When five Pakistani female legislators made an official visit to Houston last week, they braced themselves for questions they hear often when traveling to Western nations.
“Do women go out of their houses in your country?” “Can women move around without a veil?” “How could you get a modern education in a society like that?”
But the mere presence of the female Pakistani parliamentarians in the U.S. challenged those misconceptions. They toured the country at the invitation of the U.S. State Department and called on several American businessmen in Houston and City Controller Annise Parker, who is running for mayor.
But the mere presence of the female Pakistani parliamentarians in the U.S. challenged those misconceptions. They toured the country at the invitation of the U.S. State Department and called on several American businessmen in Houston and City Controller Annise Parker, who is running for mayor.
Encouraging response
The delegation was in Houston to study the political and electoral process here and to meet local Pakistanis. They also lobbied members of Congress and mobilized the Pakistani community to raise funds for displaced people back home. The ongoing military operation against militants in the northwestern part of Pakistan has forced millions to leave their homes.
The legislators were content with the encouraging response they received from their American hosts and the way they were listened to during the discussions.
“They realized women have faced the same tribulations all over the world but were impressed with the increased number of women legislators in Pakistan,” said Marvi Memon, who leads the delegation, which plans to return to Pakistan on Saturday.
During the last government of former President Pervez Musharraf women were given 60 seats in the parliament. The plan was to enable them to gradually have 33 percent of the seats at the federal, provincial and local government levels. These are reserved seats and allotted to political parties in proportion to the seats they win in general elections. It’s still very rare for women to win a general election.
Memon brushes aside the perception that women parliamentarians are just there to project a positive image of Pakistan.
“The situation is quite contrary to the general perception about us. ... I have the most adjournment motions, resolutions, bills to my name. ... I am one of the four parliamentarians who got their bills passed in the entire first year of the parliament,” she said.
Fozia Ejaz Khan, another member of the delegation, defends having quotas for women in the Pakistani parliament. “Reserved seats are the best way to get women into politics in a closed male chauvinistic society,” she said. “This helps women who can’t afford to pay millions to fight an election.”
Memon challenges the belief that Islam prohibits women from playing roles outside their houses. “A wife of Prophet Muhammad was a businesswomen and another led forces in a battle.”
Unlike others, Khan does not quote examples from early Islamic history but refers to Fatima Jinnah, the sister of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan.
“She would go out working with her brother and won’t sit back home,” Khan said.
Taint of the Taliban
Misconceptions about Muslims have a very long history, said Elora Shehabuddin, an assistant professor at the Center for the Study of Women, Gender and Sexuality at Rice University. She said today’s basic stereotypes are that Muslim men are bearded terrorists and Muslim women are oppressed and wear burkas.
“We’re talking about more than a billion people here!” Shehabuddin said.
Shehabuddin said most recently the actions of groups such as the Taliban in Afghanistan and their limits on women’s rights have been used to taint all Muslims.
There are many wrongs that to need to be corrected by Muslims, said Faegheh Shirazi, an associate professor at the Department of Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Texas.
“When our fathers and brothers treat us badly, how can others build a positive image about us?” she said.
Shirazi, who studies material culture and its influence on gender identity and discourse in Muslim societies, is referring to a YouTube video. In the video, members of Afghanistan’s parliament can be seen throwing coffee on their female colleagues and even slapping them.
“If this is what the world is going to see, how can a positive image emerge?” Shirazi said.
She said she would often hear from students, “Why do you drive? Aren’t you a Muslim or do all men have seven wives in your country?” Her answer would be simple. She would say Muslims in different parts of the world behave differently the same way French, German and Mexican Catholics are different from each other.
