A milestone achieved for Pakistani women, a huge sigh of relief, and a new hope to live fearlessly as a woman in Pakistan
I think we’ve all heard stories of domestic violence at home, or know somebody who’s been affected by it. A lot of times we would be at a loss as to what to do legally, we could give honest advice, tell their parents or elders, but there were no legitimate steps we could take to protect them from the abuser. Even if we called the police, they would deem it a family affair and would many a times say they could not take part in a domestic matter.
Even if you removed the abused from the abuser, they did not have any legal repercussions to be afraid of. Pakistan has been deemed one of the worst countries in terms of women’s rights, and one of the most male-dominated countries to live in, according to American women’s magazine Marie Claire. According to the Aurat Foundation, a women’s rights advocacy group, in 2013 there were more than 5,800 cases of violence against women reported in Punjab alone and, according to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, approximately 70% of Pakistani women have been subjected to domestic violence.
On February 24th, the Punjab Assembly unanimously passed the Protection of Women Against Violence Bill, which was a huge collective sigh of relief for women’s rights activist.
Once a woman calls for help, police and case-workers have the right to enter the house and help her leave without her husband’s consent. In some instances, the husband will be asked to leave. Suspects could be ordered to wear a GPS tracking device that would monitor their whereabouts. Those attempting to tamper or remove the devices will be jailed for up to one year and fined between Rs. 50,000 to Rs 200,000
It has been reported that the bill defines violence as “any offence committed against a woman including abetment of an offence, domestic violence, emotional, psychological and verbal abuse, economic abuse, stalking or a cyber crime.â€
Additionally, there have been measures taken to make the implementation of the bill more solid. The Punjab government has issued a toll-free helpline for women, and have establisted protection and residential sectors for victims. Once a woman calls for help, police and case-workers have the right to enter the house and help her leave without her husband’s consent. In some instances, the husband will be asked to leave. Suspects could be ordered to wear a GPS tracking device that would monitor their whereabouts. Those attempting to tamper or remove the devices will be jailed for up to one year and fined between Rs. 50,000 to Rs 200,000. Defendants right to apply for an arms license or to procure weapons will also be revoked, and the weapons already registered in their names will have to be submitted to court. Family courts will have seven days of the complaint within which to hear the case, and it will be mandatory for judges to make a definitive ruling within 90 days.
Women’s rights activists are exhilirated by the news of this bill, and deem it a huge step forward in empowering women in Pakistan. “The Women’s Rights Bill is a step forward for this country, and is in light of what Quaid-E-Azam wanted for Pakistan. The bill is a good attempt, but there is more dissemination needed of how it will be implemented without which it will not be very effective,†said twice-elected Education Minister, and respected women’s rights activist Shaheen Attiqur Rahman.
Maulana Fazlur Rahman told reporters in Hyderabad that he felt sorry for husbands in PunjabÂ
Since its passage in the Punjab Assembly, there have been severe backlashes in reference to the bill, with clerics calling it “Un-Islamic†and being in conflict with the Pakistani Constitution. They claim that it clashes with Sharia Laws and it makes man feel insecure. Maulana Fazlur Rahman told reporters in Hyderabad that he felt sorry for husbands in Punjab and that these laws belong to a Western society.
Despite the expected backlash, the morale that Punjabi women have been enjoying has not been broken and if anything it has made our will to live fearlessly even stronger.
—By Nishay Shafi
By Mahlia Lone
The tempestuous 15 year relationship of Z.A. Bhutto and Husna set against the backdrop of his meteoric rise and fall
When Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto met Husna Sheikh at Billo and Khalil Omer’s house in Dhaka in 1961, he was, at only 34 years of age, Ayub Khan’s young and fiercely ambitious foreign minister, a Sindhi feudal and an Oxford educated barrister, while she was married to a bourgeouis nationalistic Bengali lawyer Abdul Ahad and mother to two toddler girls. Not the girl next door, Husna was a rivettingly attractive, sari clad, husky voiced, tall, svelte, dusky beauty, with a mixed Pathan-Benagli ancestry.
Husna challenged Bhutto that evening, she recalls, on West Pakistan’s imperialism towards the East and how it would lead to the Bangladeshi movement, thus capturing his attention with her “aggressive confidence†and oozing sex appeal. But Bhutto was a nefarious philanderer. Not happy in her marriage, she reportedly played hard to get with Bhutto at the outset because, knowing his reputation, she didn’t just want to be his latest conquest. Bhutto already had one cousin-wife at his estate in Larkana and a second, the glamorous and elegant Kurdish-Iranian, Nusrat ensconced in his Karachi home at this point.
Bhutto and Husna were not only physically compatible, but had formidable intellects to match and the affair progressed to a stage that in 1965, Husna, leaving her husband behind in Dhaka, confidently moved to Karachi with her daughters, virtually penniless.
“The chemistry was undeniable,†said Husna to Jugnu Mohsin in her 1990 interview for The FridayTimes. “Both Zulfi and I were charged with something beyond each other. It was a vital, exuberant feeling.â€
In her autobiographical novel, My Feudal Lord, Tehmina Durrani writes that Mustafa Khar facilitated the still hush-hush affair, picking and dropping Bhutto in Karachi to Husna’s residence. On one occasion he even he witnessed a defiant Husna slamming the door shut in Bhutto’s face. It became a stormy, tumultuous affair between two head strong and independent minded people. Though he was a powerful and charismatic leader revered by millions, it must have been a novel experience to have a woman dependent on his good will stand up to him, unlike his sycophantic followers.
With second wife, Kurdish-Iranian Nusrat
Foreign Minister Z A Bhutto addresses the UN Security Council during the 1965 war
“The chemistry was undeniable,†said Husna to Jugnu Mohsin in her 1990 interview for The Friday Times. “Both Zulfi and I were charged with something beyond each other. It was a vital, exuberant feelingâ€
Managing an introduction to Sheikha Fatima of Abu Dhabi, Husna got a contract to decorate her Abu Dhabi palace in 1967. It was with these proceeds, Husna said, that she became the owner of two Karachi properties, a Moorish style villa called Manzil, in close proximity to Bhutto’s Clifton abode Al Zulfiqar, as well as a cottage at Hawk’s Bay, and later a flat in London, amongst other investments. It is anybody’s guess whether Bhutto himself or those seeking his favour were her actual benefactors.
Finally in 1969, Ahad divorced his errant wife. Bhutto was on the verge of marrying her when he got arrested, writes Mohsin. Disenchanted, she stayed out of his way for many months. The first day she returned to her home in Karachi, he silently came and stood behind her. Thinking it was her sister, she asked her what she wanted, turning around to see him weeping uncontrollably.
“How can you do this to me?†he asked her. “You are my destiny.â€
“He cried like a child and made me promise I would never leave him,†said Husna, “I realized that day how much I loved him.â€
Bhutto had charisma, charm, ambition and a keen intelligence
A rare photo of Husna Sheikh from the 70s
Stanley Wolpert in his 1993 biography Zulfi Bhutto of Pakistan: His Life and Times writes that though Husna was a ravishing beauty, it was not simply her physical charms that hypnotised Bhutto. She told Wolpert that she was the first woman the philandering politician had ever loved who could think, talk and understand power politics as he did. Even as she sated Bhutto, she stimulated his mind, body and spirit, “rousing him to peaks of excitement he had never knownâ€.
Pandering to his massive ego, Husna and ZAB discussed politics and world affairs after “the flames of passion had died down….For Zulfi’s proud, vain, arrogant, insecure, clever, scheming, easily bored, spoiled psyche nothing was as comforting as a beautiful woman who devoted herself fully to his needs, desires, and dreams, rousing his hopes and calming his darkest fears,†Wolpert writes.
According to Husna, soon after Bhutto became Prime Minister in 1971, he married her in December of that year. The clandestine nikkah was performed by Maulana Kausar Niazi and was witnessed by Mustapha Khar. As a marriage gift she received a Koran inscribed simply in Bhutto’s own hand with the words, “To my wife Husna.†Neither the Koran, nor the nikkahnama were ever found though years later the martial law government conducted many raids to recover them.
The Prime Minister of Pakistan
Bhutto & Qaddafi greeting each other at the
historic Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) meeting 22nd-24th February 1974 in Lahore
ZA & Benazir Bhutto with Indian PM Indira Gandhi at the signing of the Simla Agreement in 1972
With Shah of Iran’s Empress Farah Deeba Pahlavi, 1972
Stanley Wolpert in his 1993 biography Zulfi Bhutto of Pakistan: His Life and Times writes that though Husna was a ravishing beauty, it was not simply her physical charms that hypnotised Bhutto. She told Wolpert that she was the first woman the philandering politician had ever loved who could think, talk and understand power politics as he did. Even as she sated Bhutto, she stimulated his mind, body and spirit, “rousing him to peaks of excitement he had never knownâ€Â
Rumour has it that upon hearing the news of the marriage, Begum Nusrat Bhutto tried to commit suicide with an overdose of pills in Islamabad and was hospitalised at the Civil Military Hospital Rawalpindi. Husna had wanted Bhutto to claim her publicly, but he ended up promising Nusrat that she would remain the official First Lady, and he would refrain from giving Husna his name.
However, Husna was compensated handsomely by becoming the power behind the throne. From the time Bhutto became Prime Minister in December 1971 until the coup in 1977 when Husna sought refuge in London, she ran a shadow kitchen cabinet at her Karachi residence Manzil. Bhutto would meet her at least 4 to 5 times a month and never stayed away from her for more than ten days at a time. She even accompanied him on official trips abroad, though in an unofficial capacity. What better way was there to seek out the Prime Minister than when he was in a relaxed and jovial mood while being entertained by his favourite? Ministers and senior party officials desirous of currying the PM’s favour eagerly sought an invitation to Manzil and Husna’s ear. Many political appointments were decided in this way.
Socialist Bhutto, founder of the PPP
From the time Bhutto became Prime Minister in December 1971 until the coup in 1977 when Husna sought refuge in London, she ran a shadow kitchen cabinet at her Karachi residence Manzil….What better way was there to seek out the Prime Minister than when he was in a relaxed and jovial mood while being entertained by his favourite?
“Husna Sheikh was the Madame de Pompadour (official mistress of Louis XV, who helped him run France) of Pakistan,†said PPP politician Salman Taseer.
Husna recalls of Bhutto, the political leader and PM, “He believed in his own mission, but he believed his hands were tied. Kemal Ataturk was his great hero. I would ask him why he was in such a hurry. To which Zulfi would reply that he was in a hurry because he knew they were going to kill him.â€
She also said that the elections of 1977 were not rigged by him, but by his Chief Ministers. “Will someone tell my CMs not to ruin 20 years of my hard work?†he asked her. The situation soon snowballed out of his control.
The Bhutto family taking the air in Murree
When the General Zia led military coup occurred, Husna said she was already in London where her eldest daughter was delivering a baby. She did not return. Though she was deeply resented by Benazir, who had obviously sided with her mother, Husna said Murtaza kept her in touch with Bhutto’s ordeal over the next two years, while ZAB was confined in a cramped prison cell, rapidly losing his health.
First, Husna hired British lawyer John Mathews to defend Bhutto in his murder trial held before the Lahore High Court, but the Pakistan government disallowed it on grounds that a foreign lawyer could not appear in a court until he had practised in Pakistan for a year. Then, she claimed to have pleaded with Sheikha Fatima to have the Emir Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan ask Zia for clemency in the sentencing, but Zia turned a deaf ear. When Nusrat and Benazir visited Bhutto in jail in April 1979, Murtaza told Husna, it would be the family’s last meeting with him. He was hanged the next day.
At the Dir helipand on 11th Nov 1976—Can you tell from the Chief of Army Staff General Zia ul Haq’s duplicitous smile with which he is greeting PM Bhutto that he will overthrow him in a coup and have him hanged the very next year?
Generals Zia ul Haq & Akhtar Abdur Rehman with PM ZA Bhutto in Murree
Under arrest, Bhutto being made to the rounds of the court houses
An ailing and weakened Bhutto at the prison hospital
When the General Zia led military coup occurred, Husna said she was already in London where her eldest daughter was delivering a baby. She did not return
After Bhutto’s hanging, a deep depression took a hold of Husna and she contemplated suicide she said. However, she managed to pull herself out and has gone on to live out the rest of her life in relative peace and prosperity. Her union with Bhutto produced her youngest daughter Shahmeen and it was the thoughts of her family that gave her the strength to continue.
Husna is now a beautifully preserved octogenarian. She never remarried. And on April 4th 2016 falls ZAB’s 37th death anniversary.
A slim, soft spoken woman with a relaxed, down to earth vibe, Naz Mansha at first glance does not appear to be the consummate business woman who helped build an empire. But you spend five minutes talking to her one-on-one and you realize she has a formidable work ethic. While multitasking and arranging play dates for her five grandchildren, Naz shares with Mahlia Lone the story of how she built Nishat Linen (NL) from the ground up.
“To use a hackneyed phrase, Mansha is a workaholic. Earlier on in our marriage, our three boys would be in bed by 8:00 p.m. and I would be waiting for him to return home. I realized I had started nagging him about coming home from the office late. Up till now I had dabbled in a few home grown businesses, but nothing seriously. One evening, in 1985, I decided I had to do something seriously myself, a business that would be full time to which I would be forced to commit. We already had a textile mill in Faisalabad and I decided to take up this division.
First, I contacted the architect Wasif to design a purpose built state-of-the art factory on Ferozepur Road, Lahore. It would have cost roughly the same to get a contractor to put up sheds as a lot of other mills had done, but I wanted to be more organized and professional about it. When the NL factory was completed in 1989, because I lacked experience we hired a mature man as a manager to guide me. Now, I have textile in my blood, coming from the Saigol family, so I started noticing small details that didn’t look right to me. For example, the tables on which the bed sheets were being stitched were too small and parts of the sheet would be brushing the floor and getting dirty. I pointed this out to the manager who dismissed it, by saying ‘But this is how it’s always been done.’ He wasn’t willing to change. My common sense told me otherwise.
I realized that I needed to hire a younger man who would be open and flexible to change and we could grow and learn together. I gave the ultimatum to my husband that either the manager stays or I stay. Obviously, the manager was fired and I hired a young man from a pharmaceutical background with whom I had a ready rapport.
“‘I have made you a Taj Mahal,’ Mansha said to me at that time. I took that up as a challenge and had to prove myself to him. That was my driving force.  Since then, from time to time, I remind him of his words,â€Said Naz chuckling
I introduced a shoeless policy in the premises, frequent hand washing and piped in music for a conducive work environment. I started receiving numerous calls from curious people wanting to visit the mill as I had introduced some fresh ideas into the way business was conducted.
‘I have made you a Taj Mahal,’ Mansha said to me at that time. I took that up as a challenge and had to prove myself to him. That was my driving force. Since then, from time to time, I remind him of his words. (She chuckles.)
Soon, my friends started dropping in to the factory to buy bed sheets, so I decided to open the first NL store in 1994. NL is totally integrated. We spin our own yarn, manufacture the fabric, design and print it right up to the finished product. In 1994, I started making lawn as well. I hired a female textile designer. Up till this point, we were totally geared towards the export market. In this niche, we clicked quickly because there were hardly any players at that time, except for a few mills like Gul Ahmed, Al Karam, Sitara, etc.
With every breath we take, there is a new lawn brand out there. If I didn’t have my own production house, I would shut up my lawn shop. That is why I have branched out and brought Inglot, makeup brand, and Swarovski to Pakistan. I frankly don’t know how people who outsource their production to other mills are making money and what kind of business plan they have. They come in for a season, print fabric, set up a shop and then many of them disappear. Many of these startup brands will filter out, I feel.
Today, it has become the survival of the fittest. With every breath we take, there is a new lawn brand out there. If I didn’t have my own production house, I would shut up my lawn shop. That is why I have branched out and have brought Inglot, makeup brand, and Swarovski to Pakistan. I frankly don’t know how people who outsource their production to other mills are making money and what kind of business plan they have. They come in for a season, print fabric, set up a shop and then many of them disappear. Many of these startup brands will filter out, I feel.
What do they even do with their leftover stock? Even big designer brands such as Gucci have leftover stock from past seasons that they sell through their outlets. We have thought this through and have outlet shops attached to the mill, as well as in middle class localities. Behind the scene factors such as these have to be addressed.
At NL, we shuffle designs between Karachi and Lahore according to where each design is selling better. We also have total control over our production, regarding not only quality but also cost. Each division keeps its own accounts, is responsible for its own profitability and everyone shows their own performance. At the end of every month, the group balance sheet goes to the big boss Mansha who inspects it.
Today, NL operates more than 70 stores in 29 cities here and abroad as well as an online store, selling a hundred different designs of unstitched fabric and ready to wear collections. The different types of fabric available range from crinkle lawn, cambric, voile, bemberg, chiffon, raw silk, etc. NL lawn has a special American finish and this season has even introduced a scented lawn with a Chamomile fresh fragrance that lasts for about fifteen washes. A customer is not forced to buy a three piece suit of a standard 2 ½ meter shirt length. A heavier woman may want more fabric, or less fabric may be required to make a dress for a little girl. This flexibility and saving to the customer gives NL its wow factor! Catering to a mass market, the price of the product is extremely competitive, a stitched shirt at only Rs. 1800 and unstitched as low as Rs. 500.
A woman selects her outfit to suit her mood. One day, she may choose a vibrant colour, another day a pastel and a third a neutral. NL gives her this choice through the wide range it offers. Additionally, the NL Gold range offers exclusivity with a limited edition semi-formal range with embroidery and embellishments at a higher price point. The future of the market is in ready to wear. NL’s womenswear business currently consists of half unstitched and half is ready to wear.â€
