PESHAWAR – A video based on a song was screened by the Aurat Foundation to depict the plight of women in the male-dominated society, at the Peshawar Press Club on September 14.

Bibi Sheernay is a famous folk song picturised in the mountainous areas of the province. It depicts women as hard workers who get nothing in terms of respect from the men who rule the society.

A social worker, Samar Minnallah, who has produced the song, said she was shocked by the ill-treatment meted out to women in a society which is dominated by cultural considerations.

“From dawn to dusk, women work in homes, doing both heavy and light work, but do not get any reward for what they do. There is no recognition of her hard work, which is against religious injunctions as well as social norms,” she said.

Local artiste, Gulzar Alam, who has sung the song, was present on the occasion. Ms Samar was of the view that she had taken the task in collaboration with the Aurat Foundation to raise the level of awareness regarding the rights of the women. For this purpose, she said, she was working on different projects to communicate to the people that women should get the respect they deserved.

“Women are mothers, sisters and wives. They play tremendous part in daily lives of the families in which they live. They prepare food, wash utensils, wash and press clothes and look after children. All these services make them eligible to be respected,” she said.

Noted writer Zaitoon Bano deplored that people were not treating their baby girls at par with male babies. “More often than not, I have come across people who get their male children examined by doctors, but avoid bringing their female babies to the doctors,” she said.

According to her, women are even denied share in the properties left by their parents and most of the families’ belongings are grabbed by men. “This is the extreme of injustice and there is a need to stem the tide of the oppression and discrimination committed against women,” she said.

Source: Dawn

Date:9/15/2004