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24-June-2007

FROM FP'S DESK

When we debate political issues and talk about any political system, whether it is democracy or dictatorship, the crux of the matter is how one measures economic performance against the degree of political and civil freedom existing in various nations. A recent survey concludes that in the last 15 years, the economies of nations ruled by despots have grown at an annual rate of 6.8 percent on average -- two and a half times faster than politically free countries. Examples of those autocratic countries who have opened their markets in recent decades but have continued to prevent or restrict democracy such as China, Russia, Malaysia, Singapore, have done better than most of the developed or undeveloped countries that have a considerable measure of political and civil freedom.
That is not to say that there is any replacement for democracy. Any political system free or unfree that removes the main obstacles to entrepreneurship, investment and trade and makes a serious and concentrated effort and commitment to safe guard and protect and give a level playing field to its people will undoubtedly succeed. Governments, which give a stability and reliability to the system, are the most important factors for long term economic prosperity.
Our woman achiever today is a lady who is not only a political activist but an extremely enlightened, well educated former mayor of Khairpur. She is Nafisa Shah, the educated daughter of Sindh. Nafisa is presently back at Oxford University completing her Doctoral Thesis. Nafisa has had a long and productive career as a journalist when she was working with a monthly magazine in Karachi, doing their investigative reporting and writing on issues such as Karo Kari, violation of human rights, victims of violence and several other issues relating to women in the interior Sindh. Her professionalism was projected when she remained Nazim of Khairpur for almost 4 years in a government setup in which her party the PPP was a part of the opposition. Nafisa demonstrated her capabilities to work for the betterment of District Kairpur and its people and provided them with low cost schooling facilities and massive repair works to improve the infrastructure. During her period as Nazim budgetory allocations which were announced involved direct redistribution of goods to the public. Medical and health insurance facilities were also introduced.
Nafisa proved that even if you do not belong to the ruling party and want to work for the betterment of the masses, for the people who elect you, you can do it with your integrity, your commitment, your level of professionalism, your believe that what you are doing is for the betterment of the people and society. This young lady has achieved a lot and it is work such as Niafsa's which deciphers and distinguishes the true commitment and political will of politicians and leaders. Personal interest and projection (many of the new comers into politics are unfortunately only involved in self projection of themselves and gaining importance) are replaced by public interest and working for the betterment of the society and country.
We hope that more dedicated politicians like Nafisa Shah come forward and rescue the nation from succumbing to further ethnic and provincial divide, people who are educated and have an open mind to work along side others for the strengthening and development of political maturity in order to guard and project democratic norms and democracy in Pakistan.
Qudsia Kadri

Nafisa Shah Customary violence must be examined in the context of the framework of the state. There are no institutional alternatives, such as an effective criminal justice system at the grassroots level, nor institutional support systems.

FP: You are amongst the few pioneering woman from interior Sindh in the present generation to have pursued education so extensively, your particular field of interest?
NS: Social Anthropology, which I reccomend not only to the universities to introduce as a subject - as only a handful of them offer it in Pakistan - but also to the young academics in the making. The subject has changed my perspectives on both social issues and social behavior, and given me exciting insights. It has also made the experience of living in rural Sindh richer.
FP: You are back at Oxford University, what degree are you pursuing presently at Oxford?
NS: I am working on my doctoral thesis.

FP: Let us start from your journalistic background, -- you have written on women related issues and particularly on Karo Kari, what has been your experience of honor killings in interior Sindh as well as in urban cities of Sindh?
NS: Initially, I had a news focus, as most journalists do, and worked on incidents, number, extent of the violence in upper Sindh. My appraoch is now more academic. I am looking at power and law and how they are implicated in honour violence in upper Sindh.
FP: When did you leave the Newsline Magazine? You had contributed many features on violence and crime against women.
NS: I left a long time back in 1996. I am proud to have been associated with journalists like Razia Bhatti, Rehana Hakim and Zahid Hussain, and learnt a lot about the life and times we lived in. Newsline experience was endless exploration of the most fascinating kind. So gender related work was only a part of the work. Newsline's quest for getting the best from the field in terms of news made me travel to the pat of northern Sindh, Khirthar hills in the west, and the charming dunes of Thar, chase after snakecharmers, shikaris, gypsies, fishermen, visit melas, folk festivals of sufi saints, and engage with those on the fringes: street children, tiny Bengali kids weaving carpets for the western market, young men viciously caught in drug addiction and drug detox, women fighting taboos of living with ruptured bladders and reproductive health problems, and victims of violence. Of course it was all not about romanticising and travelling. Investigation of current issues, especially on energy, development, environment.... the list is exhaustive.
FP: The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan reports that at least 80pc of Pakistani women are the victims of male aggression. How can crimes like Karo Kari, stove burns, Swara etc. be contained? There seems to be a surge unfortunately every year in these crimes?
NS: Customary violence must be examined in the context of the framework of the state. Why customs such as the ones you mention are prevalent are because there are no institutional alternatives, such as an effective criminal justice system at the grassroots level, nor institutional support systems. Moreover, Pakistan's laws and legal system provide space for customs to survive and now to expand, mutate, and strengthen. For instance, murder can be compounded by heir of the victim, according to the law. In effect, the heir embodies both retribution and pardon, and so this encourages on the one hand self help, and revenge killings, and on the other, mediations and pardons. So while there is a concern for growth of informal mediations, jirgas, faislas or whatever, no one wants to look at how the law provides a space for these jirgas faislas etc.
FP: You seem to be the only person in your family after your father Mr. Qaim Ali Shah to have entered politics, when and why did you get actively involved in the political arena and join PPP?
NS: That is not so. My father was assisted by Syed Pervez Ali Shah who is his sister's son and my cousin. Later Pervez's sister, and brother also joined in active politics and in fact they steered the party work in Khairpur for a long time. Pervez Ali Shah beat Pir Pagaro from Khairpur, and had many contributions for the Peoples Party to his credit. Unfortunately he left the party, and later other cousins also left to join the establishment parties. My brother was in politics for some time and he was appointed as Finance Advisor in Sindh in the last PPP government. But he is now focussing on his professional work. The credit for my entry into politics goes first to Benazir Bhutto, who had encouraged me earlier, and later nominated me to contest the election for District Nazimship for Khairpur. My father's political profile has of course provided unending support. But at the end of the day, no matter how powerful your support system is, politics is about roughing it out, and only experience of a very intense kind helps you understand what its all about. I am still a long way.
FP: In the 2001 elections you were elected from Khairpur and then went on to become the District Nazim. Your experience as an educated woman dealing with issues in a government set-up which held very different views from your party the PPP?
NS: Although I had just enrolled in Oxfords Phd programme, I suspended my doctoral work, because this was a great opportunity both to enter politics and to contribute to the people of my area.
Let me first thank my party for giving me the space to work, and put my vision to work.
The first challenge was to face male politics of rural Sindh, as a woman. My opponents in the district made this a key campaign issue, and used statements like "Are there no men left in the People's party that they have chosen a woman, and that too who has come from abroad?" and so on... However I was a hard taskmaster, and worked at multiple levels, and the same opponent who made this statement now calls me an 'iron lady' not that the latter is a compliment.
There was a lot of interference from a provincial minster, who also happens to be the son of one of the most inflential establishment politicians in the country, Pir Sahab Pagaro. I have all regards for them, but this interference was not only of a technical kind, but was very nearly political victimisation.
There was a time when at least a dozen of my council members were facing false charges as a pressure tactic to dissuade them from supporting me. In one case, the day the council was passing the budget, the convenor was put under house arrest. I calmly took my car and brought him from his house, and we passed the budget! The actions of our political rivals were cowardly and beyond the acceptable forms of poltiical opposition. But I don't want to dwell on that. The positive side is that we fought poltiical and legal battles and won both, and at the end of the day stood taller, and managed to set exemplary standards in the quality of work we produced.
FP: You have always been very vocal in identifying issues and problems, do you feel problems faced by the local people of Khairpur were successful resolved?
NS: The four years that I was the head, the district was charged and there was exciting work on all fronts, education, social work, agriculture, forestly, health and IT. I managed to convince senior bureaucrats to give us allocations in culture, communications and works, despite the fact that I was the 'opposition' Nazim. The districts main achievment was in motivating people to invest thier own share in small infrasture projects, and Khaipur was quoted country wide for how the citizen community boards were organised there. I also shifted allocations from new infrasturre to maintainance of old ones, so there was massive repair work and the district began to look new. Models were developed and demonstrated for low cost school buildings. I encouraged visits of various consular, trade, and development delegations, to the district and many large donors came and invested money on the people of the district. This also helped create hundreds of jobs for fresh graduates. Since Khairpur is a university town, there is a large number of peopel with degrees, but no jobs.
But what I am proud of the most is our redistribution strategy. I and my team realised that local adminstration was about management of very close, face to face social interactions, and so the impact of our work must be immediate, something that people could take in their hands to their homes. People did begin to say that no one returns empty handed from district office, there is something for everyone. Budgetry allocations involved direct redistribution of goods to the public. Keeping this policy in vew, the district covered costs for uniforms for every child in the district from class 5 onwards . The young men and women of Khairpur studying outside the district could apply for financial support and large and growing allocations were kept for this. Theoretically the district insured against all emergencies. We paid small amounts of money to cover losses for fire, for canal breaches, for serious injury, untimely death. There were other plans, subsidised medicine for hepatitis B patients, food in schools, and even a plan for a general health insurance system in the district.
FP: I know your family belongs to the interior Sindh, but you have been outspoken against the tradition of the Jirga system. Your thoughts on the dual concept of judgements and justice?
NS: Let me first explain that being in interior Sindh does not mean that you are a feudal or believe in jirgas. The collapse of criminal justice in Sindh is partlyresponsible for proliferation of jirgas and faislas. I think the urban people of Sindh must travel to the rural areas, to get things in perspective a bit. The feudals both of Sindh and Punjab were designs of maintaing power, earlier as support to irregular forces and later by the British as awards for loyalty to the raj and for 'good behavior' So one has to see the system of power and politics. The informal mediation system is very effective for civil matters, for small scale street fights, for family conflicts. Recognisting this local government system provided for the Maslihate Anjuman which builds on the traditional panchyati nizam. The faisla system of Sindh is an extension or a local variation of Punchiati Nizam. The problem comes when jirgas settle issues of murders, and feuds.
The jirga was a legal entity only in Jacobabad, which was a part of Frontier regulation system of the British administration. No legal system exists in isolation from the cultural systems. However cultures can and have been transformed by rules and laws. As explained earlier, Jirgas in Pakistan are products of our law and legal system.
FP: Your thoughts and hopes for a democratic Pakistan?
NS: Only restoration of political system and institutions would help establish the rule of law - a law that is based on universal principles of justice. The constitution of 1973 holds the key to our move forward, and must not be allowed to be played with as it has been in the past. The street demonstrations of lawyers signify the importance of enforcement of law and justice in this country. Hope it is restored and parliamentary democracy made effective.
FP: Your insight as to how the present government can get itself out of the mess it seems to be further getting into with the passage of each day?
NS: Free and fair elections, restoration of 1973 constitution with provisions of joint electorate, greater seats for women, voter age from 18, ensuring Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif return to lead their parties to the polls, without them it would be hoax, and army along with the General, to go back to its place as defined in the constitution.
FP: Do you feel it is time for the leader of PPP Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto to return to Pakistan?
NS: I think, from my interactions with people party grassroots workers, Benazir's return symbolises restoration of democracy and political institutions in Pakistan. Benazir must come as a precursur to the much desired historical change and that is why the timing is critical. The higher party authorities would decide on that time, which is sooner than later, I think.
FP: Your advise to the women, both professional and the Wives, Mother', Sister's and Daughter's of the Nation?
NS: Women, in the law, are equal citizens and in Quran are equal persons. We have certain rights both under the law, and in religion and these have to be ensured and enforced. I firmly believe that the change in women's position in society is a key indicator of overall ideological progress. We must not allow burdens of culture, family soceity to keep us from the above objectives.
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