Women's Day 2006 specials: We do need another hero...

By Ayesha Tammy Haq

Music icon Tina Turner once sang 'We don't need another hero', but Daily Times guest writer talks about the need for inspiration and the people who have inspired her. Tammy is no wilting wallflower herself mind you; a lawyer, journalist and television talk show host, she is one of savviest role models out there

KARACHI: I grew up in a country, which, by its very nature, required, produced and continues to require and produce heroes and it is these heroes who influence our lives and the way we view things. We all have personal heroes and icons. Perhaps because I was lucky to be part of a family of absolutely amazing women, I have many. The three generations that I have, had the privilege of knowing are three generations of smart, accomplished, exceptionally talented and very beautiful women. In my mind they embody the best of what the Pakistani woman has been able to achieve in these 58 years.
My family came to Pakistan at the time of Partition. A new beginning filled with challenges. Two of my aunts, Razia Amantullah Khan and Sadia Pirzada, both dynamic women with major personalities lived in a growing and dynamic Karachi and molded future generations (of Haq girls as they were known) into equally dynamic and fiercely independent women. They set a standard that, while high, was lived up to.
My cousins were definitely the 'IT' girls of their time and evolved with age and circumstance. Marriana Karim taught history for 23 years at the Karachi Grammar School for which countless students are forever grateful. A thespian, she acted in plays, even a film and continues to be involved with the theatre to raise funds for a scholarship fund for deserving students. Not part of the silent majority, she dabbled in politics before deciding that she would spend her waking hours helping those less fortunate and has dedicated herself to working for and raising funds for several charities including the Kidney Center. Like Marriana, Bina Muneer was on the cover of magazines and in all the society pages. She and her younger sister, Pia Chinoy, became entrepreneurs for a while, making shoes and handbags to rival the best Italy has to offer. They were also commissioned to do stained glass work for not just some of the better homes but also hotels and public buildings. They are all stunningly beautiful and somehow managed not to let that get in the way of being thinking contributors to our society.
It's amazing but there isn't a single woman in my family who is not accomplished and doing something. Shaziae Pirzada was commissioned to write a book on women in Bahrain. Her sister Sehr has so much talent we don't know how to harness it. She paints, designs fabulous clothes and at present runs a riding school for children. Sherry Haq in Lahore is the administrator of the Lahore Grammar School. Her daughter Aaminah Haq is an actor and super model. My sister, Aamna Taseer, the epitome of grace and gentleness, is a trained Montessori teacher and has taught in Lahore for almost two decades now.
The younger lot consists of trail blazers; Raaheen Mani is a corporate executive and closet cordon bleu chef, though it seems as if she is following her mother Marriana down philanthropy lane. Sanya Muneer is one of Pakistan's most sought after designers and rumour has it that the Indians have designs on her. Her sister Sadaf Jalil, another super model and entrepreneur, works with her cousins, the design duo Sana and Safinaz. The youngest sister Seveen Muneer is at Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture and is a great artist in the making. Their cousin Sadia Khan is our most fabulous classical dancer. Her sister Bina Khan Madhani is a stylist and the other sister Razia Khan is a teacher. They are all just some of the women a country should be proud of.
So, perhaps we all need to think about who are heroes are and if we can be heroes for the women of tomorrow, who many be girls right now, but need someone to look up to nonetheless.

Judging gender bias on International Women's Day 2006

By Maqbool Ahmed

Two women judges of the Sindh High Court have quite opposing feelings and experiences with respect to the prevalence of gender bias in Pakistani society.

Daily Times spoke to Justice Qaiser Iqbal and Justice Yasmeen Abbasey about their points of view.

Justice Iqbal admits that gender discrimination still prevails in our society but its intensity has definitely decreased over the years. She says that when she joined the profession of law nobody was ready to accept that women can excel in this profession, but now women are being elevated to the higher judiciary.

Now, she believes, gender bias is decreasing and society is ready to give women the way to progress and accept them in higher positions. She believes that gender discrimination is rooted in our social structure and with a change in social structure the situation is changing and there will be more change in society's attitude towards women in the future.

A graduate of Law College Peshawar, Justice Iqbal believes that women in this profession do face more difficulties than men. "Yes, there are difficulties but you have to face the difficulties and learn to not only survive but achieve the goals you work for," she says. Justice Iqbal, who started her career in the judiciary as a civil judge in December 1976, thinks that the problem lies in ignorance and socio-economic conditions which imprison girls at home and prevent them from even acquiring a primary education. This ignorance needs to be addressed and parents need be taught to give equal importance to girls and support them in their pursuit for education and a profession.

However, Justice Yasmeen Abbasey, has different views on gender discrimination. She says she has never felt or experienced gender bias in her entire career, from a civil judge to a judge of the high court.

"Contrary to the popular concept, I found my male colleagues, especially seniors, quite helpful," she says. She believes that gender does not figure when one sits in a judge's seat. "There you are only a judge," she says. "And when you sit in a judge's seat, you do not sit there as a man or a woman. Being a judge, all the powers of a judge are there for you to exercise, therefore, the question for a handicap for women does not arise," asserts Justice Abbasey.

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