Day: March 11, 2013

Posted on

Undoing prejudices: De-sexing the fairer sex

By: Batool Zehra

ISLAMABAD: “If a male anchor wants high ratings, he has to work hard, whereas a woman gets 50% of the ratings just for being a woman,” declared Saleem Safi at the 2nd National Conference on Gender and Media. As the female panellists, Quatrina Hossein and Munizae Jehangir shook their heads and protested the sexism of the comment, the crowd of participants – mostly male journalists – burst in applause.

The 2nd National Conference on Gender and Media was hosted by the White Ribbon Campaign Pakistan at Serena Hotel, Islamabad, on International Women’s Day to encourage sensitive and balanced depictions of women in print and electronic media. The campaign’s emphasis lies on sensitising men to women’s right and violence against women, with the optimistic assumption that educating men would lead them to behave better towards the fairer sex.

There were spirited discussions on the problematic portrayal of women in television dramas and advertisements, with much ire directed at the mega-hit Pakistani drama Humsafar. Panellists lambasted the dichotomy of women in TV dramas: the eastern woman who was always helpless, tragedy-struck and exploited and the westernised damsel who does not care about any local values. Talat Hussain, one of the more eloquent speakers at the event, said “The mainstream Pakistani women – teachers, women running SMEs – never get portrayed.”

Fahd Hussain brought much clarity to the issue when he spoke about the media’s “race to the gutter”, highlighting their obsession with appealing to ‘the base’ to get ratings. As a result, he noted, they try to show what the ‘awaam’ wants, rather than what it should see. According to him, this was one of the reasons for the unrealistic portrayal of women on TV.

But if there was one thing the conference highlighted, it was how far we are from a gender-sensitised media or society, with panellist after panellist blundering into sexist, even misogynistic commentary.

Beena Qayyum, who sensationally presented gruesome details of rape incidents and acid-throwing without having any larger point to make, was the worst offender. While talking about the abuse women suffer in marriage, the Crime Scene producer declared “Men are to blame. Women are equally to blame.” Though she qualified her statement by adding that it was because women did not stop the abuse the very first time it happened, would a gender-sensitised person shift the responsibility of crime on the victim? This attitude is what makes it so hard for rape victims to get sympathy, or indeed, justice – they are routinely portrayed as somehow responsible for what happened to them.

Those who stuck to rhetoric fared better – many an ambassador and ambassador’s wife came on stage, mumbled something soothing and vaguely agreeable and shuffled off again. But those who veered from empty platitudes and tried to express their real perceptions of the gender situation, quickly dug themselves into holes. Such was the case with Saleem Safi, whose truthfully expressed sentiment about female anchors popularity caused ill-will from the women on stage.

Mohammad Malik while taking a more politically correct line, expressed some sympathy for Safi: “The bias is not deliberate; we lack knowledge. We come from set-ups in which we’ve seen women in certain roles and we haven’t de-sexed them.”

Malik acknowledged that workplaces were not sensitised to women, and spoke about crude jokes often cracked in newsrooms. In a neat obfuscation of power roles, he begged women to show sympathy to men, educate them, and force this issue as a priority on people. Ironically, he also ended with a joke that some women might find demeaning: “Please show us sympathy; you’ll have your revenge when you get married.”

Seems like there’s no escaping gender stereotypes.

Source: The Express Tribune

Posted on

Gender (in) equality: Poster For Tomorrow show reaches Hyderabad

HYDERABAD: An exhibition of posters based on suppression and violation of the female gender, also brought out the fact that the art scene in Hyderabad has been suffocated over the years.

Khuda Bux Abro of Poster For Tomorrow, who hails from Hyderabad, urged art institutions to bring their students to the exhibition which opened on Sunday at the Zafar Kazmi Art and Design Gallery in Sindh Museum .

“The arts flourished in the 1970s and early 1980s [in Hyderabad] but there has been a decline over the years,” said Abro. “There are only two nude posters in this exhibition but they are not erotic in nature and are meant to convey a message. Many people have objected to their display and this exactly how suppression of art started during the Zia era.”

The seven-day event, which was also organised in Karachi last year, was a rare and first of its kind in Hyderabad. It was held in collaboration with the Aurat Azaad organisation, featuring 100 posters of Poster For Tomorrow on the theme ‘Gender Equality Now!’

Gender inequality is often believed to exist only in some underdeveloped countries. But the women in Hyderabad who visited the exhibition of the graphic design posters found a reflection of their lives in the women of the ‘first world countries’.

“We hope to draw art lovers as well as the students of art and design who can learn from the world’s top 100 graphic designers,” said Abro, who was happy with the response on the first day. “This event is essentially for feminists who want equal rights for women.”

Sindhi writer and columnist Gulshan Laghari found herself easily relating to the posters.

“There is not a single poster which directly reflects our culture. Yet, I feel they all mirror our society and its women,” she commented. “I have come here to see how the artists from other parts of the world think about women. These pictures depict women’s conditions.”

She pointed to a poster of Mexico’s Moises Romero whose slogan read “He said he loved me”. It shows a man embracing a woman but his feet are seen trampling the woman’s feet. “It displays the fact that suppression is part of a man’s love for a woman,” she construed.

Benish Sahar, a visitor, was amazed to find how the artists, particularly in the developed world, perceived the rights and role of women in their societies. “The stigma of giving birth to a girl even worries mothers in Europe,” she said while looking at the poster of a pregnant woman, made by Greece’s Beetroot Design Group, who sat on a chair wondering if she was expecting a girl.

“The posters show us various forms of discrimination in different societies,” said Atia Dawood of Aurat Azaad. She lamented that in the countries where women are thought to have liberty, sexual exploitation and objectification is rampant, referring to the photo by Gustavo Morainslie, a Mexican artist, which portrayed such abuse.

But it wasn’t all about misery – writer and women rights activist Amar Sindhu saw the posters as a way of acceptance that inequality against women exists. “We can hope that it will become a precursor for achieving equality.”

Source: The Express Tribune

Posted on

Acid sales regulation

By: Syed Mohammad Ali

The horrific act of attacking people with acid has been taking place across different parts of our country for the past several years. While instances of acid attacks occur in major cities, this particularly debilitating form of violence is even more prevalent in rural areas, such as the cotton-growing belt of southern Punjab. The need for an overarching legislative framework to deter acid attacks and provide relief to the victims remains vital. There is, however, another possibility which is to prevent acid attacks from taking place by regulating the widespread access to highly concentrated acid.

All across the country, one can walk into a number of shops in rural or urban centres and purchase any amount of highly concentrated acid from shopkeepers, who barely raise an eyebrow when selling this highly corrosive substance to their consumers. Besides the use of concentrated acid in several industrial processes, highly concentrated sulphuric and hydrochloric acid is sold to the general public due to its multi-purpose usage, which is the real problem.

In Pakistan’s cotton belt, highly concentrated acid is used to remove lint from cotton seed, as it is a cheap way to obtain clean seeds ready to be replanted. Given this practical use of acid, its sale is widespread. The accessibility of acid not only encourages its use to perpetrate the crime of acid throwing, but the widespread use of acid by the rural populace also poses health hazards, causes accidents and has detrimental effects on the environment. All these factors provide a convincing enough argument for the government to find substitutes for the prevalent cotton seed treatment.

In urban areas, it is a common household practice to use acid for cleaning or even drain-opening purposes. Promoting the use of safer cleaning agents would not prove very difficult, if government policies are put in place to deter their manufacture and sale. Sale licences are issued for possession and sale of poisonous substances, including acids, under the Poison Act (XII) of 1919.

Experts working on preventing acid attacks have recommended that a broader regulatory mechanism be put in place to minimise acid usage in non-industrial purposes. Meanwhile, they have suggested that acid should not be sold without proper identification and that action should be taken against those who sell acid without seeing proof of identity. Others emphasise the need for customers to be required by law to submit a copy of their national identity card before they are sold acid.

According to a recent statement by an adviser to the chief minister of Punjab, the province has banned unregulated sale of sulphuric acid to control acid crime. There is little information available concerning the steps which have been taken in this regard and if this measure will be continued after the coming elections remains to be seen.

We would do well to look at how India is trying to grapple with the same problem. The Indian Supreme Court has recently directed the centre to convene a meeting of Chief Secretaries of all states to evolve a consensus to regulate the sale of acid on the basis of public interest litigation, demanding a ban on over-the-counter sale of acid. Some of the suggestions emerging from this process could also be implemented in Pakistan, in consultation with the relevant stakeholders, including those who manufacture and use it.

Source: The Express Tribune

Posted on

‘Ragniyan’ enthralls art lovers

By: Ahtesham Azhar

KARACHI: The Art Scene Gallery organised a solo painting exhibition titled ‘Ragniyan’ by renowned artist Khalid Saeed Butt based on love memories, the other day.

On the inauguration day, a large number of citizens, including artists and art lovers swarmed the event and enjoyed the exhibit of at least 19 paintings by the artist.

One of his untitled paintings showed a woman perching on a tree branch and looking towards a colourful peacock, which was standing at a nearby tree. The painting portrayed that the woman was enjoying her love memories and thinking about her life partner while looking at the peacock. Khalid painted the scene with very soft hands, besides perfectly using his artistic skills. He used different dark colours to express the message behind his art.

Another painting, portraying a group of rural women engaged in leisurely activities, thus showcasing the beautiful moments of
village life.

The paining showed four women sitting near a lake. They all were enjoying and doing chit chat, while one of them was not mentally present there, as
her attention was towards nearby a peacock.

The woman had decorated herself with jewellry and makeup. Khalid, through this art piece, tried to express that sometimes a woman feels her husband or paramour’s absence even in her friends gathering.

Another painting was of a village couple, sitting on the trunk of tree. The girl’s partner was trying to grab her attention, but she was not mentally present, or perhaps not enjoying the moment as she was looking towards a peacock, who was sitting at branch of
a nearby tree.

Butt in strong medium, attempted to express that sometimes, a woman starts seeking something else, even in the presence of her love.

Similarly, another painting was about one more village woman, wherein the painter captured the picture of woman crossing the drain with a earthen water-pot, with the help of her husband. It was a general picture of the love birds, which can be easily witnessed in villages.

In the same way, another painting was also about love birds enjoying the romantic moments with each other.

Talking to Daily Times, Khalid said that he completed all the work in one-and-half-a-year period. He said: “My first preference is beauty in my work. I always try to include language of symbols in my paintings, so that everyone could understand my meaning easily.”

It has always been difficult to convey your full meanings in subtle and very delicate means, but at the same time, only subtle and delicate means can do it.

Free flowing lines, opaque and transparent layers of water based tinges and diminutive scales are what the miniature painting is all about.

Since ages, this form of painting has been best suited for the illustrated works, either they were to explain through the whole scriptures of celestial books or through the mystifying dictum of mythological concepts.

“I have explored the depth of minuscule lines of miniature style and tried to apply it on surfaces. I am setting free, these playful lines, on the vast of large canvases. However, the lavishness of colours, the curvature of female body and the stature of the male figure, are of the same nature as it was encaged on the small scale,” he said.

The artist uses ‘vasli’ as a medium: a thick paper made with 3 or 4 layers of paper itself.

The exhibition will continue until March 16, 2013.

Source: Daily Times

Posted on

A gift to women from Sindh Assembly

Karachi: Mehnaz Rehmat, director of the Aurat Foundation, called the domestic violence bill adopted on Friday a gift from the Sindh Assembly to women on women’s day. “For the first time a bill will include all forms of violence, including psychological violence,” she said.

Previously, due to loopholes in the law a woman could not get an FIR registered easily. “It meant that a bruise was merely written down in a roznamcha or daily diary. The police did not consider it a crime.”

The bill was first passed in 2008, and then sent to the Senate for approval, but it never saw the light of day”, said Rehmat.After the passage of the 18th amendment, the provinces obtained the independence to draft laws.

“It was women parliamentarians who brought up the issue again and again. Men in the assembly would merely mock it.”She recalled how after the bill was passed today a male parliamentarian mocked, “So we cannot slap our wives anymore?” “It was as if he considered it his right to do so,” she said.

Source: The News

Proudly powered by WordPress