PAKISTANI WOMEN ARE NOT SUBMISSIVE !

Running for a mixed society

Sunday-January 30, 2006, Lahore, Pakistan: 15,000 people - women, men and children - supported by foreign sympathisers start the race. A mixed gender marathon under close surveillance. Since the official announcement at the beginning of January, Islamic groups had tried everything to ban this new mixed gender race and to intimidate the entrants thus creating a high tension climate. But all these threats, ban campaigns and demonstrations will not have stopped the will of these thousands of women who, despite their fears, run together with men. After their symbolic victory on May 21, when female and male athletes ran together, they were more determined than ever not to step back in the face of their detractors and above all to prove that Pakistan may be also a country of gender integration and tolerance.

In December 2004, for the first time ever in Pakistan’s history, a mixed gender marathon is organized, a theoretically insignificant activity. This race was to be the beginning of a long and painful struggle between on one side female activists who are thrilled with this first success and on the other side the mullahs who violently criticize this initiative and are waiting for an opportunity to react. Thus at the beginning of April 2005, leaders of Muttahida Majlis-e-Aamal (MMA), a powerful alliance of Islamic political parties, accompanied by about 900 armed supporters, did not hesitate to enter the Gujranwala stadium, in a relatively liberal town in the Punjab province, and attack the male and female racers of this new mixed marathon! Extreme violence demonstrating the “conservative crusade” of the MMA which describes these marathons as an “obscene and vulgar activity”.

A long and perilous struggle

In reaction to this disproportionate and unjustified intervention, women activists demonstrated and protested outside the Pakistani parliament against this “Talibanesque” disregard for women's rights. Since acceding to power in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) in 2002, the MMA has never stopped restricting their freedom: it has banned music and dancing in public, ordered tearing down of advertising billboards featuring women, and has introduced gender segregation on university college campuses. Thus no one will be surprised by these female activists’ words during this demonstration “These mullahs want us to just stay home, have children and God knows what else” or as placards read: “The obscenity is in your mind”.

So as not to give anything up, a new mixed marathon was organised on May 14 2005. The battle begins. This time, female organizations face 2 opponents. On the one hand they provoked an angry response from the most radical Islamists who threaten to intervene again and on the other hand they face Musharraf’s government intolerance. As Musharraf fears outflanking between athletes and the MMA’s supporters, he decides purely and simply on banning the race. The struggle sounds perilous as the May 14 race is cancelled by general Musharraf and lots of racers who broke the ban are questioned and arrested by the police. But finally the government gave in: the race organized one week later, on May 21, will go ahead. Of course the race was unlikely to make sporting history but its retention has high symbolic value.

Female intellectuals in the race

Faced with this will to restrict their freedom, the women stand fast, and even if they know there is a long way to go and real victory will not come without acknowledgement of their rights and democracy, they do not hesitate, whatever their social status may be, to face their opponents. For example the incredible involvement of Asma Jahangir. This lawyer, a veteran activist is a founding member of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP - www.hrcp-web.org) and she has been working since 1998 as the UN Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights. She is the main organizer of the race: “This is a small step for the human rights commission but a big one for Pakistan”. Despite her “intellectual” women status she does not hesitate to risk her life by organizing and participating in these mixed races in order to stand up for her Pakistani “sisters” in the fight for their status to be recognized.

This example is not the only one. Women have been fighting for their rights for a long time. In the face of the radicalisation and instrumentalisation of Islam, their fight has intensified. Sport has become a new battle zone for these women who want to win their freedom.

Editorial Committee : Frères des Hommes
Sources : BBC news, Daily Times, Dawn, Gulf News, San Francisco Chronicle, The Christian Science Monitor.