and teachers that they are protesting the closure of schools not so much because they are worried about the academic loss of students but because of the loss of fees income and due salaries. Is that true ? All of us need to look within ourselves and find the truth. When we as a nation and as teachers, will start respecting education, the respect for teachers and the bounties by Allah Almighty will come by themselves.

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