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HARMONY in the GARDEN: the Life and Work of Rubina Feroze Bhatti of Pakistan

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HARMONY in the GARDEN: the Life and Work of Rubina Feroze Bhatti of Pakistan HARMONY IN THE GARDEN: The Life and Work of Rubina Feroze Bhatti of Pakistan By Kaitlin Barker, Peace Writer Edited by Emiko Noma 2009 Women PeaceMakers Program Made possible by the Fred J. Hansen Foundation *This material is copyrighted by the Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace & Justice. For permission to cite, contact [email protected], with “Women PeaceMakers – Narrative Permissions” in the subject line. HARMONY IN THE GARDEN RUBINA – PAKISTAN TABLE OF CONTENTS I. A Note to the Reader ………………………………………………………… 4 II. About the Women PeaceMakers Program ………………………………….. 4 III. Biography of a Woman PeaceMaker – Rubina Feroze Bhatti ……………….. 5 IV. Conflict History – Pakistan …………………………………………………… 6 V. Map – Pakistan ………………………………………………………………… 13 VI. Integrated Timeline – Political Developments and Personal History ………… 14 VII. Narrative Stories of the Life and Work of Rubina Feroze Bhatti a. First Steps …………………………………………………………………. 20 b. Precious One ………………………………………………………………. 21 c. Parthaal the Brave …………………………………………………………. 23 d. The Spark ………………………………………………………………….. 24 e. Garden Games …………………………………………………………….. 26 f. City of Eagles ……………………………………………………………… 28 g. Things to Come …………………………………………………………… 29 h. What Religion Feels Like …………………………………………………... 31 i. A Pocket Full of Saints ……………………………………………………. 33 j. Bearing the Cross …………………………………………………………... 35 k. One Pain in Life 1. The Incident ……………………………………………………... 37 2. The Mob ………………………………………………………… 38 3. The Arrest ………………………………………………………. 40 4. The Sufferings …………………………………………………… 41 5. The Verdict ……………………………………………………… 43 6. The Appeals ……………………………………………………... 45 7. The People’s Representative …………………………………….. 47 8. The Exile ………………………………………………………… 49 l. The Personal is Political …………………………………………………… 50 m. The Last Day of Blessing …………………………………………………... 54 n. Longing for the Fullness of Humanity ……………………………………... 57 o. Changing Rhythms ………………………………………………………… 61 p. First Drop of Rain …………………………………………………………. 65 q. A New Classroom …………………………………………………………. 68 r. Everywoman ………………………………………………………………. 73 s. The Sun Rises in the West …………………………………………………. 80 t. Lessons in Peace …………………………………………………………… 84 u. Bagh-e-Aman ……………………………………………………………… 93 v. Sajjar ………………………………………………………………………. 100 w. Epilogue …………………………………………………………………… 103 WOMEN PEACEMAKERS PROGRAM 2 JOAN B. KROC INSTITUTE FOR PEACE & JUSTICE JOAN B. KROC SCHOOL OF PEACE STUDIES UNIVERSITY OF SAN DIEGO HARMONY IN THE GARDEN RUBINA – PAKISTAN x. Acknowledgments………………………………………………………… 104 VIII. A Conversation with Rubina Feroze Bhatti ……………………………….. 105 IX. Best Practices in Peacebuilding …………………………………………… 113 X. Further Reading – Pakistan …………………………………………………. 124 XI. Biography of a Peace Writer – Kaitlin Barker ……………………………… 125 XII. Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace & Justice ……………………………….... 126 XIII. University of San Diego …………………………………………………….. 127 XIV. List of Acronyms ……………………………………………………………. 128 XV. Endnotes …………………………………………………………………….. 129 WOMEN PEACEMAKERS PROGRAM 3 JOAN B. KROC INSTITUTE FOR PEACE & JUSTICE JOAN B. KROC SCHOOL OF PEACE STUDIES UNIVERSITY OF SAN DIEGO HARMONY IN THE GARDEN RUBINA – PAKISTAN A NOTE TO THE READER In the following pages, you will find narrative stories about a Woman PeaceMaker, along with additional information to provide a deep understanding of a contemporary conflict and one person’s journey within it. These complementary components include a brief biography of the peacemaker, a historical summary of the conflict, a timeline integrating political developments in the country with personal history of the peacemaker, a question-and-answer transcript of select interviews, and a table of best practices in peacebuilding as demonstrated and reflected on by the peacemaker during her time at the Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace & Justice. The document is not intended necessarily to be read straight through, from beginning to end. Instead, you can use the historical summary or timeline as mere references or guides as you read the narrative stories. You can move straight to the table of best practices if you are interested in peacebuilding methods and techniques, or go to the question-and-answer transcript if you want to read commentary in the peacemakers’ own words. The goal of this format is to reach audiences through multiple channels, providing access to the peacemakers’ work, vision, lives and impact in their communities. ABOUT THE WOMEN PEACEMAKERS PROGRAM Made possible through a generous grant from the Fred J. Hansen Foundation, the Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace & Justice’s (IPJ) Women PeaceMakers Program annually hosts four women from around the world who have been involved in human rights and peacemaking efforts in their countries. Women on the frontline of efforts to end violence and secure a just peace seldom record their experiences, activities and insights – as generally there is no time or, perhaps, they do not have formal education that would help them record their stories. The Women PeaceMakers Program is a selective program for leaders who want to document, share and build upon their unique peacemaking stories. Selected peacemakers join the IPJ for an eight-week residency. Women PeaceMakers are paired with a Peace Writer to document in written form their story of living in conflict and building peace in their communities and nations. The peacemakers’ stories are also documented on film by the IPJ’s partner organization Sun & Moon Vision Productions. While in residence at the institute, Women PeaceMakers give presentations on their work and the situation in their home countries to the university and San Diego communities. The IPJ believes that women’s stories go beyond headlines to capture the nuance of complex situations and expose the realities of gender-based violence, thus providing an understanding of conflict and an avenue to its transformation. The narrative stories of Women PeaceMakers not only provide this understanding, but also show the myriad ways women construct peace in the midst of and after violence and war. For the realization of peace with justice, the voices of women – those severely affected by violent conflict and struggling courageously and creatively to build community from the devastation – must be recorded, disseminated and spotlighted.1 WOMEN PEACEMAKERS PROGRAM 4 JOAN B. KROC INSTITUTE FOR PEACE & JUSTICE JOAN B. KROC SCHOOL OF PEACE STUDIES UNIVERSITY OF SAN DIEGO HARMONY IN THE GARDEN RUBINA – PAKISTAN BIOGRAPHY OF A WOMAN PEACEMAKER – RUBINA FEROZE BHATTI Rubina Feroze Bhatti, born into a Christian family in the majority Muslim country of Pakistan, protects the rights of women who are targets of honor killings, acid attacks and other forms of violence. She is a founding member and general secretary of Taangh Wasaib Organization (TWO), a rights-based development group working for communal harmony and equality through its many programs addressing issues of violence against women, religious intolerance and sectarianism and Photo credit: Sun & Moon Vision Productions discriminatory laws and policies against women and minorities. Bhatti trains women’s groups to report on violence against women, supports victims with counseling and legal aid and works with media to bring attention to these issues. Bhatti’s peacemaking story began when she wrote an article condemning the imprisonment and torture of a Christian Pakistani man unjustly accused of blasphemy. Her words inspired human rights activists all over the country to raise their voices against the sentence, and Bhatti joined them in creating a campaign that ultimately saved the man’s life. She has since devoted her energy to human rights activism in various forms. With TWO, Bhatti works to abolish separate electorates which prevent non-Muslims from voting. In 2000 and 2001, the organization launched a massive campaign for religious minorities to boycott local elections. The campaign was successful and the government restored the joint electorate system. Bhatti also has established educational and health care facilities for children working in Pakistan’s carpet- weaving industry, written scripts for theater productions on human rights and peace issues that were performed throughout the Punjab and North West Frontier Provinces, and been selected as one of the 1,000 women nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005. As a woman in the religious minority who lives in the rural and underdeveloped city of Sargodha, Bhatti and her work challenge the traditions and rituals shaped by a patriarchal society. WOMEN PEACEMAKERS PROGRAM 5 JOAN B. KROC INSTITUTE FOR PEACE & JUSTICE JOAN B. KROC SCHOOL OF PEACE STUDIES UNIVERSITY OF SAN DIEGO HARMONY IN THE GARDEN RUBINA – PAKISTAN CONFLICT HISTORY – PAKISTAN Though Pakistan is a relatively young country, just over 60 years old, the nation and its people have faced significant challenges and instability in the struggle for peace and democracy. Pakistan’s creation itself was destabilizing. Mohammed Ali Jinnah, who would become the country’s founder, called for the creation of Pakistan along the two-nations theory, arguing that India’s Hindus and Muslims could not live together and thus needed two nations. Furthermore – as many progressives have noted – he was concerned with the economic deprivation of Muslims. Two interpretations followed: one, that Pakistan was intended to be an Islamic nation, and two, that Pakistan should be a place for Muslims to practice their religion in safety, in a society of tolerance and moderation. The circumstances of Pakistan’s birth therefore invited
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