Dogmas are sustained by primitive alternatives to contemporary realities. Let’s speak about one such alternative in Pakistan: Jirgas, the traditional answer to the country’s judicial system. Allowed to nurture by both conquerors and rulers, the Jirga system has established itself as a ‘trait’ of the local cultural polity. It has become a ‘norm’ and any move challenging it is ‘thugged’ into being interpreted as an attack on one’s cultural sensitives. Reforms are discouraged and any proposal of monitoring or introducing improvements is dubbed blasphemous. Today we’ll speak of one such “Blasphemy”.
This column speaks of an oxymoron: A women’s Jirga.
Founded in March 2012 by Tabassum Adnan, a resident of Swat, Khwendo Jirga (Sister’s Council) seeks to give voice to the opinions of the local women. It stems out of instances that explicitly revealed the blatant and shameless disregard of women support systems within her community. Cases where the women were silenced or wrongly blamed were pivotal in the birth of this platform. Tabassum, acknowledging the dogmas that were to weigh down her efforts, did try the more direct routes first. She requested a participation in Swat’s Quami Aman Jirga but was refused. “Women participating in Jirga is inconceivable in the Pushtun worldview,” a Quami Aman Jirga member is quoted as explaining in a case study about the Khwendo Jirga written and published under the AAWAZ Programme. The absence of women implies a disregard of their opinions and arguments. Tabassum saw how many cases settled in the Jirgas blamed the accused women simply because there were no arguments made in their favor. The need for women involvement was evidently necessary and yet little effort was made to consider the proposals to include them in the process of decision making. The women of Swat were hence left with either the obvious choice of giving into fate or pursuing the difficult task of retaliating against the apologeticized norm. The brave women chose the latter.
Since its formation, the 25-women Khwendo Jirga has indeed realized some of its aspirations. Unfair rulings in the traditional jirgas have been challenged; some of them even changed. The victims have been introduced to civil and legal assistance. Those who’ve asked have been informed of their rights. All of this has given way to the establishment of a (albeit feeble) social infrastructure, postured to assist the segmented and ignored populace.
Tabassum and the author of the aforementioned case study, Shirin Gul, were part of a session titled ‘A Women’s Jirga from Swat’ in the recently held Islamabad Literary Festival. The optimism and hope was obvious in the soft spoken Tabassum when she took to stage and told the audience the saga behind the Jirga’s formation. Things were changing for the better and she was optimistic that the Jirga was going to go a long way. A gentleman sharing the stage with her, a Professor Dr. Sultan-i-Rome however disagreed, not with the potential of the Jirga’s success but with its very existence. In harsh statements the Peshawar University PhD ridiculed the reasons Tabassum insisted had triggered the birth of the Jirga in the first place. “Our jirgas are never unfair,” he insisted implying that the parallel Jirga was but a propaganda triggered effort by forces that wanted to taint the cultural fabric of Swat.
Dr. Sultan-i-Rome echoed the voice of the mindset that has made women activism a necessity for Pakistan. This ‘intellectual’ was of the view that primitive and abstract parallel institutions could impart more justice than an ever-evolving judicial system. He insisted that the decisions were always fair and sound and hence there could never really be a need for the formal participation of the women in the gathering.
Tabassum naturally mellowed down her arguments to these claims, eventually silencing and helplessly smiling at what the professor had to say. Shirin Gul, the author of the report, a seasoned civil society activist, did indeed attempt to present to the dear professor the absurdity of his claims but it was a futile exercise. The audience too reacted sharply to the professor’s claims but the man stood his ground and this last point is very, very important.
Travel back to Swat now, away from the confines of the luxuries hotels of Islamabad. Here the men will always have the final say. Their words will hold more gravity than that of the women’s. Patriarchy is not a philosophy but an ideology of societal living here. These men will believe in prehistoric rules which nurture their egos or enhance their dominance. The women will remain the afterthought; a mere shadow. There will be no Shirin Gul to respond to, nor any flabbergasted audience to ignore.
Tabassum will return to her Jirga in these circumstances, she will return to such a society which is why she is the closest thing we have to a hero. Such bravery makes no sense to us laymen, after all, nerves of steel were supposed to be a myth. And yet here we have this group of women being braver than most of us. The success of the Jirga and indeed its potential remains a question, one that can be debated on. However, for her efforts, Tabassum deserves nothing less than our admiration; indeed our sheer marvel.