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Beyond The Cayenne Wall Author Shaila Abdullah
On Pakistani women’s struggle for liberation
By Dawn G. Prince
I t’s clear when you talk to Shaila Abdullah that she’s passionate about her country and keeping her culture alive and even more passionate about encouraging and raising awareness in the fight for the liberation of Pakistani women. Born in Karachi and living in America for the past 11 years allows the author of Beyond The Cayenne Walls an unusual vantage point of the two cultures that are so distinctly different. But Abdullah wants to make it clear that her book isn’t an attack on culture or religion, but about the unjust laws and political agendas that silence Pakistani women. Surewoman talked to Abdullah about her beloved homeland and Pakistani women finding their voice.You are a Pakistani living in America, and so you know first hand the way women are treated in both cultures… we see the gaping chasms between the two cultures, how do you reconcile the two cultures?
Leading a multicultural life to me means assimilating the two worlds, east and west. I even write from that perspective to raise awareness about women’s issues in Pakistan. I am a perfect example of someone who is immersed in culture through assimilation and my own immigrant experience. We are a product of our upbringing. In essence, in my daily existence, it is very difficult for me to not be reminded of my culture every step of the way. In the way I act, dress, speak, associate, and even eat. I try to provide a flavor of that in my writing…
Earlier Post on Shaila Abdullah
I look at my cultural heritage and the fast fading line that marks the boundaries between my two worlds and I am grateful. I think being in the U.S., my family and I have the best of the two worlds, east and west.. Aanyah who at the age of three is experimenting with close to three languages is already threading cultural beads into the framework of her life. In the way she speaks, acts, dresses, eats, and interacts with people. I think she embraces it whole heartedly at her age and will continue to do so as she grows up. I envision some mother-daughter power struggles later on but I am sure she will realize that her traditions defines her and establishes her identity. She can’t leave it behind…
Eleven years of being in the US has added its own spices to my life, a fact that is very fascinating to my readers. The migrant community places great expectation in the future and the new land while also seeking to affix their identity in a longing or thirst for the past experiences and places.
There is still rape, abuse and all sorts of indignities that are part of South Asian women’s lives in the 21st centrury even though Islam granted equal rights to women almost 1500 years ago. What will enable Pakistani women to find true liberation?
It is not the treatment meted out by culture or religion but the unjust laws that govern the society or lack thereof. In Pakistan, the Hudood Ordinance that is breaking down under pressure had a strong hold on society for decades and was instrumental in silencing the voice of women in that part of the world. Things are quite different in progressive homes. The only restriction I faced back home was having to be mindful of not traveling alone for security reasons.
No society is free from such problems. It is just that in certain societies they are more masked than others. Religion is not responsible for creating them. Far from it, Islam has always been a true advocate of women rights. In the early days of Islam, women even led congregations in prayers. Quran has declared women to be equal to men. The Islamic literature stresses on the importance of developing a strong family foundation where men and women are equal, governed by understanding, compassion, and respect for one another. Political agendas have modified the true role of women in that society. Men and women together need to reevaluate existing trends and attitudes. Women need to find their voice and reaffirm the strong role assigned to them by their religion. Their liberation lies within them. They shouldn’t live like caged doves, the key to freedom is inside them. It’s just a matter of finding it.You give us, strong, courageous, spirited, defiant and triumphant women who know that beyond the walls, there is something bigger. Their spirit is bigger than the confines of their situations. Any thoughts? The book narrates the stories of brave women who break free of their mold and spread their wings in pursuit of freedom. They do the unexpected by going beyond the walls of society. There is a quiet strength in their denial and sometimes acceptance of their situation. The book is a message for the women of that land to rise and discover their true selves, not just as a wife, mother, sister, or daughter but their own individual identities, the unique person that’s them.
The women come from all levels of Pakistani society – rich, poor, educated, illiterate, but I would think that the educated women would find it easier to rise above, or is the culture so ingrained that a women should grow up, give birth, be a mother, wife and nothing more that it becomes a natural pattern for these women to follow, and education or station really doesn’t matter? It is important to know that culture or religion is not standing trial in my book. The expectations to conform to a certain way of life, the lack of opportunities and mobility for women, and the laws that shape their destiny are the real problems. Yes, growing up and seeing the women around you act and behave in a certain way instill in you the notion that you have to follow suit.
Education plays a major role and where you are stationed geographically or even financially. For instance a rural woman of the village would not be raised in the open minded way of an urban society. Educated, modern women in my book deal with a separate set of problems. You’d be surprised how focused women who have the means to get educated are in Pakistan. That becomes the driving force in their lives and everything else takes a back seat. I think there is a growing realization in the urban society that with the right tools, women can conquer any obstacles in life. I believe having access to good education and stronger role models to look to for advice can bring about many changes in the lives of these women. I also think that global awareness of the violations of women’s rights can open many doors for future generations there.
While society imposes certain rules about love and marriage, it cannot dictate a person’s feelings. We see that these women are very passionate. They want passion and love. They think about life Beyond The Cayenne Wall. Yes, the notion of the “right” way of life includes not being passionate about emotions such as love openly but it would be wrong to suggest that no woman in Pakistan is able to marry for love. Granted a public display of affection is frowned upon but love and passion are normal human emotions that the women express in my book. It’s not a bed of roses in Pakistan but it isn’t a landmine of shattered dreams either.
Although the book is fiction, the situations are so heartfelt. And are these stories based on the lives of real women? My characters are derived from a lifetime of acquaintances and experiences. There are stories of dear friends in there as well as tales told in the passing. There are also events in there that I read about growing up. I recreated these stories from a fictional perspective. Most of the stories in my work are from Karachi, the place where I grew up. I found that distance plays a remarkable role in recalling the sights and sounds of a place. The only one I closely identified with is “the Arrangement,” which is based on the story of a dear friend.
Adoption is a big thing in our family. When my mother was an infant, she had a conditional adoption and later on, one of my sisters was adopted by my aunt. I think it takes a very courageous woman to give up her child no matter what the circumstances. The first story, “Amulet for the Caged Dove” is fictional but has a real vignette. The history of Shah Daullah’s shrine fascinated me as a child and there isn’t much written on that subject.
The circumstances are so far removed from the western experience, and yet we can relate to the feelings of oppression, lust, longing, dreams of liberation. Those feelings are universally human. Did you write it as fiction so that it is easier to relate and recognize feelings? Sometimes truth is very jarring for people. There is nothing that invokes a dreaded feeling in one’s heart than knowing that the unfortunate events that you are reading about are real. Fiction offers a soft cushion for sensitive readers. Still the tales are important enough to be told to the international community and to folks who take freedom for granted in the free world.
Your spirited characters break the stereotype that South Asian women are quiet and obedient. Is that the biggest misconception? Quite right. Far from it, many of my own acquaintance, friends, relatives don’t fit the mold. Yes, some families are more conservative than others. The voice still exists, muffled, perhaps but it exists.
In the West, feminism is seen as this bulldozer that breaks down doors, but the women in these stories do not have that, and yet their defiance, their small victories, their strong minds is about women standing up for themselves, isn’t it? Yes. Their small victories are their biggest achievements. It’s that quiet voice inside all of us screaming to be heard and when we finally unleash it, we realize the power of it. It’s innate, built in our mainframe. As the great Urdu poet, Faiz Ahmed Faiz said “Speak for your lips are not tied down/Speak for your tongue is still yours.”
What do Pakistani women want for themselves? I am a Pakistani woman, hyphenated by migration and marriage but still a Pakistani in spirit. Perhaps my voice counts? I want freedom and I want security in that country and the refinement of laws that make women less equal to men.
It’s been a year since the book, what has been the reaction on both sites – Eastern and Western? It has been very humbling to me to realize how well the book has been received at both ends and in between and the buzz it has generated. Every now and then I receive an email from a remote part of the world from someone who has read the book and I admire the power of communication in today’s world. The reviews have been great; my particular favorite is the one by Dawn, a leading newspaper of Pakistan that states, “The female protagonists [in the book] maybe rich and educated or illiterate and impoverished but one thing they all share is the courage to overcome their hardship. Like so many real Pakistani women they are not just victims, but also fighters — and perhaps more importantly, survivors.”
What do you want your voice to do for Pakistani Women? I write for a multicultural diaspora to raise awareness about women’s issues in Pakistan. Pakistani-Americans are in a delicate place after 9/11. They feel more vulnerable and the general population is not colorblind anymore. There is an acute sense of hunger to know why and who. And while the answers aren’t that simple, many writers from South Asia have picked up their pen to defend themselves, their culture, their position, and the land they come from. Often with a desperate sense to prove that though problems exist in that part of the world, they are not a race of terrorists. The genre that grew popular as a result offers a very different viewpoint than what the news media portrays. It talks about a rich and promising land, hardworking people, bureaucracy, socio-economic issues, etc; just common issues in an uncommon setting.
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