Breaking
Stereotypes
By Beena Sarwar
Speaking in what she
terms as her ‘bad accent’ (Americanised),
the gravel-voiced middle-aged woman with short cropped
hair and glasses offers some tips for activists,
or anyone who wants to make a difference. She terms
them as the ‘six Ps’.
Firstly, passion: “You can’t make a
difference without it. You have to realize that
if something needs to be corrected, you yourself
have to contribute towards it, whether the goal
is peace, democracy, social justice or equality.”
Next, a program: “You have to have clear objectives.
If you don’t know where you’re going,
you’re not going to get there. For me, that
goal is peace in the region, an independent Palestine
existing alongside Israel.”
Pragmatism: “Women are good at that. Develop
tools that are going to work, use every tool. Network,
publish, get out there -- in the last ten years,
I’ve participated in 450 demonstrations. Don’t
be afraid of politics, sometimes you need power
to make a difference.”
Proficiency and professionalism: “Be the best
you can be, and better. Women often have to be better
to be as good as men.”
Patience: “Sometimes, you will need a tremendous
amount. Wait for a year or two, take advantage of
the opportunity when it arrives. Patience pays.”
Be pioneering, path-breaking: “You have to
have a new vision, a different perspective about
what is going on. When Palestinian and Israeli women
first talked about breaking out, about a two-state
solution twenty years ago, we were thinking out
of the box.”
And finally, if you want a seventh ‘P’,
persistence: “I’ll say it again and
again. Don’t give up till the task is done.
And in our case, that is the task to make our world
better, our societies better.”
This is Naomi Chazan, an Israeli political science
professor and activist, speaking at a ‘roundtable’
on women role models organized by UNESCO at its
headquarters in Paris on International Women’s
Day earlier this month. The other panelists include
a Cuban bio-chemist, a French Product Manager at
Peugot, and a Colombian Mayor who’s working
on a ‘women’s political school’.
I’m with a small group of journalists invited
to another seminar there.
Originally a teacher (she heads Israel’s first
Institute of Peace Studies at the University of
Jerusalem), Dr Chazan is among the first Israelis
to support a two-state solution, with Palestine
existing beside Israel in the quest for ‘a
just peace’. Her entry into politics was the
result of a friend’s threat to tell everyone
that Naomi Chazan was a liar, since she didn’t
practice what she preached; she went around telling
other women to get involved and do something about
what they believed in.
So into politics went Naomi Chazan, self-confessed
peace and women’s rights and human rights
activist. She found herself elected to the Israeli
Parliament (Knesset) where she was Deputy Speaker
until a couple of years ago. Her dream is to retire
when there is peace with Palestine.
Hearing people like Dr Chazan reinforces the need
to stop stereotyping, to see people as individuals
first, and not as ‘representatives’
of their country or religion. Such stereotypes are
best broken with direct contact. But for Israelis
and Pakistanis, there is little such opportunity.
A Pakistani passport “is valid for all countries
of the world except Israel” (until recently,
a rubber stamp next to it stated: ‘AND INDIA’).
Incidentally, Israeli passports are valid for ‘ALL
COUNTRIES’. When Pakistanis and citizens of
other countries who don’t have diplomatic
relations with Israel go there, as they occasionally
do, Israeli authorities issue visas on a separate
paper so that their entry and exit is not stamped.
And yet, there are cautious signs of change. An
occasional debate about ‘recognizing’
Israel has begun, a once taboo subject brought up
by no less than the Army Chief/President of Pakistan.
It surfaces every now and then along with the more
compelling economic argument for trade between our
countries. Israeli leaders have even been interviewed
on a private television channel, as well as through
the Internet.
In fact, the Internet has made nonsense out of state
efforts to keep people of ‘enemy countries’
from connecting. Just as it has facilitated contact
between peace-loving Indians and Pakistanis, it
has also started making Israeli peace activists
more accessible to us. There are several email postings
lists and websites which provide information about
Israeli peace activists, many of whom work together
with Palestinians -- there is far more happening
on that front than the mainstream media will let
on.
You can glean information from one of several email
lists, that lead you to websites like the liberal
newspaper Haaretz (www.haaretz.com), or the Israeli
Peace Bloc (www.gush-shalom.org). These groups include
the elderly women who monitor Israeli military checkpoints
in an attempt to make things easier for the Palestinians
who are held up there every day -- they call themselves
Machshom Watch, Machshom being Hebrew for ‘checkpoint’.
Ordinary Israelis risk being labeled anti-national
and anti-religion for their support of a two-state
solution, risk police brutality to shield Palestinian
villagers trying to pick olives or resisting the
demolition of their homes. Then there are the ‘refuseniks’
from the reserve forces who risk court martial and
imprisonment but refuse to serve on the occupied
territories. There is fierce resistance in Israel
itself to Sharon’s dividing wall, and to the
settlers’ tyranny over Palestinians in the
West Bank and Gaza.
In the end, every country has its resistance workers,
its activists working towards a better world and
a just social order. Recognizing them is part of
the process towards that order.
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