Maryam-bashing…Muna Khan
WHEN I was teaching at a journalism programme in Karachi a few years ago, former editor of The News, and columnist Ghazi Salahuddin would give a lecture on Malala Yousafzai where he would tell students to speak openly. I once witnessed students disdain for Malala but Ghazi sahib handled it with such poise, never making them feel they were being challenged for their views. Students repeated the usual claims what has Malala done for Pakistan. (As an aside, I believe an update of that disdain should ask what has Malala done for Palestine because her silence has been especially disappointing.)
I digress. The point Ghazi sahib was making, as he told me after that lecture, was that if you want to gauge peoples politics quickly, you should ask them about Malala. It has served me well seemingly well-meaning people, who arent anti-West, or women, or right-wing, would say the strangest things about her.
I believe Maryam Nawaz is the new bashing-kid on the block. Of course, shes not a kid but Ive rarely seen people express that kind of rage and hatred for another dynasty child Pakistan has plenty across all parties. Maryam is treated like a pariah. She is also disparaged privately by party members who feel she doesnt deserve to be where she is. She hasnt ranked high in popularity polls before the elections, though to be fair, its hard to compete with Imran Khan.
I understand Maryams unfavourablity factor, if theres such a thing, is rooted in misogyny which women leaders the world over experience.
The Reykjavik Index, which studies how people feel about women leadership, found in 2021 low levels of confidence for women leaders; the higher percentages were in G7 countries. I was surprised to read that younger men were especially unlikely to endorse women leaders, but then I reminded myself of some classroom discussions Ive had about Aurat March
Shouldnt we wait before giving Maryam an F grade?
This finding was particularly eye-opening: Some people who dont consider themselves sexist believe that because the world is sexist, women leaders are likely to be weaker.
Just a year later, the index found trust in women leadership is falling though their numbers in high-ranking positions are on the rise. Analysts urged countries to fix the trust gap if they want to eradicate gender bias.
The more Maryams profile rose since 2013, the more scorn she received. I remember how furious social media users were when The New York Times featured her as one of the 11 powerful women we met in the world in 2017. Although the paper reported on corruption charges against her family, social media users were not convinced she earned her place as her fathers right-hand person. Male scions are not carefully examined.
I am not here to convince you about Maryams abilities or lack of them I have serious reservations but I am curious what our attitude towards her says about us. We are a highly polarised society, with terrible social indicators and a very poor scorecard on how women are treated in this country. I dont believe women leaders automatically means an improvement in womens rights looking at you, war-mongering Hillary Clinton but shouldnt we wait before giving Maryam an F?
I certainly do not believe she is above scrutiny. By all means critique the video of her helping a female official adjust her dupatta, but to liken it to an assault as some progressives have done on X is preposterous. Especially compared to the muted response to Imran Khan telling a jalsa in 2022 that Maryam talks about him so much it may make her husband jealous.
Men get away with so much, including saying PML-Ns leader Sobia Shahid in the KP Assembly was asking for it when she was met with verbal abuse, a shoe thrown at her and a lota earlier this week. The whataboutery always makes the woman the bad guy.
Women politicians all over the world are held to different standards. Their likeability is put under the microscope whereas it doesnt matter what their counterparts are like. Mens aggressiveness is a given but women doing something unexpected is well unacceptable.
It is this double standard rooted in deep gender bias, often unconscious, that needs to change.
I believe the press should pound Maryam, for policies, inaction, siding with corporations over the public, and any favouritism shown in awarding contracts, for example. I have heard men (always men) on TV advise her to dress down to be taken seriously. While I understand what they mean get your hands dirty it would not cross their mind to say this about her male counterparts.
Every election in this country has been tainted and that could include Maryams. However, she has won votes and needs to win peoples confidence. For that, she needs to be given a chance, not to be confused with a free pass.
Courtesy Dawn