THE OXON DIARY
“Les Trois Mousquetaires”
By Sir Oxon
Oxford, UK
They came, they saw, they
conquered. They — “the three musketeers”
— vanquished all before them. For two days
they held sway, fighting valiantly and impressing
all with their skills. The two-day conference
on Pakistan, held recently at the University of
Cambridge, will be talked about for some time.
Most importantly, however, it was the three women
organizers who stunned all with their style and
dynamism.
Sir Nicholas Barrington, a former British high
commissioner to Pakistan, was so impressed by
the three ladies — Dr Dushka Saiyid, Dr
Shireen Mazari, and Dr Maleeha Lodhi — that
he was inclined to believe that “Pakistan
was full of extremely able women”. You’d
think otherwise if you went by the media, however.
Pakistani women always seem to be negatively portrayed.
Dushka, Shireen, and Maleeha showed a different,
positive side of Pakistani women — confident,
articulate, and not to be messed with. Or else!
I could sense the “one for all and all for
one” motto ringing among these three modern
women musketeers of Pakistan. Like the original
musketeers, these three friends came together
to put up a robust defense of their country. Like
the Three Musketeers, also, they came together
in rather troubled and testing times.
The theme of the conference was “Pakistan
after 9/11: The Turnaround”. Like a dirty
rag flung hither and thither, the phrase “post
9/11” has become a tired old cliché.
But it is a reality and the event was a defining
moment for it had repercussions for frontline
states like Pakistan that we are all too familiar
with. The conference certainly went a long way
to create a better understanding of the dynamic
state of Pakistan and the diversity of modern
Pakistani society.
Dushka Saiyid and her two associates had an idea
— a high-level academic meeting in Cambridge.
They realized it after much hard work. You know
how it is: when women get something into their
head then you’ve had it! Reminds you of
Maggie Thatcher’s grit and determination
in high office. These Pakistani ladies are some
tough creatures.
All three are products of LSE, the prestigious
London School of Economics, where they completed
their first degrees. Dushka Saiyid and Shireen
Mazari went to Columbia University for their PhDs,
Maleeha Lodhi stayed on at LSE for hers. They
must have imbibed something from these institutions
to go on to become the fighters that they are.
It can’t be too easy being a woman in a
male-dominated society and having to face all
the hurdles and barriers in one’s path.
To overcome the difficulties, to fight the discrimination,
and to enter the arena of public or political
life is a fair degree of achievement by any account.
You have to hand it to these ladies.
Dushka Saiyid, professor of history, and a former
chairperson of the history department at Quaid-i-Azam
University, Islamabad, is the first female Allama
Iqbal Fellow at Cambridge. Shireen Mazari is the
director general of the Institute of Strategic
Studies, Islamabad. Maleeha Lodhi — who
doesn’t know her? — was Pakistan’s
ambassador to the USA, and is presently Pakistan’s
high commissioner in London.
These are high-achieving Pakistani women. Not
just a blip, an act of tokenism, but real progress
through sheer hard work and ability. There are
others, too. It can’t be all doom and gloom
when it comes to Pakistani women. Perhaps we need
to be more positive-minded and instead of focusing
only on the negatives look from time to time at
the successes as well.
I think Dushka Saiyid was right to say in her
presentation that “Pakistani women have
come of age”. Well, almost! And Shireen
Mazari was right to emphasise: “If only
they left things to women.” Well, sometimes!
Maleeha Lodhi rightly highlighted that “Pakistan
has turned the corner”.
Well, actually, we’re still going round
the bend. But we’ll get there in the end.
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