In my conversations with all the curious, ill-informed people I meet, the surprising part is all the myths that exist about Pakistan. There is a striking similarity to people's concerns for this strategically located, small in size, yet always making-the-headlines state in the subcontinent. Below is my attempt to debunk some of the most popular myths about my country that I encounter all the time.
All Pakistani women wear the hijab.
There is no one way to describe the dress of Pakistani women. Walk down the street and you can see everything from capri pants to niqabs, from sleeveless tops to abayas. There is no law dictating what women should wear. Pakistani women go to school, college, and university with men and compete in equal roles with the opposite sex at the workplace. They practice the religious and legal right to marry anyone they like - when they ask for the family's approval, it is out of love and respect for them, not an obligation. Even when they aren't the primary bread winner for the family, they often are the policy makers of the household. They are pilots in the Pakistani Air Force, judges in the High Court, lawyers, journalists, doctors, scientists, actors, musicians, writers, and sportswomen. Pakistan elected its first female Head of State in 1988 - a feat not many "developed" countries have accomplished even to date.
Pakistan is in the Middle East.
Because Pakistan is in the Middle East, everything that holds true of the Middle Eastern countries applies to Pakistan. First to clarify, Pakistan is not a part of the Middle East. It is a part of South Asia. Pakistanis are not Arabs, they are South Asians. Pakistanis don't speak Arabic, the national language of Pakistan is Urdu. Pakistanis vote in elections. Pakistan's very free media can bash the government if it wants to. Pakistan has mountains, forests, deserts, beaches. It snows in Pakistan, too.
U.S. aid is running Pakistan.
Seems like people think that America is feeding the poor of Pakistan. Even though the U.S. has given $1 billion per year to Pakistan since 2001, the aid is directed towards the military to fight the War on Terrorism and not civilians. Even then this supposed aid is outweighed by economic losses from terrorism and insurgency. Pakistan’s government estimates that these losses were more than $18 billion in 2010 alone. So Pakistan may as well be better off without America's aid. Pakistani officials also believe that Pakistan's bff, China, could match America's aid if asked. The U.S. is in no position to play around here. If Pakistan does not allow supply routes for U.S. and NATO forces to run through Pakistan, the U.S. would have to send supplies across Central Asia and make major concessions to Russia.
Pakistanis are deeply religious and, by default, supporters of the Taliban and Al-Qaeda.
Religious parties have never won more than a fraction of popular vote. Last year Pakistan witnessed the largest civil rights movement in the history of this region. It was spontaneous, secular and entirely peaceful. But since people weren’t raising anti-America slogans, nobody outside Pakistan took much notice. The masses do not favor the Taliban and do no want an Islamist revolution. And, no matter what people think, Pakistan's military has proved — by launching counteroffensives that cleared the Taliban from the Swat Valley and other areas — that it can defeat Islamist insurgency.
Pakistani nukes can fall into the hands of terrorists.
Pakistan's nuclear program is under a sophisticated command and control system, no more under threat than India or Israel’s nuclear assets are threatened by Hindu or Jewish extremists. If Pakistanis can make nuclear bombs, they can also protect them. If the world is so concerned about world peace, they better be cracking down on other countries with nuclear arms, too.
So, believe the rumors, if you will. But always know there are two sides of a story. And FOX provides only one side. That's right.
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Monday, July 4, 2011
Ignorance is bliss.
Don't get me wrong. America is awesome. And what better time to talk about its greatness than today. I am grateful to this country for all the opportunities it has given me. I'm grateful for the education, the friends, the love of my life. When someone called it the Land of Opportunities, they knew what they were talking about. It is here where I've had my fair share of firsts: first paycheck, first car, first snow, first basketball game, first monster truck show, first attempt at cooking. This country has a lot to offer and one thing abundant in this country: ignorance. I've had some really interesting encounters with some really ... let's just say curious ... people in almost 4 years here. I've had the randomest people come up to me and ask the randomest questions. Not helping this is the fact that my foreign-ness can be spotted from very far away, that I have an accent, that I live in a very white state and go to a very white school. Here are some of the most memorable conversations:
Sex and the City , there are skyscrapers everywhere, everyone rides in limos driven by chauffeurs, skinny bitches walk the town in five inch heels, and sleep around. Hollywood didn't prepare me for cows and haystacks, you know? So I am terribly disappointed. Till then, let's go and watch some fireworks. God Bless your Ignorance.
- Person: "So..Pakistanis are Arabs, right?"
Me: "No."
Person: "THEN WHAT ARE THEY?"
- Person: "You're Sikh right?"
[Me: Never thought I would be asked this. Thought the sign on my head said what faith I followed.]
- Person: "Well I don't know if you're a practicing Muslim."
[Me: Thought the thing on my head was pretty self-explanatory.]
- Person: "So do you have an arranged marriage?"
[Me: Yes, and I also have a child marriage, FGM, honor killing, *insert all other stereotypes*]
- Random lady at Statue of Liberty: "ARE YOU FROM EGYPT?"
- Person: "Can you marry anyone you like?"
[Me: "No my husband was chosen for me when I was born. He's waiting for me in Pakistan.]
- Person: "Have you ever been to Bag-dad?"
[Me: "You mean Baghdad?"]
Person: "Have you ever been anywhere in Eye-rack?"
[Me: "You mean Iraq?"]
Person: "Yeah I wouldn't wanna go to Bag-dad myself."
[Me: "You know they were doing just fine before you started bombing them."]
Person: "Have you ever met a Taliban?"
[Me: "They don't walk around saying they are Taliban, you know?"]
Person: "What about someone from Al-Qaeda?"
Me: *walks off*
- Person: "Pakistan is in India right?"
- Person: "Could you speak English before you came here?"
- Person: "Do you speak another language? What is it called?"
Me: "Urdu."
Person: "So do most people in the Middle East speak Urdu?"
- Person: "So do you wear this (points to own head) at home too?"
- Person: "So you are from Pakistan originally?"
Me: "Yes."
Person: "Yeah I visited India last year."
- Person: "Do they teach you how to wrap this?" *points to her head*
[Me: "THEY didn't have to. I was born with this attached to my head."]
- Random person on Mass. St. playing some instrument as I walk out of Signs of Life: "Assalam Alaikum! Shukran shukran for having coffee at a Christan place and doing good things and making this world a better place."
Me: *speechless*
Person: "Have you ever been to XYZ church?"
Me: "No."
Person: "My mom teaches ESL there to Middle Eastern immigrants. You should go."
[Me: Pretty sure I'm not Middle Eastern. Pretty sure my English is better than yours and I don't need those classes.]
- Person: "Wow! If you hadn't told me, I would've never guessed English wasn't your first language. You don't have an accent at all!"
[Me: Wow! You're not a big fat liar at all!]
- 3 months in the US of A and person asks: "Did you learn English in America?"
[Me: Yup! Because it is totally possible to be speaking a language in 3 months.]
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