Restoring the dignity of women

Shahzaib Hassan

Let me describe my views on the new development occurred during the season 11 of the coke studio. Natasha from Hunza has participated in a song as a singer, she brilliantly sang well! I loved her voice. I don’t hate any singer though.

But writing this small piece is in fact to describe something deep from the abyss. There is an obsolete darkness we other communities are gone into, and that is the darkness of outdated thinking. Until and unless, we don’t shatter this dark abyss with the help of new ideas and substitute old ideas one with new modern ideas. We would not be able to progress in a realistic manner.

Shia, Sunni & Ismalia are the triumvirate of Gilgit-Baltistan, and are renowned communities majorly and largely, and amongst these three communities people who are from Hunza (Ismalia community) are the forefront ones, talented and harmonious in view of the fact they are living, their life in reference to the context of modern world and of new trends. Also, they take part where they are needed too. Since they are instilled with a teaching to choose one’s profession according to the whims of the individual and to his sense of involvement pragmatically, so they are rightly guided. In addition, they are successful in their professional life which in return sounds good for their community at large scale.

Furthermore, if we take the people of the other two communities in comparison to the ratio of the development &progress of the Hunzain, definitely we will see a large scale of different deficits in our women. So, rather than, taking a malice against them [the people of Hunza] we need to chop down a feeling of shyness from our self and let our women to work out in all the fields of social sciences. We should also try to galvanize women of our part to work for the betterment of the society.

In addition, women of the Gilgit-Baltistan are not allowed to take part in the culture of the region freely because of the prevalent misogynistic attitude toward womenfolk and unevenly distribution of power. Resultantly, the typical women of GB have never exercised their due role in the power regulation. Further, in GB there is an idea that, the women who are working outside, are massively followed as a bad woman. It has almost become a norm. Although this idea is not prevalent at this point in time with the successes of a mobile phone, yet very rarely exist in the deep valleys away from the main city.

Moreover, there is no musical club in the periphery of Gilgit (main city) whereby both the gender can freely participate in the art of singing and dancing a cultural dance. But, there is one institution near Hunza-Gojal which is purportedly working for the progress of female in the field of music. It is perhaps only intuition which has given a surface to both the gender evenly to work for the progress of the Desi music of the region. This development in other parts of Gilgit-Baltistan is rather understood a malice and a threat to the cultural diversity specifically to the concept of Islam. However, that is not the case, and that is a concept of the old times where it is believed that singing or doing dance is against religion Islam. Now, things have got a great deal of changes, especially in GB doing a dance in the view of representing a culture is an act of proud.

So, if we want to see the new era of the progress at all the valleys of Gilgit-Baltistan we need to support our half of the population which is comprised up of womenfolk. Just like the people of Hunza are doing. Hence, we also should support our women in the field of education, music and help them to take part in all the co-curricular activities such as singing, dancing and playing.

The writer is the student of Forman Christian College Lahore.