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Beyond the Birkin handbag
By Abbas Nasir
Today PAKISTANs new foreign minister Hina Rabbani Khar seems to have taken the Indian media, even if not India itself, by storm.
The media focused on her stylish attire, Birkin handbag, Cavalli sunglasses, pearl necklace, diamond bracelet and the expensive (was it Cartier?) watch she wore daintily around her slender wrist.But gratefully it has also talked about the importance of her visit, her personality, self-assured demeanour; it described her youth as refreshing and saw her as articulate and effective. In a nutshell, Pakistans best face as one newspaper put it, was well received. If a foreign minister gets
the press onside in any country he or she is visiting it is often (even if exaggeratedly) described as half the job done.
Her elevation as minister generated a fair bit of comment on Twitter as elsewhere, with misogynists originating mostly in Pakistan, having had more than their share. But what was shocking was a TV talk show where the host who calls himself a doctor (a non-practising homeopath, one is told) was joined by a retired brigadier and a former diplomat.
To the diplomats credit, he was sensible and restrained enough not to join the minister-bashing fest but the doctor and the brigadier spent a long time questioning not just her academic credentials, a hotel management degree (from LUMS), but also objected to the 34-year-old ministers youth, calling it inexperience.
How a degree in medicine or a study of homeopathy makes an anchor qualified to host a talk show any more than a professional, elected politician with a university degree is qualified to be a minister is a matter of opinion.
So, when the retired brigadier and the doctor-host laid into the foreign ministers credentials and appeared obsessed with her age, it wasnt difficult to ask oneself how come age (they appeared to be in their forties and fifties) made them more intelligent, more experienced when their arguments reflected neither.
A Pakistani foreign minister would have little room to manoeuvre anyway, with the parameters narrowly defined by the authors of the disastrous strategic depth doctrine. The ground conceded by the elected government to the powerful men in khaki is common knowledge. Against this backdrop the arguments appeared even more spurious.
It was a bit sad but not surprising to watch an all-male cast castigating the appointment of a woman as minister, one who was first elected to parliament in 2002 and has been in politics for nearly a decade. As a junior finance minister, her supporters say, she created a favourable impression with foreign donors and her team members alike.
With a little effort the TV channel could have found even working women who were critical of the minister. Some of them have rubbished the symbolism being attached to Khars elevation because they say she owes it to her lineage and her familys clout and not to her abilities.
Neither was the alternative view accommodated that women in key positions serve as role models, a source of inspiration.
This is so vital in a society which often treats women as second-class citizens and where vast numbers of women are
considered personal property by men.
The point has been made so strongly by Faris Islam in his blog on Dawn.com: A paper by Esther Duflo, an MIT economics professor and one of the founders of the highly renowned Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL), and others explores this issue.
The paper acknowledges that exposure to women leaders does not alter villagers taste preference for male leaders. However, it weakens stereotypes about gender roles in the public and domestic spheres and eliminates the negative bias in how female leaders effectiveness is perceived.
But is it fair to slam a TV programme when one of the major political parties in the country holds a workers convention, hears fiery speeches being made, elects a dozen central office-holders, with not a single woman nominated for, or elected to, any main office? Yes, the party is PML-N.
In fact, whatever coverage of the convention one saw on television it was men who sat on the main stage and dominated the audience. This isnt to say an insignificant number of women may not have been there.
And the lasting image was also provided by a man when a slightly off-tune (but who would have guessed given the applause, the adulation, he received) Shahbaz Sharif recited some lines from a famous Habib Jalib poem. He was trying to mimic the tune which was the hallmark of the great revolutionary poet whenever he presented his poem. It was penned to mark Ayub Khans constitution in 1962.
As the chief minister ended his fiery speech with the final lines of the poem (Mein nahin manta, mein nahin janta), he extended his right arm and then, generating amazing velocity, pivoted round 180 degrees, almost losing his balance in the process before he steadied himself, and trooped off to thunderous applause.
Whether Shahbaz Sharifs swivel made the pro-poor, anti-status quo poet, turn in his grave, seeing how his poetry was now being used to galvanise support for one of the wealthiest political dynasties in the country, one will never find out. But it was clear Shahbaz Sharif was hoping his final flourish was enough to wrench Mr Zardari from the seat of power even if his Go Zardari Go slogans werent.
But unless the Supreme Court delivers a debilitating blow to the president, his toothy grin will only get wider and hell sink deeper into the Aiwan-i-Sadr sofa. The PPP leader seems to be forging alliances with his eye on the next elections and solidifying support in significant voting regions/segments. Shah Mehmood Qureshi was a foreign minister from southern Punjab and so is his replacement. And even better she happens to be a woman.
The writer is a former editor of Dawn.
abbas.nasir@hotmail.com
By Abbas Nasir
Today PAKISTANs new foreign minister Hina Rabbani Khar seems to have taken the Indian media, even if not India itself, by storm.
The media focused on her stylish attire, Birkin handbag, Cavalli sunglasses, pearl necklace, diamond bracelet and the expensive (was it Cartier?) watch she wore daintily around her slender wrist.But gratefully it has also talked about the importance of her visit, her personality, self-assured demeanour; it described her youth as refreshing and saw her as articulate and effective. In a nutshell, Pakistans best face as one newspaper put it, was well received. If a foreign minister gets
the press onside in any country he or she is visiting it is often (even if exaggeratedly) described as half the job done.
Her elevation as minister generated a fair bit of comment on Twitter as elsewhere, with misogynists originating mostly in Pakistan, having had more than their share. But what was shocking was a TV talk show where the host who calls himself a doctor (a non-practising homeopath, one is told) was joined by a retired brigadier and a former diplomat.
To the diplomats credit, he was sensible and restrained enough not to join the minister-bashing fest but the doctor and the brigadier spent a long time questioning not just her academic credentials, a hotel management degree (from LUMS), but also objected to the 34-year-old ministers youth, calling it inexperience.
How a degree in medicine or a study of homeopathy makes an anchor qualified to host a talk show any more than a professional, elected politician with a university degree is qualified to be a minister is a matter of opinion.
So, when the retired brigadier and the doctor-host laid into the foreign ministers credentials and appeared obsessed with her age, it wasnt difficult to ask oneself how come age (they appeared to be in their forties and fifties) made them more intelligent, more experienced when their arguments reflected neither.
A Pakistani foreign minister would have little room to manoeuvre anyway, with the parameters narrowly defined by the authors of the disastrous strategic depth doctrine. The ground conceded by the elected government to the powerful men in khaki is common knowledge. Against this backdrop the arguments appeared even more spurious.
It was a bit sad but not surprising to watch an all-male cast castigating the appointment of a woman as minister, one who was first elected to parliament in 2002 and has been in politics for nearly a decade. As a junior finance minister, her supporters say, she created a favourable impression with foreign donors and her team members alike.
With a little effort the TV channel could have found even working women who were critical of the minister. Some of them have rubbished the symbolism being attached to Khars elevation because they say she owes it to her lineage and her familys clout and not to her abilities.
Neither was the alternative view accommodated that women in key positions serve as role models, a source of inspiration.
This is so vital in a society which often treats women as second-class citizens and where vast numbers of women are
considered personal property by men.
The point has been made so strongly by Faris Islam in his blog on Dawn.com: A paper by Esther Duflo, an MIT economics professor and one of the founders of the highly renowned Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL), and others explores this issue.
The paper acknowledges that exposure to women leaders does not alter villagers taste preference for male leaders. However, it weakens stereotypes about gender roles in the public and domestic spheres and eliminates the negative bias in how female leaders effectiveness is perceived.
But is it fair to slam a TV programme when one of the major political parties in the country holds a workers convention, hears fiery speeches being made, elects a dozen central office-holders, with not a single woman nominated for, or elected to, any main office? Yes, the party is PML-N.
In fact, whatever coverage of the convention one saw on television it was men who sat on the main stage and dominated the audience. This isnt to say an insignificant number of women may not have been there.
And the lasting image was also provided by a man when a slightly off-tune (but who would have guessed given the applause, the adulation, he received) Shahbaz Sharif recited some lines from a famous Habib Jalib poem. He was trying to mimic the tune which was the hallmark of the great revolutionary poet whenever he presented his poem. It was penned to mark Ayub Khans constitution in 1962.
As the chief minister ended his fiery speech with the final lines of the poem (Mein nahin manta, mein nahin janta), he extended his right arm and then, generating amazing velocity, pivoted round 180 degrees, almost losing his balance in the process before he steadied himself, and trooped off to thunderous applause.
Whether Shahbaz Sharifs swivel made the pro-poor, anti-status quo poet, turn in his grave, seeing how his poetry was now being used to galvanise support for one of the wealthiest political dynasties in the country, one will never find out. But it was clear Shahbaz Sharif was hoping his final flourish was enough to wrench Mr Zardari from the seat of power even if his Go Zardari Go slogans werent.
But unless the Supreme Court delivers a debilitating blow to the president, his toothy grin will only get wider and hell sink deeper into the Aiwan-i-Sadr sofa. The PPP leader seems to be forging alliances with his eye on the next elections and solidifying support in significant voting regions/segments. Shah Mehmood Qureshi was a foreign minister from southern Punjab and so is his replacement. And even better she happens to be a woman.
The writer is a former editor of Dawn.
abbas.nasir@hotmail.com
