Rendezvous with Dr.Arfa Sayeda Zehra, Chairperson, National Commission for Women

I want to thank Dr. Arfa Syeda Zehra for taking out the time to let me interview her. She is an inspiration for many people in this country. She has been the Chairperson for National Commission on the Status of Women. Previously, she was teaching at LUMS now-a-days she is teaching Formanites and I want to thank her for taking that decision.
Me:What is Pakistani Culture to you? Why is there a lacuna between the traditions followed by different families although we live in the same country?
Dr. ASZ: It’s difficult to answer this question but culture is not made up of history or geography. You and I like to eat bhutta or rice because that is the aura of our land. I would like to recount an incident over here to explain this point, I went Mohenjodaro with my friend and while we were at the platform we asked for roti and the roti that we were provided with was made out of grounded rice! So coming back to your culture question, we are a great kill-joy-nation. We can not be happy and we can not see anyone happy! We love to see people in misery; we like to sympathize with people, why? Because we don’t know compassion, we only know pity. So for me, culture has three components, the values that you believe, the history that you share with certain someone and the geography. Have you ever heard Pashto, it almost makes the sound of stones rolling down from the mountains. If you move to North Punjab it feels that as if sersoon is blossoming when someone speaks. Whereas it feels like air is blowing in a desert when someone speaks in South Punjab. You see how accents and intonation changes with geography. Now these days, people blame Aishwarya Rai for destroying our younger generation. I like her. She is the second most beautiful face from subcontinent, the first being Madhubala. Who was handicapped in a way because in those days they did not have access to colored screen or computure techniques
Me: Then the western culture can also infuse into ours and can become a part of our culture too?
Dr. ASZ: If we don’t compromise our values! truth can also be spoken with pants and shirt on; there is no attire of the truth.
Me: Madam to what extent can we accept the western influence?
Dr. ASZ: Anything that credits your value system; we have modesty, we used to have decency, we used to have protocol. Hey dad! I am not willing to accept that but even now we call our fathers ‘Aba’ with love. I’ll tell you something very interesting. My sister’s children are trilingual. Their father, however, only responded to them when they spoke in Urdu. One day his eldest son tried to converse with him in English and he did not register him. His youngest son said ‘Bhai, Aba is very mean he will only respond when you’ll talk in urdu’. I would like to emphasize this point that language is your cultural reflection all the sophistication and priorities are reflected through your language. Two leaders of Pakistani nation Iqbal and Jinnah both were educated in the west, but did they work for the interest for the west or the interest of the Muslims? Did their western education stalled them in any way to dispose their liabilities? Hindus never got out of the subcontinent but we ruled Spain, and of course we brought bits of their culture back too. No one in Europe sleeps in the afternoons expect Spanish people. Everyone is familiar with the Spanish siestas. So, basically culture is check of the denominator for defining your values. If I am modest, I will remain so no matter what dress I wear and I can be very kitschy wearing Salwar Kameez and it can be an eye sour.
Me: It is a grim time for all of us; do you see any ray of light at the end of tunnel?
Your generation! I confess to be a failed generation and I take responsibility for it. It’s the burden of my sins that you people are bearing. If we had ever thought about you as part of our future we would have not done what we are doing right now.
Me: How can ‘we’ bring a change?
You do not have to do big things all the time to get big results. It is always very small things that give you big results. You can bring change in things by not doing wrong yourself. No matter how much the pressure is or what loss you may have to incur.