Adil Najam
I recieved a couple of emails with this picture today, and then saw it poste by Vaqas on Metroblog Lahore (see earlier picture here). A great picture by Awais Lodhi. We at ATP have a long-standing fascination with rickshaws (here, here, here, here an here). But, this, of course, is about political commentary, not just about rickshaws.
My best attempt at a translation of the ‘writing on the rickshaw’ is:
Addressed to Honorable General Musharraf Sahib. Accept my congratulations on the passage of the women’s rights bill. Now, please, also give us a bill on Men’s rights. We will be greatful. It is very difficult to drink these days.
Must confess, I am not fully sure how the last line fits. Please suggest a better translation if you will. Or offer commentary on this commentary.
For most part, the messages on the backs of rickshaws are attempts at humor rather than sarcasm or spite. For that reason, I would give the benefit of the doubt to the artist. I think it’s just a “man” asking for his right to be able to drink.
I have never heard of peena pilana as bribery. In Pakistan it clearly means alcohol. And this is clearly a cynical comment against the women’s rights bill.
[…] Now for my comments, I agree with Bilal Zuberi that message is sarcastic but I want to add that it has a sense of resignation that the process of enlightenment would not stop and one can only now make some sarcastic remarks about it instead being able to stop it in someway. […]
I agree, this is nt funny at all. This is a taunting message. It is against the women’s rights bill and is trying to say that now we may as well make ‘peena pilana’ (alcohol drinking) open too.
So finally ATP got affected of this Rickshaw too, in past two three days every blog that I open is talking about “Haqooq e Mardaa’n” … I wonder how many they need??