Adil Najam
Sepoy, of Chapati Mystery fame, sent me this picture before. It is a crude sheyr (verse) crudely written at the back of a bus.
![]("http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h241/adilnajam/girls-sheyr.jpg")
Roughly translated, it says:
Girls these days are so proud of their beauty
They don’t know the first kalma, but speak in English
Sepoy said it made him chuckle. It makes me chuckle too. But it also makes me shudder a bit. And not just for the (lack of) poetic skills displayed here. The verse and its display probably says more about the way we view women – especially young women – than it does about the state of poetry in the country.
!["Your]("http://files.adbrite.com/mb/images/adbrite-your-ad-here-banner.gif")
Notwithstanding the fact that not just rhyme but reason is also missing here and the first and second misras have little connection, the verse does suggest what is viewed good (knowing the pehla kalma) and what is not (speaking in English).
All too often people will presume that a certain behavior correlates to certain moral positions. I remember how we wrote on ATP about an Ad in Dawn’s classified section for
an executive secretary for (a) the MD of a large educational network, who is (b) female with cute personality (c) willing to work on "anything & everything" (d) for "long hours", and (e) "be able to keep MD pleased and relaxed."
Thinking about the ad and all the societal assumptions imbedded in it still makes me mad. As did this interesting post from ATP friend Mansoor on Metroblog Karachi, where he writes about a new way of stealing cellphones that as practiced in Karachi.
![]("http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h241/adilnajam/womenprotest.jpg")
A girl is standing at a bus stop, waiting to catch a bus to go home and talking on her cellphone. There are quite many people around and its daytime.
Two guys on a bike pull up in front of her, the guy on the back gets off the bike, comes in front of her, and without warning, plants a loud slap right on her face! The girl is stunned, cant even utter a word. He then shouts (for the benefit of whoever is listening) "kitney dafa bola hai! Abba ka cellphone nahi lay kar nikla karo" (how many times have i told you, not to take dads cellphone out), grabs her cell, gets back on the bike, and they both drive away.
The girl is too shocked to say anything and just stands there, her hand holding an imaginary cellphone to her ear. People around ignore the situation thinking its just some family tiff or the other…. till she screams out "ye mera bhai nahi tha!!!!!!!" (he was not my brother!!!!!)
What I found notable is that even though the post generated intense discussion it was mostly focused on crime prevention and law enforcement and very little about what – to me – was the most shocking line of all:
People around ignore the situtation thinking its just some family tiff or the other…
Wait, wait, wait. Please. It is OK if someone comes and slap their sister or wife or daughter in public? Or even in private? And the rest of us will say, ‘OK, its a family tiff.’
I must confess that I am shocked most because in my heart of heart I know that many people will, in fact, do exactly that. And, that, is the tragedy of it all.
Hampden man faces charges including OUI, assault on officer
Bangor Daily News (Bangor, ME) June 30, 2003 A Hampden man racked up six charges early Sunday morning after rolling over a sport utility vehicle somewhere off Route 9 and later tussling with police and rescue personnel.
Joseph Warren Arps, 25, was charged with operating under the influence of intoxicating liquor, assault on a police officer, assault on an emergency medical care provider, resisting arrest, leaving the scene of a personal injury accident and failure to report the accident by the quickest means, according to Hampden police Officer Ruth Duquette.
Duquette said the incident came to the attention of local police after Arps’ mother, Coravell Arps of Hampden, called dispatchers at about 3:30 a.m. to report that her son had been involved in an accident more than an hour earlier involving a Toyota Land Cruiser registered to his father, Joseph Arps. Duquette said the mother told dispatchers that her son had injuries to his head and hand, and that he was bleeding and acting disoriented.
Though Arps’ mother said that her son did not want medical attention, Duquette sent an ambulance out of concern for the motorist’s well-being.
When Duquette arrived at Coravell Arps’ residence, she found the 25-year-old sitting in the back seat of his mother’s car, smelling of alcohol.
He was initially unresponsive to the police officer and emergency medical personnel, and then became combative and began spitting at them, Duquette said.
After stepping out of his mother’s car, Arps allegedly continued spitting at the officer and three ambulance squad members who responded. He also lunged at them, according to Duquette. in our site eastern maine medical center
Arps would not stop despite warnings that he would be sprayed with pepper spray. He continued to resist arrest after the first time he was sprayed, so Duquette had to spray him again. Eventually, Arps was restrained and taken to Eastern Maine Medical Center, where he was treated for cuts to his face.
Duquette said the SUV was located about 5:30 a.m. Sunday down an embankment off Route 9, where it came to rest on its roof after leaving the roadway and traveling airborne for about 100 feet.
Duquette said she later learned that Arps was given a ride from the accident scene to his mother’s home by off-duty Hampden police officer Joseph Burke. Burke said Arps was intoxicated when he picked him up near the crash site.
Burke reported that the motorist claimed he’d suffered his injuries in a bar fight in Bangor. Police later learned that Arps had been at a wedding reception before the accident occurred.
In another Hampden incident, a 16-year-old bicyclist was injured after he rode into the rear end of a car parked on the shoulder of Route 202.
According to Hampden police Officer Joseph Burke, Michael Matthews was taken to Eastern Maine Medical Center after complaining of shoulder pain. here eastern maine medical center
Matthews was riding his bicycle north on Route 202 when he struck the back end of a Buick belonging to 72-year-old Lester Mayhew of Winterport, who had pulled over to the side of the road in order to search for something in his car.
According to Hampden Firefighter Ray Pipes, firefighters were called to an Irving filling station on Main Road about 3:30 p.m. Saturday after a broken fuel spout at one of the fuel pumps caused an estimated 10 gallons of gasoline to spill onto the ground.
Firefighters soaked up the fuel and closed the parking lot temporarily until the gasoline fumes dissipated, Pipes said. The Maine Department of Environmental Protection was notified.
A man in a wheelchair was arrested at Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor on Saturday night after hospital security requested his removal.
When officers arrived at the hospital, they ran the man’s name through the police computer and discovered he was wanted on a warrant for failure to pay a fine on a theft charge, according to a police report.
John Scott McDougall, 37, of Indian Island was arrested at 11:30 p.m. and taken to Penobscot County Jail.
- Compiled by Dawn Gagnon and Jackie Farwell
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PAKISATN WOMEN CAN NEVER DO ANYTHING,
YOU MUST BE THINKING WHY????????????????
BECOZ PAKISTANI RULES FOR WOMEN ARE SO TUF
AND THE WADDERS’S AND FEW MORE COST’S ARE
SO UNLOWFULL ABOUT WOMENS……
SO WHAT IF THE BILL HASE BEN PASSED LOW IS STILL IN WADDERAS HANDS…………………………………
I think we have pushed women in our society to create a division for themselves. Pakistan experienced a tolerant society if we go back 20 years from now. And women were still very active, whether it be Politics, film industry or commercially. I think we have given rise to a substantially moderate women and that against a very nation that does not allow transparency into the very veins of women. The women hides and yet we call them disturbances of time.