Is the Mother Responsible for a Child’s Gender?
By Zafar Iqbal, PhD
Washington, DC

 

A male child is considered an asset and a female child a burden to the family. Society and parents-in-law curse the mother for giving birth to a female child. There is a general perception in the Subcontinent that the gender of the child is the mother’s responsibility. The scientific facts, on the contrary, are just the reverse. Medical research has clearly established that the gender of a child is determined by the gene (chromosome) provided by the father. A short story presented by Nuzaira Azam at a program organized by the Indus Arts Council at the Fairfax Library in Virginia on September 24, 2022, dealt with this important issue. It was an absorbing presentation.

Welcoming the participants and the audience, the coordinator of the program Ms Kanwal Basheer, said that the introduction of Nuzaira Azam is extremely easy as well as difficult. We worked as colleagues and with time our acquaintance blossomed into friendship. “She is an established journalist with a deep interest in literary activities. Besides reporting for established newspapers in Pakistan and the USA, she has authored numerous short stories and a collection of her stories was published a few years ago. In the last few years after arriving in the United States, she has published two novels. Her first novel, Khwab Badosh, was acclaimed as the best Urdu novel in 2005 and received the highest prize of $5,000 from the Urdu Markaz International. I found this novel an easy read with factual episodes about the community of new arrivals to this land of opportunity. We are gathered here this afternoon to honor the writer and discuss her contributions to literature and the community,” she added.

Lauding the strivings of the Indus Arts Council for the promotion of Urdu, Dr A. Abdullah, a distinguished literatus, said the Council is doing an excellent job of attracting our attention to teaching the Urdu language and culture. He recalled that the first wave of immigrants from the Subcontinent in the 1960s onward had the task of establishing themselves and their religious identity, and in the process, they were not able to pay much attention to culture and language. “With the advent of a helpful social media and the comfort of financial and community stability, we can now devote more time to propagate our language and culture,” Dr Abdullah added. In this context, he appreciated the resolve of the Council to extend their work to various parts of the country. He believes it would be more fruitful to engage the younger generation in conversational dialogue supplemented with script familiarity. Once they develop an interest in the language, they themselves will expand their horizon by reading the literary work. He felt that it would be more productive if the council worked with those groups who are already engaged in these efforts.

Talking about Nuzaira Azam’s book Khwab Badosh, Dr Abdullah observed that her novel reflected the triumphs and tribulations of the new immigrants in the early 1990s. Many arrive in the land of opportunity with a bag on their shoulder full of dreams. When they face the ground realities, despondency sets in, and sharing experiences with fellow immigrants helps. The community in those days was small and people were more open to each other, and not hesitant in exchanging ideas. They used to go out of their way to help one another. The book has beautifully described these episodes and in the future, anyone researching the lives of immigrants in that era, can benefit from Khwab Badosh. In this context, it is a historical document.

Khwab Badosh was also released by the Anjuman Taraqqi-e-Urdu in Delhi, India, as well as launched at a joint literary event organized by the University of Karachi Alumni Association and the Aligarh Alumni Association of Metropolitan Washington. Her latest novel, Anahita ki Janam Busti, published in April 2017, is a story of a young woman journalist working and competing with her male counterparts and making her progress without hurting her dignity and respect as a woman. The later book was launched by the Pakistan Arts Council in Karachi in April 2017.

 Nuzaira Azam's Afsana Beej (seed) is about a woman, Rajjo, who was raised in a doctor's family where her father worked as a driver. Through day-to-day chat in the household, she became conscious of many critical issues in life, especially the gender of fetus in a woman's womb. Rajjo is married to a man, who lives with his mother in a slum of the city. When she gives birth to a third daughter, her mother-in-law gets upset, and so is her husband. They start blaming her for giving birth to female children, loudly expressing their anguish and prevalent assumption that the wife is responsible for giving birth to female children. Here Rajjo’s life takes a turn. She stands up boldly to confront her husband and firmly asks him to leave the house as he could not give the family a male child. Her outburst and plain talking produce dramatic results and ultimately usher wondrous changes and success in the life of her three daughters.

There was a lively discussion about the short story. Taking the lead, Shoaib Ali Hasan, who is a well-known drama artist, mentioned that the language of the story is very fluent and the dialogues between the main character and her family members represent precisely the language used in the labor colonies of Karachi. This is a strong plus point of the story.

Mike Ghouse and Mylord Reyes-Tosta were fascinated by the story. “The narration took us into the world of imagination as if we were watching a movie,” Dr Ghouse remarked. It was a story about people who lived in labor colonies and their life. The daughter-in-law (Rajjo) does not deliver the desired boys, and in one exchange, the mother-in-law chastises her for giving birth to female children and Rajjo gives it back, claiming that it was her son's genetic disability preventing the male child. At this point, the women who had gathered for a casual conversation about the birth of the third child were surprised that Rajjo spoke so confidently and conveyed the reason for the child being a daughter. The language Nuzaira uses is so natural. I commend her on her fluency in the cultural understanding of the people living in those colonies.

President Khurram Shahzad and General Secretary Yousuf Choudhry of Pakistani American Press Association (PAPA), respectively, admired the efforts and support of Nuzaira Azam in the establishment and propagation of PAPA. They briefly mentioned her journalistic career that included reporting for well-known Pakistani newspapers Nawa-e-Waqt, Baluchistan Times, and Zamana. Besides, she has contributed news analysis and talks to Radio Pakistan and PTV Quetta Station. She has contributed columns and articles for several Pakistani-American Urdu newspapers, Awaz, and an Internet magazine Naya Daur on political, social, and international issues. She regularly contributes opinion pieces, articles, and news items for The Financial Daily International—a daily English newspaper from Pakistan.

Commenting on the journalistic journey of Azam, Hafeezul Haque mentioned anecdotes of her encounters with Presidents Zia-ul-Haq, Parvez Musharraf, and Mohammad Khan Junejo, Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, and many other political leaders of Pakistan. She has interacted with almost all ambassadors from Pakistan. He also stated that Azam has done so much work that there is a need to have a book about her contributions. Dr Fazal Khan spontaneously supported the idea and offered to provide any help required to accomplish this task.

Zulekha Yusuf recounted their long-lasting friendship and narrated many personal interactions with Azam. She also mentioned that currently Azam is heading an organization The Global Beat Foundation, which focuses on training the youth and women to be journalists on professional lines. She organizes interactive discussions on media, politics, and youth. The organization also provides services in planning literary, political, and social events in different institutions.

Rahat Yusuf recited a short poem he had composed in honor of Azam. The audience highly appreciated it.

Sarwat Parvez and Tasneem Sarwat came to the program despite their jet-lag fatigue to express their interest in the program. He runs a literary channel on behalf of Dr Shujaat Ali Sandilvi Literary Society in India. He expressed his desire to participate and contribute to the activities of the Council.

Earlier, Ms Tamia Alvi apprised the audience of the activities of the Indus Arts Council. “With a humble start in teaching young children in the Houston area a few years back, the Council has grown leaps and bounds due to the dedication of Shahid Iqbal and his friends, and now the Council has established branches in Metro Washington and other cities,” Ms Alvi said. The main focus of the Council is to develop awareness of the literature, arts, and culture of the Subcontinent in the United States through Urdu language teaching, cultural events, films, and theater to suit the needs of subcontinental immigrants and their families.

Waleed Hashmi and Anam Mian worked hard to set up the meeting with the help of young volunteers Hiba Khalid, Hibah Sikander, and Aziz Shaukat Latif. The efforts of these volunteers were duly applauded by giving them Recognition Awards on behalf of the Indus Arts Council and handed over to them by the Chief Guest, Nuzaira Azam.