Love & Respect

  My mother a was Lecturer in Government Girls Teachers Training College Hussainabad, I’m writing her experience that happened back in 1986.

 It is a training college for girls who want to become teachers. It was a government college operating 2 shifts and within reach of every middle class family. It was easier for middle class families to educate their girls and adopt teaching as a profession as well. It was an only teacher training college in entire Sind, therefore, there were limited seats available.

 This particular incident happened in second shift, the admission season was over and new batch was there with new teachers & new hopes. Three young men entered the principle office and ask her to enroll their sister (so-called) in this academic year. As the admission was over and all the seats were occupied; the principle advised the boys to get enrolled in next academic year. Those boys started pressurizing the principle and threatened her with dire consequences and showed their affiliation with the leading political party of Karachi.

 The very next morning the second shift principle discussed the incident with first shift principle and they both decided to lodge proper complain about those boys in their area's Rabta Office. Within an hour of filing the complain Mr. Azeem Ahmed Tariq along with two other men entered the office and respectfully apologize the principle and promised to return with the boys who misbehaved.

 The very next morning Mr. Azeem Ahmed Tariq and Mr. Badar Iqbal came to college along with three boys. Mr. Azeem Ahmed Tariq asked the principle to identify them if they were the same boys, and she did. Mr. Badar Iqbal scolded the boys and punished them in front of the whole college staff.

 This was the discipline & principal which was followed by MQM, and everyone was made accountable without any favoritism. MQM is known as the most focused & composed political party that Pakistan ever had. The process of learning should never end, one must keep this door open. I’ve thinking about what Mr. Altaf Hussain is trying to achieve by making all party member accountable irrespective of their position. This method of accountability is what that has made MQM what its today despite the heavy loss of workers lives.

Welcome Ramadan

I am very thankful of Allah Almighty that he blessed us all another year of Ramadan, a unique annual event which is waited among nearly 2 billion human beings around the world. Fasting is the undoubtedly is the most honored way of reflecting spiritual practices.

Ever wonder being Muslims; why do we fast? And what does Ramadan teaches us? And what are the benefits?

There is no doubt that there are countless rewards of fasting in Ramadan & its full benefits are known only to Allah Almighty, but according to knowledge and practices the prize is most precious.

The five pillars are the foundation of Islam, which form the basis for a spiritual culture designed to provide an ideal environment for personal growth and spiritual evolution.

Fasting in Ramadan is one of the Five Pillars of Islam, constituting one of the most important spiritual practices designed to empower a human being in overcoming the self and transcending the ego, the one true veil between a human being and his or her Creator.

Spiritual purification is one of the primary benefit of Ramadan, the important goal of Islamic Spirituality. Mind, body & spirit are counted as separate gears but truth is they all are connected & related to each other. Improvement in any component will naturally affect others. Fasting in Ramadan purifies the mind, body and spirit, leading to greater clarity, sensitivity and health.

Fasting in Ramadan has scientifically documented that the only thing that can effect for improving human health & permanency is the intake reduction & consumption of food. Fasting in Ramadan allows the digestive system & body parts to rest from the daily demands of processing & breaking down the food. Etc. For the health & youthful life one must fast in Ramadan.

Ramadan gives us chance for renewing solidarity and cultivating relationships with one’s family and community, which is the greatest benefits of fasting. The ones who fasts in Ramadan can only truly describes the beauty & joy of opening fast, observing Taraveh & celebrating the gift of life for 30 days with family & loved ones. The greatest social experience of any human being ever experience is fasting in Ramadan, the most important & unique pillar of Islamic practice.

People don’t realize generally until the month of Ramadan is gone, what they have missed. By fasting one become acutely aware of the unlimited richness of priceless favor of Allah Almighty, which HE has blessed humanity with many tasty food? Enhancing gratitude is the important purpose in Islam, and fasting in Ramadan cultivate gratitude. 

Its fact that we as human beings are totally dependent upon the heavenly grace of Allah Almighty for survival. Fasting in Ramadan we realize in modest way about these blessings. Living the materialistic life we take things for granted & become neglectful. The holy month of Ramadan continually reminds us about our weaknesses, our strengths, goodness and selflessness.

We live in a world of natural richness, countless beauty & wisdom, due to lack of compassion, unity & harmony among human beings throughout the world people yet struggle with poverty, hunger & scarcity. By fasting in Ramadan we develop the holy qualities of understanding & compassion. Teaches us our core connection & oneness as human beings regardless of borders & labels that create an artificial separation among the citizens of human race.

Ramadan is a gift from God, enabling us to become more compassionate, caring, kind and grateful. Its gives us unique opportunity to develop spiritually and gain strength to control over ourselves, our egos, the nafs, the unconscious automatic primitive nature that tends to dominate our lives when unchecked.

May Allah Almighty guide us all & guide us on the right path, Ameen.

May you all have blessed Ramadan.  

Women - A Curse In Pakistan

Why wasn’t the sitting government questioned for resignations? Why an emergency parliament session wasn’t called upon? Why wasn’t any protest or sit-in systematized? Why any political or religious personal didn’t allege it? It was a dark day in Lahore on May 27th, 2014; in the daylight at Lahore High Court, occurs a cruel incident that has brought shame not to the people in Pakistan only but to the entire world. It must have taken 15 to 20 minutes for this act to be played; and there must have been 20 to 30 people watching this. She was been SANSAAR – in the name of Honor, braced by Lahore Police within the High Court premises. This case wasn’t of much importance to Government, but after criticisms from all over the world Supreme Court & State got in motion. The case is now in Anti-Terrorist Court.

 

Life of a Pakistani Women in 21st century has not been better as it was in Stone Age; lack of non-implementation of Law has given birth to barbarism. The question arise that apart from electricity crises, terrorism, rigging; honor killing is ignorable in Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The Pakistan which came into being in the name of Islam, and under these women is used as a tool to release anger in every form. Political parties which has a major role in building structure of a society, why aren’t they unite against the weaknesses within culture & norms.

 

According to researchers almost 1000 women are killed between 1999 to 2004, unfortunately the count has increased to 4% till today. Human Rights Commission says 933 were killed in name of honor & other 1601 women were killed in other cruel reasons just in 6 early months of 2013.

 

The total count of registered cases in 2013
Punjab	2602
Sindh	1833
KPK	1181
Baluchistan	864
From Jan 2014 to date	869
TOTAL	7349

 

As Islamic Republic our stakeholders turn their eyes off on such cases, but when the world criticize us as in this particular case High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay strongly condemns the killing of Faraza and watching closely to this case. They also urged the Government to take preventive measure to stop such killings.

 

Still remember the case filed by Ms. Saima Sarwar married to resident of Peshawar, fled to Lahore & was living with her parents after leaving her husband for about 4 years. She was killed by some unidentified persons hired by her ex-husband family as they have threatened her to kill her if she tried to divorce her husband. This incident took place in the year 1999 at Office of her attorney Ms. Asma Jahangir. No arrest was made and no case was registered against such act.

(Reference: www.derechos.org/human-rights/actions/ VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN Case PAK 120499.VAW)

 

Likewise in the year 2008 from a remote area of Baluchistan province five women were buried alive, allegedly by the younger brother of Mr. Sadiq Umrani, the provincial minister and a prominent leader of the ruling party at that time. However, police have still not arrested the perpetrators after one month of the incident. (Reference: The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC))

 

Same as Rukhsana (not her real name) once delayed to provide food for her husband’s dog, was maltreated & abducted that whole night by her husband. The next morning it was felt necessary to see doctor, but doctors refused to treat her as it was a police case. The doctors asked them to bring a letter from police station for the same, so she went to police station with her mother, and was able to brought letter against bribe. In this whole scenario her father & brother kept themselves aside & said it’s her husband & he has every right to treat whatever way he wants to. (True Story via Human Rights Commission Asia)

 

Hakim (not his real name) was happily married & was planning to have a child got trapped in vicious plan to the person to whom he owed 10,000/- (opponents of his Wadera). One day he was called by his Wadera & said that the person Hakim owes money is his enemy too, he planned to accuse Hakim’s wife having an affair with their mutual enemy. Wadera assures him that they will call for Jirga & Jirga would be headed by me, will ask for his enemies’ daughter in compensation. But all went wrong, that Wadera bonded up with his own enemy; bribed the police & Hakim was blamed for killing his own wife in the end. (True Story Via Human Rights Commission Asia)

 

Hypocrisy is worse curse than blasphemy. Increase in religious interests, pack Masajids aren’t creating responsible individuals. We don’t practice Islam in daily lives; we act totally opposite against Islam. This ‘honor killing’ is basically a product of Beghairti and Behissi. How come this honor is never been awaken when there is jumble in food, when police arrests innocent young boys from neighborhood, we owe millions & billions; that has to be paid don’t know for how many generations – no honor there. We don’t throw garbage in bins, like to spit on neighbor’s wall, over flooded gutters all across the streets – no honor establish there. But this HONOR is awake only on the act of a Woman, which is her religious as well as her social right. Choosing life partner and practicing the right of marrying man she want is not only allowed but is her religious right.

 

Shariqa Ahmed

Twitter: @shariqa_ahmed

 

 

My Father

When you lose a father you feel like dying every day. First thing you think of when you wake up in the morning and the last thing you think of when you try to go to bed and you think of it all day long.  It’s one the most horrible tragedies one could possibly imagine. But if you can somehow find that inner strength through a simple sign that it’s okay, one got something to look forward to at the end of your path.

 

It’s not often that you could go behind the scene and recall the moment when you lose someone very close to you, but it happens every moment.

 

I remember one time you held me and said “What I am going to do without you in my life?” I was holding on to you and at that moment I never realize that what I will do without you? And those words would MEAN so much to me today.  

 

I was in bed and I got a feeling that something wasn’t right, I get out of the bed, I got dressed and I stood at the window looking at the cars coming and passing by, my heart kept raising by every minute hoping that everything please be okay. I was interrupted by phone ringing and my Mom saying that “Your Father isn’t well, I need you at the hospital and please be quick.” And at that moment I knew; I realized that my feeling being frantic was true.

 

I rushed to the hospital, nothing in my head just to be there as soon as I can.  And there I was, as if he was waiting for me for years, his eyes sparkle the moment he saw me. I hold his hand and said “hold on daddy, I am here, everything will be okay”. It was all the machine sounds beeping in my head & all that voices annoying me. I placed my hand to his heart, could hear his heartbeats, but soon I could felt that his heart stopped. He just closed his eyes, they came and told me that I had to leave.  I didn’t want to, I was afraid. Leaving my hand empty. Have to understand that I won’t be able to see him again. It was the end.

 

Even after 18 years I try to forget; just forget about it – I guess I can’t. It’s tough. But I treasure my Father in my heart, my soul & my entire life.

 

 

Shariqa Ahmed

Twitter: @shariqa_ahmed

 

The Walking Dead

 

 It is said that winning & losing is part of life, but there should be no lost is acceptable in character & no winning on arrogance. Its universal truth that the society which loses its ethics, moral & social responsibilities become dead by itself. The citizens are demoralized; they don’t care whether its dictatorship or democracy, they want justice. We live in a society where glass for drinking water are chained, in Masjid people are more concerned for their shoes instead of Sajda, where mothers kill their children, where cannibals dug graves & eat corpses, graveyard caretaker is addicted of necrophilia, where politicians play dirty games over bodies of poor, where correspondents becomes spy; no messenger is going to come & change this nation until they want to change themselves within.

 Question is who was supposed to guide us? We live in a society where sins are justified and value is associated with madness, the concept of halal & haram is old episode so why would Allah Almighty bless such state? Building a personality or building character of a human is firstly depended on parents, secondly the responsibility of teachers / guiders, thirdly it is the state’s job.

 Just a slap from parents over a mistake can clear the concept of right & wrong, but unfortunately parents support the wrong doings & hence there is punishment. The fear of doing wrong deeds is encouraged and by the time it strengthens in character building.

 Teachers the most undesirable profession in our country; are not respected the way they should be. There’s a concept that if one cannot do anything – can teach! Teaching is not adopted as a profession but just a necessity; those who get C or D grades try to educate children where they don’t even know what they are supposed to impart. On the other hand qualified teachers are neither respected nor paid well. Sometime the inappropriate behavior of students also effects the determination of the educators.

 On whole it’s a huge responsibility of the government on charisma structure of an individual. Breaking traffic signals, destroying public property & destroying ethics of good humans is a daily practice. Inflation has already made the life of a poor miserable. Unfortunately, to meet the daily necessities, one adopts the wrong way, either he will beg for mercy & he will be a burden on the society or he will turn out to be a criminal. Unfortunately, law enforcers ask for bribe from such criminals and demand for their share. Stealing taxes for luxuries of Government personals has produced a huge discrimination between Government & People. People curse democracy, because their voice is neither listened nor served. Young people who are considered the future of any nation are dying everyday. If count of deaths is within 8-10; it is considered that law & order situation is better today.

 When it comes to religious training, Allah Almighty has not directed that there should be long beard & shalwar to be over ankles will escape the Armageddon. Alhmadolliah that we are born in Muslim families, but have we ever thought that either we believe in what we were guided to believe? In fact we do evil and then we seek justification over that. We have stopped differentiating between right & wrong. Our religion has taught us to be human first, but we didn’t even start to that journey. Truth is if see a man lying or hurt on a street, people just ignore and leave as humanity within us is dead or they might do not want to get themselves into trouble. The quote that “JIs ne Aik Insan ki jan bachai os ne goya pori INSANYAT ko bachaya” doesn’t exists anymore.

 

Shariqa Ahmed

@shariqa_ahmed

 

I Turn To You (Mothers Day Special) By Christina Aguilera

When I'm lost in the rain,
In your eyes I know I'll find the light
To light my way.
And when I'm scared,
And losing ground,
When my world is going crazy,
You can turn it all around.
And when I'm down you're there
- pushing me to the top.
You're always there,
giving me all you've got.
For a shield from the storm,
For a friend, for a love
to keep me safe and warm
I turn to you.
For the strength to be strong,
For the will to carry on
For everything you do,
for everything that's true
I turn to you.
When I lose the will to win,
I just reach for you and
I can reach the sky again.
I can do anything
'Cause your love is so amazing,
'Cause your love inspires me.
And when I need a friend,
You're always on my side
Giving me faith
taking me through the night
For a shield from the storm,
For a friend, for a love
to keep me safe and warm
I turn to you.
For the strength to be strong,
For the will to carry on
For everything you do,
for everything that's true
I turn to you.
For the arms to be my shelter
through all the rain,
For truth that will never change,
For someone to lean on,
For a heart I can rely on through anything,
For that one who I can run to...
For a shield from the storm,
For a friend, for a love
to keep me safe and warm
I turn to you
For the strength to be strong,
For the will to carry on
For everything you do,
for everything that's true
I turn to you.
For a shield from the storm,
For a friend, for a love
to keep me safe and warm
I turn to you.
For the strength to be strong,
For the will to carry on
For everything you do,
for everything that's true
I turn to you.
I turn to you... 


http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1ztsy_i-turn-to-you-christina-aguilera_music
 

The Second Gender

 

 

There was a time when women were solely responsible for household chores in the Pakistani society. That was treated as the only field for their activity. As advancing towards modernization, the mental status of our society for a woman is still traditional. Society doesn’t accept the existence or the independence of a woman even in educated families as well. Since birth or before she is born; a HIDDEN mental pressure is there on the family & if not it is coerced by the people in society.

An infant’s mother is in mental stress& pressure is built by people around. Sex selected abortion have become practice, mal/under nourishment by upholding nutritious food do lead to miscarriages. There are various unreported cases of losing pregnancy due to domestic abuse. Unfortunately women are blamed for gender births.

 

In childhood; girls are not encouraged for proper schooling as it’s thought that instead of spending money on her education they are trained as household helpers; as they ultimately have face the same fate as their mothers. Sexual abuse/molestation is the term from which young girls are not aware of; and at end they can’t differentiate, whether they are being molested or not. The most disturbing thing in our society is child prostitution, coming from uneducated families young girls are either been sold out by the parents or forced for sexual misuse.

 

Teenage is the most sensitive age in a girl’s life. As always there are number(s) of unreported cases of rape/forced sex by family members, teachers, coaches, molwis. There are no proper laws practiced in such crimes like forced marriages to older men for money, watta satta, vanni, sawara, teenage trafficking & sexual prostitution.

 

A woman can face numerous domestic& un-domestic problems. Violence by in-laws, economic abuse includes ruined credit, gambling; isolation, permanent or temporary abandonment, extreme exploitation, withholding adequate food, clothing, daily necessities, force into criminal activity, etc. As on other hand mental & physical harassment she faces if she works, character assassination, exploitation by coworkers, victim blaming, stalking & cyber stalking leads to mental stress. In many cases we also have experience forced suicides, murders by in laws & honor killings. Yet again with a moan no such cases are reported.

 

It is expected that being elder a woman maybe at ease, regrettably she faces mistreatment and abuse at home, cruelty in daily necessities. An unusual case reported that a man was accused of raping 48 dead bodies of women; like it is said “scared of life… they feel like embracing death, what if the troubles of life follow them in death too?”

 

Still searching when we will start behaving like human being, when will we start respecting each other?