Kabul
27 September 2007
Safia Siddiqi is a rarity in conservative Afghanistan. She is a Member of
Parliament from Nangarhar province, bordering Pakistan. She is a poetess who speaks
Pashto, Dari and English. She also has a professional career to boot.
Safia Siddiqi rues that women are treated as "second class citizens" in the land of
Malalai, the 19th-century Afghan woman who became a symbol of resistance against the
British, where women have distinguished themselves in various professions.
Three decades of conflict have so affected the women and children that a majority
continue to struggle for their rights but she is encouraged that the media is beginning to
lead social change in a society torn between the Sharia and the Constitution, where a few
years ago women were deprived of education, employment and political voice.
Inspired by Ekta Kapoor's women-oriented television soaps, which are a rage in Kabul
and beyond, a non-government organisation called Aina has produced a TV serial called
Palwasha (first rays of rising sun). The first 15 episodes have been shot and the serial is
expected to go on air in a fortnight, according to Prasant Satapathy, director of Aina.
Talks are on with the privately-run Ariana Television Network (ATN) and Tolo TV for the
telecast of Palwasha.
The main protagonist of the serial is a lady judge, played by Indian actress Sonal
Udeshi. Palwasha's story is about an Afghan girl, who believes in standing by her own
convictions, and her struggle. She completes her education and becomes a judge. The
story traces her life as a judge and how she resolves her dilemmas while upholding
justice. "A woman judge is unimaginable in Afghanistan today," Satapathy explains,
hoping that his protagonist will become as popular as Smriti 'Tulsi' Irani of "Kyonki ...
Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi" fame.
The story of Safia Siddiqi's life is no less compelling. Born into a family of jurists and
religious scholars, she migrated to Pakistan in 1988, where she lived for 12 years as a
refugee. Then she emigrated to Canada and returned home a few years ago to assist the
newly established Ministry of Women's Affair. She was a member of the first Loya Jirga
(grand assembly) and a deputy and spokesperson of the Constitutional Loya Jirga. She
contested the historic September 18, 2005 election and won. The Afghan Constitution
reserves 25 per cent of the seats for women. There are 68 women MPs in the 249-
member Wolesi Jirga (lower House of Parliament).
Safia Siddiqi hopes that the policies and legislations being drafted by the Ministry of
Women's Affair will produce more women like Malalai and address the issues of child
marriage, forced marriage and child abuse. Earlier this year the Supreme Court of
Afghanistan approved a new marriage contract to help stop child marriage and forced
marriage. According to the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission, over 60 per
cent of marriages are forced. "Povery of society affects the life of women," she says,
referring statistics that suggest that an Afghan woman's life expectancy is 44 years,
acompanied by high maternal mortality. "We may not be heard but at least we can show
to people we have a voice and struggling for rights of people in society," she tells this
newspaper.
"Kyonki ... Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi" and other Indian TV serials like "Kumkum" and
"Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki" are popular in Kabul but there is no dearth of home-grown role
models either. There is Malalai Joya, an MP, who has since been suspended from
Parliament for three years for openly criticising her male colleagues. Then there is
Malalai Kakar, Afghanistan's first female police officer, who works in Kandahar. General
Khatol Mohammadzai is the highest-ranking lady officer in the Afghan National Army. Dr
Massouda Jalal is the lone minister of Cabinet rank in the Karzai Administration.
Afghanistan also has its first all-women's national soccer team now.
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