Sherry Rehman’s anthology of essays looks at generations of women struggling to negotiate their identity in the public and private sphere
The term mansplaining – coined by the American writer Rebecca Solnit – is often used to describe the condescending manner adopted by men to explain things to women. Womansplaining, a term devised in contrast, is used by the editor of the book, Sherry Rehman, as an apparatus to find the lost voice of women in a country where activism is only just picking up.
In the introduction to the book, Rehman applauds several women who have championed women’s rights and have dedicated their lives to the cause. She mentions the late Asma Jehangir and Maliha Zia in the judicial sphere; Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy and Fifi Haroon for their role in media and filmmaking in establishing a narrative regarding the roles offered to female actors; Sabeen Mehmud for giving up her life trying to find a space for activism, Nighat Dad and Shmyla Khan with regards to the #metoo movement and others. Some of them have contributed to this collection of essays; others have received an honorary mention.
The book doesn’t claim to be a gatekeeper of feminism in Pakistan. Instead it seeks to examine the coherence among generations of women struggling to negotiate their identity in the public and private sphere. The current environment, where a debate concerning religion and culture is often discouraged, does little to help women with their agency. The Aurat March is continually described as elitist and unrepresentative of women from the bottom of the social pyramid, to dispute the legitimacy of those who have the courage to protest.
Farida Shaheed, in her essay, sheds light on the comparative analysis of generational activism – from Zia’s time of overturning presumed innocence for women in cases of zina curbing women’s independence, to the younger feminists’ agenda, modalities and priorities. Ayesha Khan in Politics of Activism: Bridging the Generational Arc takes a retrospective view, recounting what the feminist movement has achieved overall in terms of progressive legislation regarding protection of women against domestic violence, harassment, acid crimes, honour killings and rights of women in choosing whom to marry. She asserts that the vitality of participatory democracy is in the inclusion of women’s voices.
Hina Jillani in The Fight For Human Rights: A View from The Trenches takes a human rights standpoint. Women are more often than not marginalised, their access to justice not plausible unless they comply with social norms. The law according to her justifies unequal treatment. Zohra Yusuf, in In Her Own Voice: A Feminist’s Personal Journey, looks back at the first sentencing under the zina ordinance. She mentions the role of Shirkat Gah, Women Action Forum (WAF) and The Star Weekend being prominent feminist influences. The WAF is mentioned in most of the essays, its unfailing attempt to champion women’s rights and strategic watering down of the Law of Evidence.
Rafia Zakari begins her essay In Lockdown Diaries: Getting Past The Pandemic Within, with an account of Sadaf Zahra who was killed in her own home. Covid-19 lockdowns have been harsh to the world’s women where they were found to be unable to escape their abusers. Their access to mutual aid networks were also limited or faced with a upply chain disruption. In The Literary Feminists: Writing as Resistance, Bina Shah explores the feminist movement from a writer’s perspective. She refers to the works of Qurat ul Ain Haider and the late Parveen Shakir in bringing a woman’s voice and perspective into poetry and prose by pronouncing discourse of sexuality, love and freedom of expression.
In High Drama: Retrogressive Fictions and Pakistani Soaps, Fifi Haroon chooses the words ‘virtuous victimhood’ to describe characters written for women, mostly succumbing to pressures of society while discouraging the portrayal of braveness, independence and rebellion. Sharmeen Obaid, in Let Girls Dream: Stories from The Edge, draws attention to the public-private divide of how women have been treated like second class citizens in a deeply patriarchal society. She recounts women facing extreme domestic violence in villages and resilience shown by women in impossible situations. She also draws upon the power of community and education in tackling injustice for women wedged in a cycle of abuse and trauma. Nighat Dad and Shmyla Khan in #Metoo: Women’s Rights and The Trials of The Digital World, draw attention to the #metoo movement that highlights the lived experiences of women as collective forces, where they too, have been harassed in some capacity. The position taken by most Pakistanis has been peculiar. In some high profile cases such as that of Meesha Shafi and Umar Khan, the perpetrators have pleaded a lack of evidence where in reality, that was not the case. The stress of a calamity or climate change, according to Zofeen Ebrahim in On The Frontlines Of Disaster: Adapting to Climate Change, disproportionately falls on women. She presents the example of women travelling distances to bring water for their families.
The feminist movement in Pakistan has its merits. It has emphasised cases of violence against women. Social media has played a critical role in planting the seed of public humiliation for perpetrators. In some ways, feminist activism has started the necessary conversation that has been long overdue; however, it hasn’t gone without its critics. In Field Notes From The Aurat March: The Millenial Megaphone, Rimmel Mohydin recalls the ‘trolls’ of the Aurat March, cites several men in mainstream media who continue to advocate violence and harassment as acceptable behaviour. She also looks back at Hudood Ordinances, as do most of the contributors, as almost a deciding factor for patriarchy in Pakistan.
Misogynistic views have existed worldwide much before this century but Pakistan has been slow in keeping up with the worldwide feminist revolution, often using tradition and religion to justify its patriarchal structures. Things will only change when women find themselves in positions of power. Until then, conversations like these need to happen.
Womansplaining
Navigating activism, politics and modernity in Pakistan
Edited by: Sherry Rehman
Publisher: Folio Books (2021)
Pages: 280
Price: Rs 995
The reviewer is the author of The Unbridled Romance of Love and Pain and Eye on the Prize. A lawyer by profession, she is also the founder of Reverie Publishers