By Adil Najam
It has been a tradition for as long as I can recall that on the 25th of December a contingent of cadets from the Pakistan Military Academy (PMA), Kakul, takes over as the ceremonial honor guards at the mausoleum of the Quaid, Muhammad Ali Jinnah. This year, Jinnah’s 130th birth anniversary, was special because the PMA honor guard contingent included eight female cadets and one Sikh cadet.
The two pictures here are from Dawn and Daily Times. Indicative of the importance is the fact that the two newspapers use the titles ‘Winds of Change’ and ‘New Beginning’ to headline the pictures, respectively.
According to an Associated Press report in the Daily Times (27 December, 2006):
Eight female cadets from the Pakistan Army’s elite training academy on Monday became the first female honour guards at the mausoleum of Pakistan’s founder, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah. State-run television showed the female contingent, clad in khaki cadet slacks, some wielding swords and others holding guns, marching to military tunes with their male colleagues in a ceremony at the mausoleum of Mr Jinnah, the Father of the Nation, in Karachi. In November, for the first time in the history of Pakistan, the Pakistan Military Academy Kakul opened its doors to women. In March, women also broke into the all-male air force when it inducted four women pilots.
Forty-one females joined the army academy to undergo a rigorous six months of military training along with men before being inducted as officers in various branches of the army. President Gen Pervez Musharraf, who attended ceremonies in Karachi marking the 130th birthday of Mr Jinnah, laid flowers at the mausoleum and praised the female cadets who are to graduate next April. “I am really impressed by the girls,� Musharraf said. “This is the future of Pakistan.� Previously, women had only served in the army’s medical corps without being trained at the academy. But the 41 female cadets at PMA will join the army as non-combat officers in the communication, engineering, legal and education branches.
Comments on this issue have already been flowing elsewhere on ATP but I thought these pictures were worth sharing and highlighting here. Readers would remember that earlier this year Aviation Cadet Saira Amin had won the coveted Sword of Honour for best all-round performance at the Air Force Academy in Risalpur and became the first woman pilot to have won the Sword of Honour in any defense academy of Pakistan. I should confess that a few days ago when I had contemplated naming an ‘ATP Pakistani of the Year’ she was one of the people I thought would make a great candidate as a symbol of women breaking into traditionally male-dominated professions.
59 years have passed and we are still wandering in the dark. One general imposed ziaiyat and another is imposing pervaiziyat.
Moin sahib, re-read what I said,the guy and those girls were presented to show outerworld that “we care minorities” and it has no relation that “pakistan army now accept women”. The other stunts like visiting churches also part of it.
[quote post=”492″]Every long journey starts with the first STEP![/quote]
People in Zia time also used to get happy that they have found a true Islamic leader and used to pray and chant stuff about him like people today praise musharraf. Different people but same mentality and such mentality can’t be helpful to make a progressive pakistan. Yesterday was zia,today is mush and tomorrow will be someone else, people would keep following the path of celebrity worshipping which is common in our illetrate village people who belives in a Makhdoom or peer more than a God.
[quote post=”492″]But it is a GOOD political gimmick which sends the right signal to society about rights and equal status of women and minorities[/quote]
Zia’s stunt also had said right signal to Regan govt at that time who wanted Islamizatioin in 80s. Don’t consider outer world idiot enough that they would believe in such childish stunts and change their foriegn policies about Pakistan. It’s all about $$$ and Mush also admitted once in his book that how they use different mediums to earn dollars from US govt.
As I already said that real minorities have been suffering in the hands of feudals of Sind and Punjab. I would consider mush a champ if he DOES something for them
Turab, women have not only been inducted into the Air Force and Army, but also in the Navy. To the extent that this represents the inclusion of women in what have been male-dominated professions, I think, it sends a positive signal and sets the right example for the equality of opportunities for women. These, of course, are only initial steps.
Here is an editorial from The News (28 December, 2006) on women in the Navy:
Oh this is just too good. Finally our minority sikh population is getting the coverage that they deserved.
guru jee da khalsa… guru jee di fateh!
[quote comment=”20802″]The new political stunt and emotional commnets by my fellow innocent Pakistanis made me laugh.
May I ask how this stunt is NOT different than PML[Q]’s recent gimmick on the occasion of Dewali?
Do you guys really think ………[/quote]
Every long journey starts with the first STEP!