Guest Post by Omer Alvie
[This satirical account is inspired by the real-life drama about the Ajoka play Burqavaganza in the Pakistan capital; See The News Editorial; Gulf News op-ed; a Daily Times report on the original play, and other press coverage.]
So this is how it all happened. Ajoka, a non-commercial theatre group committed to the cause of social change in Pakistan, unveiled its new play Burqavaganza last month in Lahore. The satirical play, written by Shahid Nadeem, addresses the issue of the burqa (veil) and highlights the double-standards and hypocrisy of the feudal/tribal mindset. The aim was to use humour and satire to challenge the cultural status quo and to provoke people to think for themselves.
The audience thoroughly enjoyed the show and the play received positive reviews in the press. But the most surprising response to the play came from a rather astute group of individuals belonging to the MMA (more popularly known as Mullah Military Alliance). Inspired by the success of the Burqavaganza, five extremely talented MNAs decided to perform their own impromptu over-the-top ‘dramaâ⠂¬Ëœ in the National Assembly. The play imaginatively titled Fanativaganza (by yours truly), was a staged rebuttal to the Ajoka group’s play.
Substituting the use of satire, the inspired MNAs opted for provocative language and violent hand gestures to ridicule the writer of Burqvaganza and the Director of the Ajoka theatre group. Apparently, to these five highly sensitive and pious individuals, the Burqavaganza play was clearly un-Islamic, enough to be classified as blasphemous. Although, it has to be clarified that these days, any critique, criticism, aspersion, censure, swipe or nitpicking of the norms and practices of these religious extremists will likely lead to a blasphemy charge, even if it is a comment regarding the general unruliness of their beards.
One minor clarification here, they cannot be called religious fundamentalists. This is because they fail to grasp the fundamentals of the religion they claim to be following. ‘Nuttersâà ¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢ is more appropriate and generally my preference.
The MNA performed drama did not get a positive response from the public or the press, but it did manage to get a standing ovation from the Minister of Culture, who subsequently announced a government ban on the Burqavaganza play to show his appreciation for the drama queens of the national assembly. He was so moved by the MMA performance that he additionally promised further government actions against the key members of the Ajoka Theatre group. I have to admit, as a Pakistani citizen, hearing this news brought a lump to my throat. It wasn’t that I was emotional, it just happened to be part of the process of me regurgitating my last meal, as I got sick to my stomach.
It is clear now that the government’s attempt at promoting ‘enlightened moderation’ in reference to religion has not been very successful. Actually, that is an understatement; it has been an unquestionable, resounding failure. I do admit though that they have managed to create an era of (religious) ‘moderated enlightenmentâ€℠¢. When your faith is judged by the size of your beard or measured by the length of your veil, you are in serious, serious trouble!
Omer Alvie is a Pakistani residing in the UAE and writes, often satirically, on his blog The Olive Ream. He also writes about the Pakistani blog scene at Global Voices. This post was first published at The Olive Ream.
menu/exit, feel free to wear a burqa…no one is denying this as your right. People however have a right to discuss/debate issues to hopefully do some good to the society and God knows we DO need some improvement.
It’s sad to see the Pakistani secular-liberals have jumped on the European Islamophobic bandwagon. We should not be mocking the Burqa (yes the methaphor is being used mockingly) not because it’s a religous issue (because the secularists don’t care about religion that much) rather as an issue of muslim identity and culture. No matter how much the secularists like to deny it, the burqa is part of our culture. Last time I saw you guys bending over backwards for preservation of a Hindu temple … how about preserving the rights of those who hold on to our culture?
Now that this play has been banned, I feel like watching it, just to see what the fuss is about.
Mera Pakistan, I am confused by your message.
What does a Burqa have to do with Islam? Or are you suggesting that the ‘burqa’ represents our ‘values’. Since when is supression a ‘value.’
Please find me a single refernc to a ‘Burqa’ in the Quran.
Just to clarify for those who may not fully comprehend the purpose of the play, Burqavaganza is a satirical play which is uses the Burqa as a metaphor for the double standards and cover-ups in the Pakistani society.
The play shows all characters (men and women) wearing the burqa including politicians, terrorist leaders and even the policemen. The play’s aim is not to be critical of a particular group of people’s belief or dress preference but has primarily to do with the double-standards and hypocricy prevalent in the feudal/tribal mindset.
The banning of the play ironically, just proved the point the writer was trying to with the play.