"THE CITIZEN NEWSLETTER"

The Citizen! - Newsletter of the Helpline Trust -  JUSTICE INJUSTICE

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Straight Talk – The General’s Remarks (Printed in the Nation Newspaper on 9th October 05).

Every time our Gen. – Pres. Pervez Musharraf goes abroad, he impresses his audience with his blunt, frank and candid speeches. But unfortunately, he also seems to start a controversy with some of his remarks relating to women’s rights, rape and honor killings in Pakistan. And the print media, women rights activists and NGOs immediately pounce on those remarks and they become headline news.
During his last goodwill trip to Australia and New Zealand, the General confessed that it was he who had ordered that Ms. Muktharam Mai should be placed on the infamous ECL and prevented from going abroad and “wash our dirty linen in public”, by speaking about women rights violations in Pakistan. 
He had explained that he had done so in the best interest of the country and to protect Pakistan’s image abroad, as some NGOs were exploiting the plight of Muktharan Mai to embarrass his government. Unfortunately, this time again, during his visit to America, to attend the opening of the U.N. General Assembly, the rape of women in Pakistan has raised its ugly head again. 
This time the General-President has been accused of being insensitive in his interview with the Washington Post, in which he suggested that for some women, rape has become a means for getting a Canadian citizenship and making money. 
The General has been at the receiving end by women activist groups, the print media and even the “silent minority” for his comment in the WP. Canadian Prime Minister, Paul Martin has also condemned the remarks made by the General and Amnesty International has said the Pakistani leader should apologize.
The General has claimed that he is not stupid and has been misquoted and what he had said was that “People are saying that …..”. He is angry at the women’s rights organizations for raising issues of violence against women in Pakistan every time he goes abroad and that it is a deliberate attempt by these groups to show the country in a bad light.
But then people say a lot of stupid things, even about the American President and the British PM, but surely the General would not go around, repeating them to the press. I am neither a pro or anti Musharraf person, as I am simply interested, as I am sure most citizens are, in how we are governed and not who governs us.
But I have always appreciated the General-President’s straight and frank style of speaking his mind, with no frills attached. Such a statement coming from one of his spin masters and misinformed ministers would not have been surprising, but coming from the “enlightened” General is sad and inappropriate.

There is no denying that none of our past, “democratically elected” governments with heavy mandates could have managed to successfully make so many dangerous u-turns in our foreign policy on Kashmir, Afghanistan, India and now Israel, as the General has. To his credit, with the number of u-turns the General has accomplished, it is difficult to know whether he is coming or going. They would have faced the wrath of the opposition, the religious parties, the “hidden gloves” and the army.

At the American Jewish Congress, organized by the Council for World Jewry, which was attended by Jewish leaders, diplomats and members of Pakistani-American community, Senator Tom Lantos, who presented President Musharraf with a Congressional Citation, called him a “quintessential Muslim leader” and a “beacon to other Muslim states”. He complimented Gen. Musharraf for having braved physical and political danger to come to address the American Jewish Congress.

And in his welcome address, American Jewish Congress president Jack Rosen said the president’s decision to address the Congress as “an act of individual courage, leadership and vision”, a remark that brought the audience to its feet. Almost all world leaders also share these views and it must be very gratifying for the General.

Therefore being chastised by the women of Pakistan for being insensitive to matters relating to women’s issues must be very embarrassing and upsetting for the General, especially for a leader whose mantra is “tolerance and enlightened moderation”. This perhaps explains why he lashed back at some of the questions at one of his press conferences.

At the same time, the General has pointed out that incidents of rape and the violations of women’s rights are not restricted to Pakistan only and do not become International scandals. The General has objected to the way the media sensationalizes these incident.

My friend, Col. Riaz Jafri (Retd) in Rawalpindi, has forwarded me the following information from a web site, www.islamweb.net/ver2/archive/article.php?lang=E&id=45724, which are quite alarming. The crimes committed around the clock in USA are: One crime every 2.7 seconds - one property crime every 3.0 seconds - one larceny/ theft every 4.05 seconds - one burglary every 14.0 seconds - one motor vehicle theft  every 25.7 seconds - one violent crime every 22.0 seconds - one aggravated assault every 34.8 seconds - one robbery every 12.0 minutes - one forcible rape every 5.8 minutes, (250 per day,  90,620 per year!!) one murder every 32.0 minutes. And America, according to Mr. Bush is a country of whose civilisation the Islamic terrorists are jealous and want to destroy it!

 In this regard I would like to add that during my recent visit to Delhi, arriving at the International Airport, I watched a video of a sting operation carried out by Tehelka newspaper, in which an IG Police of India was taped, molesting and forcing himself on a woman. The film was being aired on all the Indian channels and yet the news never made International headlines.

However, the Indian media did pick up the story and the scandal was headline news in all the Indian newspapers and the investigations are still reported every week. But neither did the President, the PM or the Indian government accused the Indian newspapers for washing dirty linen in public.

Such scandals and incidents take place everywhere in the world, including America, former President, Bill Clinton was almost impeached during the Monica Lewenski scandal, but the government did not go into over drive to defend itself, as the due process of law was there.

Unfortunately in Pakistan, the main reason for the uproar over such ugly incidents is because of the lack of the enforcement of the law and the due process of justice. Women right’s activists, NGOs and “enlightened citizens” have been demanding that laws on Karo Kari, the Hudood Ordinance and other laws relating to women’s rights must be reviewed. Despite recommendations from the Women’s Rights Commission, headed by Jst. ® Majida Rizvi, no action has been taken by the government.

Nigar Ahmad, Executive Director of  Aurat Foundation has made some very interesting observations in her recent article, “Does she ever ‘ask for it’”? She writes: “As a Pakistani I feel embarrassed and angry at the shameful statement of President Pervez Musharraf about victims of rape in Pakistan. It is an inexcusable statement, unbefitting of Pakistan’s head of state”.

“The country is put in a negative limelight only, when no one in society and particularly the government, is seen to be doing anything about the brutal assault on human dignity, or  when the latter obstructs any efforts to provide relief and justice to the victims. It is when state authorities break the law or refuse to bring the perpetrators to justice, that the image of the government is tarnished, because it shows that those wielding power lack the political will to do so".

“It looks like Andrei Sakharov, Lech Walesa, Edward Said, Eqbal Ahmad, Noam Chomsky, Aung San Suu Kyi, Arundhati Roy, who have “fought the abuse of power” and “the violation of human dignity” by their establishments, would henceforth have to be denounced as traitors”. When these speakers protest against the injustices in our world, they are not accused of badmouthing their country or washing dirty linen in public.

The General continuously states that we should examine the root causes for the desperate acts of terrorism: “We should look for deeper causes of this malaise and for the motivations that drive individuals to extreme irrational behavior to commit acts of terrorism. Shutting one’s eyes to the root causes of terrorism would be a “sure recipe for failure”, as we had failed to embrace reform, progress and modernity.

Well, Sir, when a raped woman is denied justice, she becomes desperate. These ladies, who are victims of rape and other abuses, are also driven to desperation, by being denied justice. But instead of crawling into a corner to die, as is expected of them in our society, they have decided to fight back, expose our hypocrisy and demand justice from the government, the judicial system and society.

And instead of tying bombs on their body and killing themselves and innocent citizens in the process, they have had the courage to stand up and wash their honor in public and demand their rights and justice. To accuse them of using rape to make money is cruel and callous.
 
 Helpline Trust