Islamabad
Whenever she talks or writes, she is always loud, clear and fearless. Her charisma is so strong that everyone instantly falls in love with her for her unconquerable spirit, her courage, her resolve to carry on despite all odds and the liveliness and energy which she transfers to her readers and listeners.
Same was her charm at ‘Breakfast with Jang’ when Kishwar Naheed, the icon of Urdu literature, renowned poet and rights champion, spoke her heart out at the gathering of friends about the ‘Importance of Literature in Uplifting a Society.’ The event was organised by Jang Media Group in collaboration with the Sui Northern Gas Company and was hosted by Sarmad Ali of Jang Group and senior journalist Sikandar Lodhi.
Truly a role model for Pakistani women, Kishwar has written more than 40 books (all big and small volumes included). She has been participating in social, cultural and political movements throughout her life. Besides poetry and activism, she has been a working woman since her early 20s, rising to become executive of institutions such as the National Arts Council and running an NGO ‘Hawwa’ that specialises in embroidered clothes made by village women.
Kishwar started her talk with memories of 1971 war and APS attack making a montage of the events which took place around the fateful days.
“I still remember the agony of losing Bangladesh and the tears that I failed to control when I heard the news of losing a part of my country. Similarly, the morning when I heard about the APS attacked is imprinted on my mind. I was not able to eat anything. All I could think was the bags and books covered with blood of innocent APS children. My mind was unable to answer simple questions like what was the fault of those innocent souls and how can someone be so cruel to target small children.”
She said all these memories remain alive in her mind. “I can’t forget when after attack on lawyers in Quetta this year, Ali Ahmad Kurd said that he has lost all his friends in the attack. Only he is alive among them. It pains me when I recall the dead bodies of police officers who were called back to their training centre for one day and were killed,” she said with her voice choking with grief.
“When I was asked to be a guest at Breakfast with Jang” on December 16, I thought that the organisers might have forgot what happened on this days but when I talked to them, they said that it was because of the significance of this day that I am invited to have an interactive session,” she said.
Talking about her childhood, she said that it is filled with painful memories of migrating from India when millions lost their lives and thousands of women were abducted. “Most of the abducted women, on both sides of the borders, never returned to their families. Their stories were never shared in our literature,” she said.
She did not agree to the argument that the number of writers is decreasing. “Pakistani writers are writing about all issues with same bravery and courage but the readers are more inclined towards reading Naseem Hijazi and A R Khatoon. They do not want to read about the prevailing realities.”
Kishwar opined that as a nation, we have failed to learn from mistakes. “Literature successfully transferred true account of history but we fail to interpret that in true spirit. The history which was never told in our syllabus is there in books but we never study that.”
Talking about her interaction with women in Khuzdaar and Balochistan, she said that they eat flour and drink juices of Iran. “How easily they can access Iranian products and how they consider themselves as same nation with Iran, these realities were never highlighted in news but our writers courageously write about them. All we need to do is read them,” she said.
About the journey of literature in Pakistan, she said that it was a bumpy road. “Saadat Hasan Manto, who migrated to Pakistan, was jailed for writing “Thanda Gosht.” Books were removed from the libraries in Zia’s era. All these actions aimed at curbing the freedom of expression badly damaged growth of literature in Pakistan.”
She opined that Zia era still continues. “Go to any village and you will find a mosque at the end of every street built by someone earning abroad. They have faith that it is the only way to ‘Jannah.’ The same temptation of going to ‘Jannah’ and getting ‘Hoors’ is given to the suicide bombers. They never study and try to understand the true spirit of Islam.”
Kishwar didn’t agree to the claim that terrorism is finished from Pakistan. “If this is true then why we hear the news of arresting terrorist from different parts of the country every day.” Developing a connection of extremist mindset with the freedom of expression, she talked about the time when writers were not allowed to call such elements as terrorists at the television dramas. “All this developed a mindset. Extremism grew in our country because we allowed it to flourish.”
At the end she talked at length about the difference between book collectors and book readers. “Today, when I asked a mother to buy her child a book of Rs40 rather than buying him or her a chocolate, she proudly answers me that her child could not read Urdu. This indifference of parents pains me,” said Kishwar suggesting teachers and mother to change their way of teaching and interacting with children so that the children can start taking interest in the Urdu literature.
She also stressed the need to bring changes in the syllabus. “When I was in school, subjects such as history, social studies, religion and literature were taught separately. Today, we have confused all subjects.”
Talking about the future of Urdu literature, Kishwar expressed strong hope for the bright future of Urdu literature and Pakistan. “There are serious challenges and hurdles but our spirit to fight back is much. We will never give up,” she said with a smile.
Talking about the role of media in promoting literature, Sarmad Ali said media had a vital role to play in this regard. “Unfortunately, in the race of rating and marketing, media is not playing an effective role,” he agreed. Recalling his childhood, Sarmad said that at that time, there used to be a small library in every street but today the same space is occupied by CD shops or Internet cafes.
The event also featured poetry recitation by Kishwar Naheed including her famous poems ‘Peshawar kay Bachay’ and ‘Ghaas bhi tou mujh jaisi hay.’ At the end, ‘Fateha’ was offered for the APS children and a shield was presented to Kishwar Naheed by Sarmad Ali and Sui Northern representative Syed Jawad Naseem.
