2007: Year of Women –- Especially Courageous, Muslim Women

As if this year was not sad enough, one of my heroes had to be assassinated when the year is almost over.

“A discredited former prime minister, accused of massive corruption, Miss Bhutto had won grudging praise from many Pakistanis for her courage in defying the terrorists’ threat… In her final political address -- a few minutes before her death -- Miss Bhutto alluded to the risk she was running. She said: “I put my life in danger and came here because I feel this country is in danger. People are worried. We will bring the country out of this crisis.”

She -- like most politicians -- was not an angel, and was apparently rather corrupt and inept even:

“While Benazir's Western education made her adept at speaking of democracy and women's rights, her feudal background had more of a bearing on her manner of government. Little was done to alleviate Pakistan's appalling rates of illiteracy and child mortality; instead there was a pervasive atmosphere of corruption, in which her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, whom she married in 1987, was frequently implicated. The scion of a lesser feudal family who had done well in business, he was known during his wife's reign as "Mr 10 Per Cent" for the alleged amount of his rake-offs, though some claimed 30 per cent would have been more appropriate.”

But she sure was much better than many male politicians to me. (And I agree with Michael Fathers: Bhutto's flaws in office cannot diminish her greatness, or the extent of Pakistan's loss)

Yes, she came from a privileged and elite background, and with that in mind her achievements might not seem that surprising. On the other hand, her courage to rise to the occasion to succeed her father’s political career in the most trying of circumstances would put most male politicians (and men in general, for that matter) to shame:

“If her personal circumstances had been different, Ms Bhutto’s feudal family background from the interior of Pakistan’s southern Sindh province, might well have confined her to a role as a Begum, no more than being a full-time affluent housewife and part-time politician. But Ms Bhutto’s two brothers, Murtaza and Shahnawaz, chose to live overseas after Pakistan’s military, led by the late General Zia ul Haq, overthrew the government headed by her father in 1977.

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was arrested after the coup and hanged two years later on a controversial charge of ordering the assassination of a political foe.

Young and western-educated, his daughter was the obvious choice to stay to lead her father’s Pakistan People’s party (PPP) through Gen Zia’s harsh military dictatorship.”

When he country called, she accepted the challenge:

"I didn't choose this life in Pakistan; it chose me," Benazir Bhutto wrote in her autobiography, Daughter of the East.

Not forgetting that she was a modern woman in a fundamentalist, conservative Muslim country, and there aren’t that many men in this world who would have the courage to struggle against a military dictatorship (Compare Malaysia -- we are too chicken shit to even stand up to a semi-authoritarian regime.):

“She did so two years later, daring General Zia's increasingly authoritarian regime to imprison her or have her killed, addressing huge rallies about the martyrdom of her father and demanding an end to military rule. In 1988 the general died in a mid-air explosion which has never been fully explained, and the military called free elections, the first in a decade. Benazir was swept into power at the head of the PPP at the age of only 35, the first woman to be elected leader of a Muslim state.”

My personal respect and admiration for her is not influenced by her gender, but the way she overcame the, shall we say, “inconvenience” of her gender makes her a truly extraordinary human being (not just woman):

“Nor was there any doubting her courage. In January 1990, when she was heavily pregnant and elements of the establishment were demanding that she step down temporarily until the baby was born, she secretly had her daughter Bakhtwar by Caesarean section and returned to work the following day.”

But I think her historical significance is not only in her life -- her death also brings out what is fundamentally wrong with the contemporary Muslim world, especially for a fundamentalist, conservative but semi-democratic, heavyweight, nuclear-power Muslim country such as Pakistan.

The way she died -- and President Pervez Musharraf’s political maneuvering and utter failure to curb Islamic extremism and violence before and after that -- signifies that the Muslim world is at a crossroad: how to balance the demands of democracy and modernity on one hand with those of extremism and fundamentalism in the name of Islam, on the other.

Pakistan is not just a ‘basket-case’ of failed Muslim states -- it is one of the first Muslim democracies, and as a nuclear power it cannot be a ‘basket-case’ or a failed state. The world -- especially the Great Satan and the West -- will not allow it to become one. The world would brace itself, for the months and years to come, for further turmoil (caused by Pakistan’s domestic and international actors) in that volatile region which would have widespread repercussions globally, including in Malaysia.

LINA JOY, REVATHI AND SUBASHINI

The second courageous woman I want to mention here, who is “both Muslim and Christian” (according to Aisehman), is Lina Joy. Her failed battle to be legally recognised as a Christian in Malaysia is well-known by now, generating much international interests including most recently from an Australian High Court Judge, Michael Kirby.

Even though she has lost her battle before the Malaysian courts, her struggle for religious freedom has stirred up an important debate in Malaysia and captured the whole nation. For the first half of the year, the country was waiting for the decision to be delivered by the highest court, and for the second half of the year, we are still experiencing its ‘aftershocks’. Wherever she is, many Malaysians wish her well, and may she find happiness with her partner. The struggle for religious freedom in Malaysia and the Muslim world continues.

What Revathi experienced seems to confirm that going to the Syariah court to seek an 'apostasy order' (as suggested by the Federal Court in the Lina Joy case) is self-incriminating and digging your own grave. She was imprisoned for going to the Syariah court to try to quit Islam, mentally tortured as the 'Islamic' authorities sought to brainwash her to bring her back to the 'right path', forcibly split from her husband and young baby (all in the name of 'Islam'), but she did not give in. "My name is Revathi. I want to hold on to that name - forever. I want to drop the name Siti Fatimah." she said, defiantly.

Her example also confirms that trying to convert out of 'Islam' by going to the Syariah court system is a delusion, if not a flat out lie, because it is a confirmed dead-end:

“They held me for six months, only to say that I cannot leave Islam. If that is the case, they should have told me earlier, so I don’t have to go into the centre."

Her plight aslo caught the attention of Al-Jazeera. Until today, we have no news about whether she has been allowed to re-unite with her husband and live the life she has chosen for herself. But her words shows how much (unnecessary!!) damage which has been done to the name of Islam:

“I hate Islam even more now”.

In the aftermath of Lina Joy, another courageous lady is Subashini, a 29 year old Hindu lady who was abandoned by her ball-less husband who ran for cover to the Syariah court system in the hope of escaping his civil law, marital obligations as a man (which he ain't) by converting into Islam and at the same time converting his 2 minor children too (Dharvin Joshua, 4, and 2-year-old Sharvin), most probably because he wanted to make sure that he got custody of these kids (I guess along the line of “they are ‘Muslims’ now (legally, though not factually), so it is more suitable for me, a good, pious, responsible and upright Muslim ‘man’, to take care of them, rather than some infidel, pagan woman who would only make my children kuffar”).

Subashini did not just give up her love for her children and -- most probably because she did not want her children to turn out like a piece of shit like their father -- she bravely fought all the way to the highest court in Malaysia, capturing the nation’s imagination once again.

From what I understand, the Federal Court of Malaysia has said that that her husband is not allowed to escape to the Syariah court and treat it like a ‘get out of jail free card’, but must settle his scores with his wife in the civil court system first.

But when it comes to the kids, whatever the decision is/means, I think the kids should not be converted into something they could not convert out later (‘Islam’, Malaysian style, is the only IDEOLOGY that fits the ‘Hotel California’ description right now in Malaysia). And even if they were so converted, I think they should be allowed to ‘reconsider’ it once they reach 18 or 21, when they could really think for themselves (which they are obviously too young to do now at 2 and 4).

If the custody is given to their piece-of-shit father, they could be converted into Islam now if they have to stay with the father, fine, but they should be free to choose for themselves later. THAT’S what I would regard as “justice will be done, for EVERYONE” (including the kids, obviously, since this is a custody battle). Whether it is to be achieved by way of ‘divorce’ law, syariah or civil, or ‘religious freedom’ law, syariah or civil, in this case or the next, doesn’t really matter to me -- so long as that end is achieved and the religious freedom of those poor kids guaranteed.

But what this case highlighted is the need for clear rules when it comes to religious conflicts like apostasy and conversion of minors. It also, to me, highlights how the Syariah court system in Malaysia has been perverted by scumbags like Subashini's piece-of-shit husband (whose name I don’t care to remember). No decent father would involve his children in this manner in a custody- or religious- fight with his wife. That 'man' should go to hell as far as I’m concerned, whatever religion he chooses to associate his name with. There should be laws which ban a lousy father like that from ever becoming a father to any child in his lifetime.

OTHER NOTABLE LEADERS...

And I think we should not forget these 3 inspirational female political leaders who have made some waves during 2007 and before:

The classy and intelligent Ségolène Royal -- who nearly became the first female President of France. I hope she’ll make it next time, and soon.

The loyal Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, who faithfully guarded her husband’s political base and stood by her man while he served time in prison (for some, shall we say, ‘funny’ charges), whom was an outstanding doctor in her own right. I hope she would not simply fade away after her husband formally takes over as the ‘de facto opposition leader’.

The ‘Indian equivalent’ of Benazir Bhutto, Sonia Gandhi, widow of Rajiv Gandhi (Deceased) and the President of the Indian National Congress. She admirably ‘renounced’ herself from being the candidate for Prime Minister of India after her party and coalition won the general election in 2004, rather than trying to get a constitutional amendment or something like that to get there. I wonder whether she did this nice gesture because she’s not a Malaysian, or because she’s a woman?

...AND ONE CHILD

We could never forget Nurin -- not yet a woman when she was brutally killed and shall never be one. Her tragic death made all our hearts bleed (and still bleeding), left a permanent scar on the nation's soul, made us wonder what had happened to us as a society, and our anger towards the breakdown of law and order in this country reached boiling point upon learning her demise. Until today, the animal who violated her is still at large.

I hope her death would keep the public anger at our incompetent police and demand for better law enforcement alive, into the next year and beyond, so that NO MORE child or woman -- NOT EVEN ONE -- would be violated or oppressed in this country anymore, EVER. That way, Nurin would not have died in vain.

STRUGGLES CONTINUE IN 2008

The courage of women will continue on display in 2008. Moorthy’s wife would be waiting for her hearing at the higher court.

Revathi could still be fighting. Subashini would also have to carry on fighting in the civil court (and perhaps even the syariah court), and I hope justice -- albeit belated -- will be done, and that piece of shit be taught a lesson.

I’m also waiting for the final outcome of Mukhtar Mai’s case, who survived the ‘shame’ forcibly imposed on her by barbarians and heroically fought back, and whose case becomes even more intriguing given what has happened in Pakistan this year.

Also, since I’m tired of seeing men dominating the world’s headlines, so a female ‘leader of the free world’ would be a nice breath of fresh air.

Why should 2007 be "The Year of Women"? Because what these extraordinary women did and experienced were in relation to issues which have far reaching impacts on the freedom of many human beings -- both men and women -- not just regarding some 'women/feminist issues'. It could have been men who played their roles this year in the exact same stories. Women, in trying to win freedom, respect and dignity for all human beings, were the leaders this year.

So, wherever you are, courageous women of the world-- individually and collectively, you are changing the world. 2007 is not the beginning, and will not be the end. In the coming election, would your hands rock Malaysia too?