The Begum

by Deepa Agarwal

  The period following her return to Pakistan saw her once more at the forefront of the mission that had remained her topmost priority. She wholeheartedly plunged herself once again into the work and expansion of APWA’s countrywide programmes. In November 1964, she organized the first ever international Triennial Conference of APWA at Islamabad, the new federal capital of Pakistan. She managed to ensure the participation of President Ayub Khan’s wife, Begum Ayub Khan, who usually shunned public life. On this occasion she also managed to bring together representatives of many international organizations as well, including Princess Ashraf Pahlavi, younger sister of the Shah of Iran.

  At the end of 1969, she made her first visit to the Soviet Union. Eighteen years earlier, in 1951, her husband, Liaquat Ali Khan, too had planned a similar trip to the country but a mix-up of dates by the hosts had stalled their plans. During an interview many years later,11 she was asked a rather tricky question: Was her husband under pressure by the US administration to cancel the trip? To this she replied, ‘I don’t think it was under any pressure. I was all ready with my warm coat and everything and I had asked Begum Shahnawaz to accompany me. The trouble was that they gave dates that did not suit us . . . am sure that this did not sour our relations. I have been to Russia after that, as they had invited me to visit.’

  It was a two-week long and memorable visit, during which she had ample time to closely observe the many cultural and economic aspects of this fascinating country. Her biographer Mehr N. Masroor described some of her impressions thus: ‘I cannot hope to give you details of all that I saw, even in so brief a visit, the museums, the theatres, the concert halls all providing a real feat of artistic culture . . . at reasonable prices to make it available to all . . . Culture is thus as it should and must be, an integral part of and influence upon national life. Nor is it confined to just special times and places and people, for it finds a positive place in every sphere of work and living.’12

  By 1968, President Ayub had exited the political stage and handed the reins of power to yet another general, Yahya Khan who soon announced the first-ever general elections of the country. In 1970, Zulfikar Bhutto, with his newly formed People’s Party, won the general elections with a majority in West Pakistan. The Awami League party under Sheikh Mujibur Rahman had won the majority in East Pakistan. The political crisis of government formation that arose on account of the divisive election results led to stalemate and finally military action to quell the unrest in the eastern wing which soon escalated into a protracted civil war. This was followed by a short and decisive war with India, and the net result of both the wars was a truncated Pakistan. East Pakistan became the newly declared Republic of Bangladesh in December 1971.

  Ra’ana had done whatever she could to heal the growing rift between the two wings and had organized many activities through APWA in Dacca (then East Pakistan). In 1968, APWA held its fifth triennial conference in Dacca. Around the same time, a village called Rampara had been mobilized by APWA volunteers to build a three-mile road. The villagers of Rampara had befittingly decided to name it the APWA Road. In 1970, the eastern wing had also faced the tragedy of a gigantic and cyclonic tidal wave bringing in its wake massive human destruction. APWA, with the help of an army of male and female volunteers, had set up a large number of relief camps in all the affected areas and also a relief committee to coordinate these efforts. These efforts were continuing when, in March 1971, first the civil war broke out and by December the war with India also started. Much to the dismay of APWA, its president and its volunteers, all their relief activities came to a grinding halt.

  At this juncture, Begum Ra’ana felt it was time to enter the arena of politics but decided to lend her support from the outside to Zulfikar Bhutto’s new political regime and was not in favour of directly standing for elections or formally joining his party. She agreed to act as an adviser on economic and other related matters, and because he respected her sagacity and experience, he consulted her on many important matters. She exercised considerable influence through the years she remained with him.

  In February 1973, he wished for her to formally join the government and conveyed to her his desire to appoint her as the governor of Sind. She was initially hesitant to take such a big step and accept such a high profile official post. According to her son, Akber Liaquat, Z.A. Bhutto sent his cousin, Mumtaz Bhutto, as an emissary and instructed him not to leave Ra’ana’s residence till she assented to the proposition. Mumtaz Bhutto himself had been the governor since 1971 and had been asked to take over as the chief minister of the province, so he too was keen that someone eminent like Ra’ana step into his shoes.

  She took oath of office as the governor of Sind on 15 February 1973. She was also simultaneously appointed the chancellor of Karachi University, the first woman to hold these two posts. She now moved from the small dwelling in Bath Island, Clifton, which had been provided to her by the government as her personal residence, into the comfortable and sprawling accommodation which was the official home of the governor.

  She plunged into this role too with her trademark aplomb and began active participation in all the social and civic events and activities of the city and graced every occasion, to which she was invited, with her presence. One of the first such occasions was the convocation of the Karachi University in May 1973. In her speech, she stated her philosophy on the role of education in society in the following words: ‘Our greatest national asset lies in the potential skills of our people. Our economic and social progress lies in how we develop them. This implies that all who can prove the capacity and to prove to profit from higher education must have it, however poor or humble, according to their own capacities and the needs of the country. We must seek out talent, encourage it and provide it every opportunity to flourish.’13

  Another memorable address was on the occasion of the twenty-second death anniversary of her husband, Liaquat Ali Khan, where she said, ‘This is the first time I am speaking in public on the anniversary of my husband, the Quaid-e-Millat, Liaquat Ali Khan, Pakistan’s first prime minister and I do not find it easy to do so even now. The Quaid-e-Millat took over the task of holding the new country together in the face of gigantic odds—the greatest refugee problem the world has ever known: the death a year later of the Quaid-e-Azam; the lack of personnel and facilities . . . and above all money . . . he needed time but all he got was martyrdom, thus opening the way for personal greed, overweening ambition, disunity and disruption.’14

  The third memorable address she gave and which deserves a mention here was on the occasion of the inauguration of the summer session of the Sind Legislature in 1973. The theme of her address was ‘Lack of Civic Consciousness in Karachi City’. She touched upon many problem areas and issues being faced by the city as a fast growing metropolis. Some of her thoughts quoted here show her acute awareness and concern for the unplanned and unwieldy growth of the city and the concomitant problems of its people. ‘Independence will only begin to have a clearer meaning for the people and particularly the poor and common man who has lived at the precipice of scarcity most of his life, on the day when he can eat all he needs, to have the clothes he wants and a shelter he can call his own.’15

  An interesting incident recounted by her military secretary at her first centenary memorial ceremony, in 2006, in Karachi, demonstrated clearly that even as governor she took her responsibilities seriously. She had chalked out a week-long tour of the interior of Sindh and wished to spend four hours in each of the ten to twelve districts. A day before the tour, a federal minister of Bhutto’s cabinet was assassinated in Peshawar. In light of this incident, she was asked to postpone her tour as there was uncertainty in law and order in other parts of the country too. She insisted that to maintain a semblance of normalcy the tour must continue as planned. So they set off early the next morning and travelled along the right bank of River Indus and stopped at four–five districts for several hours each. On the return route they travelled through the districts on the left bank. In
this way she completed her tour as planned and managed to meet people from all walks of life. They were truly appreciative of her efforts to travel and be with them even in trying and tough times.16

  She continued in office till February 1976 by which time the next general elections were announced. The People’s Party, with whom she had aligned herself politically, won the elections in March 1977 but tragically by July the same year the prime minister was once again deposed and martial law declared by General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq. At this juncture, Ra’ana voluntarily decided to bow out and exited from politics. She was not agreeable to accepting any official position as long as the military regime was in place. When Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was executed in 1979 by the government of General Zia-ul-Haq, she spearheaded a campaign against the military government. She, along with other women’s groups, protested against the military regime’s efforts to ‘Islamize’ laws, many of which went against women’s legal and moral rights. She was immensely distraught at the unravelling of all that they had collectively achieved over the past three or four decades to get women their rights and their place in society. She expressed her frustration without mincing any words in her interview to Afsheen Zubair which was published in the Herald in 1984. ‘Today’s Pakistan is an out-and-out theocracy and under that garb every vestige of personal freedom is snatched away . . . the army is dictating political and constitutional changes . . . would the Quaid have permitted chopping of limbs and flogging of citizens, and that too of women? Would he have enforced covering of heads, shrouding of women in ungainly chaddars, segregation of women in separate universities . . . it is very sad. During our time I thought we were getting on, making progress. Younger women were coming out and I advertised in all my speeches that no girl should get married until she has a profession . . . now I feel everything I worked for and believed in, is being undermined.’

  One of her most significant and landmark achievements was to persuade President Ayub Khan to introduce necessary and far-reaching changes in the hitherto prevalent ‘Islamic Marriage Laws’. She had been fortunate in finding an ally in Ayub Khan, who had always viewed the conservative and rigid stance of religious clergy with disdain, and this had worked in her favour. The struggle and agitation to reform these laws was started by the APWA and Women Lawyers Association in 1952. Public pressure on this matter had continued till the time Family Law Ordinance was announced by the government of General Ayub Khan in 1961, in spite of angry and stiff opposition from the religious clergy.

  In 1977 the UN General Assembly announced its decision to honour her with the United Nation Human Rights Award. She was asked to travel to New York to receive the award from the United Nations secretary-general. The citation that was read out at the award ceremony resounds even today: ‘There are few humanitarian causes on behalf of nation and indeed on behalf of humanity that do not know the inspiration stemming from her participation and leadership . . . a noted educator and a distinguished representative of her country who is known and admired throughout the world.’17

  Her own words on the occasion echoed her thoughts on this subject, ‘Much has been accomplished in this field in many parts of the world but much more remains to be done to promote respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms . . . for the denial of human rights and basic freedoms of women and children is a fundamental cause of suffering and poverty, disease and strife.’18

  She was also conferred with the Woman of the World Award by Turkish Women’s Association (TWA), Ankara. This was soon after the Gran Croce (Great Cross) award given by the government of Italy in 1966. In the preface to his compilation of Ra’ana’s speeches, F.D. Douglas offers an explanation regarding this award: ‘In 1950 the Americans had hailed her as the “Mother of Pakistan”, an apt accolade for one who created so many organizations for women as well as bodies affiliated to APWA that she left virtually left nothing for others to create.’ He then goes on to say that the TWA had felt that the Americans had been ungenerous to her so they chose her to be the Woman of the World.19

  Here one must also mention the International Gimble Award of which she was the very first international recipient. Prior to this, since 1932, it had been awarded only to US women citizens. In 1962, its ambit was expanded to include all women universally who had made a mark in service to humanity. The citation for this award too was worded in rather flattering and glorious terms. She decide to donate the cash amount of $5000 she received with this award to the newly inaugurated APWA headquarters in Karachi in 1964. According to her biographer, Mehr N. Masroor, on this occasion she expressed her immense happiness at being the first donor and that her gesture was a result of her deep interest and great faith in this project.

  5

  Begum Ra’ana’s Family Life and Her Last Years: 1978–90

  I would like to start this last chapter of my account of Begum Ra’ana Liaquat Ali Khan’s life with the lines below. These were penned to pay her homage by Mehr Nigar Masroor who, in addition to being one of her biographers, served as the head of the information and communication wing at the Karachi headquarters of APWA for many years. She was also a leading choreographer and had formed a dance troupe that travelled to different venues both in Pakistan and abroad to showcase the culture of the country.1 She remained associated with APWA throughout her life till she passed away of terminal cancer a few years before the death of Ra’ana.

  Come women all; join this single file; this throng

  Plant the seeds;

  Spread your veils and catch cotton;

  Pluck the fruits of the trees;

  Pull the fish out of the water;

  Come live, write, and count;

  For there is much to count;

  So much to say, so much to learn;

  Come single file the Pakistani way;

  The way it ever was, but now with Ra’ana

  Leading us towards the light.

  APWA celebrated its silver jubilee at Karachi in November 1974, while she was still serving as the governor of Sindh. This was attended by delegates of women’s organizations from Iran, USSR, Algeria and the Netherlands. It was inaugurated by the then first lady, Begum Nusrat Bhutto. In her address to the gathering, Ra’ana said, ‘This year as APWA celebrates the twenty-fifth year of social work for the nation, and some of the varied needs of its people at all levels, it seems appropriate for us to look back, realistically, at a few of the many avenues through which this work has struggled to meet these needs, to whatever degree possible, within limited resources.’2

  APWA had remained a vibrant organization under the leadership of Ra’ana who had managed to bring together women from all corners of the country and built with them a solid foundation to struggle for their betterment and emancipation. However, the organization saw some serious setbacks in 1972. The new ‘socialist’ administration of Z.A. Bhutto upon coming to power in 1970 had decided to nationalize most private sector enterprises, including the private education sector. This was to include many educational institutions started by APWA. Little or no compensation was given once the schools and colleges, along with the property belonging to them, were taken over by the Bhutto government.

  Most of the land on which these institutions were built was either donated by wealthy families or bought with donations painstakingly collected by Ra’ana and her group of volunteers.

  One of the leading volunteers who was also to become one of the presidents of APWA, was Begum Laila Sarfaraz Haroon. I met her during my fact-finding trip to Karachi in February 2017. She told me how her own family had been one of the major donors for APWA projects and that her sister had given one of her unused bungalows with sizeable land around it to the organization. She belonged to the well-known family of Haroons who were the owners of the Dawn Media Group.

  She recounted the tireless campaigns she and all the volunteers organized to collect donations to ensure the success of the mission. Her mother, Lady Abdullah Haroon, had been one of the founding members of APWA and had remained the vice president under
Begum Ra’ana for many years. She had also served as the first main coordinator at the Gul-i-Ra’ana Industrial Home for women for several years. Later, her elder sister Lady Sughra Hussain Hidayatullah also served as the president of APWA from 1990 to 1996, the period immediately after the demise of its founding president Begum Ra’ana.

  During the Triennial Conference held at Karachi in September 1972, the governing council members of APWA decided that on account of the steps taken under the nationalization policy and its effect on APWA’s educational infrastructure, it was perhaps the right time to take education to the grassroots level and to set up adult literacy centres in almost every branch of the organization throughout the country. Vocational training and skills development became the mantra of APWA’s new education philosophy. The Karachi head office soon housed a well-organized vocational training centre and started training programmes in secretarial skills as well as professional courses in tailoring. To see the APWA headquarters being utilized for the very reason it was set up was probably enough reason to give her the greatest sense of achievement and satisfaction.

  In 1974, there were adult literacy programmes in eighty divisions of the country and UNESCO, in recognition of its ‘tireless and significant’ contribution towards achieving the goal of mass literacy, conferred the Reza Shah Pahlavi Literacy Prize on APWA.

  The year 1975 was declared the International Women’s Year by the United Nations, and APWA got the Government to declare it the same for Pakistan. Begum Ra’ana had personally petitioned the government to ensure that this was accepted. Later that year, the UN held its first international conference on women in Mexico. Pakistan sent a large delegation to this conference. Since Ra’ana was still the governor of Sindh at the time, she was unable to attend this conference personally but sent several members to make sure that APWA was well represented at the event.