During week 12, we read various different poems, one of which spoke about the liberation of women in female Urdu poetry. In the introduction of the poems, Rukhsana Ahmad discusses how women are perceived in Urdu poetry. He states that some believe that poetry written by women is glorified not because it is a talented and beautiful work of art, but because it is a rarity. Ahmad works to disband those claims, focusing on the power of female poetry in connecting the language of the people with the composition of poetry and ghazals. The female poets that Ahamad focuses on depart from “literary tradition” and liberation through various different utilizations of colloquial language. This also adds an element of accessibility to the greater audience.
When thinking about the liberation of women in Pakistan, I cannot help but think of Malala and the bravery she shows in defense of women’s rights and access to education. For my project during this section, I decided to compose a collage of Malala Yousafzai. I chose four different pictures. First, I chose a picture of Malala holding a book. I thought this picture related to the brave work done by Urdu poets like Kishwar Naheed. I was particularly struck by Kishwar Naheed and came across the following poem not provided in the readings, though still translated by Rukhsana Ahmad:
Talking To Myself
Punish me for I’ve written the significance of the dream
in my own blood written a book ridden with an obsession
Punish me for I have spent my life sanctifying the dream of the future
spent it enduring the tribulations of the night
Punish me for I have imparted knowledge and the skills of the sword to the murderer and demonstrated the power of the pen to the mind
Punish me for I have been the challenger of the crucifix of hatred
I’m the glow of torches which burn against the wind
Punish me for I have freed womanhood from the insanity of the deluded night
Punish me for if I live you might lose face
Punish for if my sons raise their hands you will meet your end
If only one sword unsheaths itself to speak you will meet your end
Punish me for I love the new life with every breath
Ishall live my life and shall doubly live beyond my life
Punish me for then the sentence of your punishment will end.
(poem taken from http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/talking-to-myself-8/)
The other three pictures I also chose for specific reasons. On the top left, there is a picture of Malala standing in the shadows. I found this picture on an anti-Malala website called Sharia4Pakistan. Though they use this picture to criticize Malala, I found that the light shining on her face represented her words and her personality rising from the dark. In the bottom left corner, I placed a picture of Malala in the hospital after she was shot by the Taliban. After she was shot, Malala showed an incredible amount of bravery and continues to smile and overcome as shown in the picture in the bottom right. She remains an inspiration for women across the globe struggling for women’s rights.