New Delhi: A country that can’t deal with Aurat March is trying to get girls to apply for subsidised bikes and helmets so that they can go to school. In the two months since Pakistan Punjab Chief Minister, Maryam Nawaz Sharif, launched the motorcycle scheme for students, most of the applicants have been boys.
An angry Sharif, on Sunday, brought this to the attention of the nation during the closing ceremony of the Pink Games—a sports meet for women in Lahore.
“Girls should also get bikes but there are very few applications. When I asked them why there were few female applicants, they said “our family members do not allow us”, said Sharif in her speech.
The government started the Punjab Motorcycle Scheme to provide 20,000 bikes to students across Punjab to ease issues of transportation.
As Punjab’s first woman chief minister, Sharif has been promoting women-centric policies, but it’s been an uphill task so far. She urged parents to allow their daughters to be independent.
“I think parents should understand that we are enhancing safety, security so allow your daughters to go out, do their work,” she said.
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Good PR
On Instagram, many commentators criticised the Punjab Motorcycle Scheme for being tone-deaf. Many claimed that it was un-Islamic to encourage women to ride bikes.
“Let your own daughter ride a motorbike… Don’t be the Grand mommy of all Punjab’s daughters,” one Instagram user commented.
They added that Sharif should concentrate on eradicating poverty and not on “such useless games”.
Many people also questioned whether the bikes were going to be people who actually needed them. Lahore-based academic and activist Mehrub Moiz Awan argued that gender cannot be removed from class. While the CM may have had the best of intentions, the question is whether it will help working-class women, she said.
“So, even if it is just PR, it is good PR, because what it does is it sets a precedent. A centre-right conservative political party is now centring women’s empowerment and women’s rights, even if it is performative PR,” Awan told ThePrint.
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Sharif’s policy push
Since assuming office as CM in February this year, Sharif has come under intense scrutiny. Everything from her policies to her sartorial choices is up for debate.
Her reputation for meticulously dressing the part has inspired memes like the time she wore a police uniform at a Passing Day parade. More recently she was seen wearing a doctor’s coat during a hospital visit.
She has been called General Rani, with many speculating what her next costume will be and others outright calling these appearances PR stunts.
There are fears that these get-ups will detract from the change she’s trying to usher in.
“There is absolutely no denying that just by the presence of Maryam Nawaz in a very visible democratic office, it is going to create a ripple effect in the larger society in the social fabric of Pakistan,” said Awan.
However, Awan is wary of seeing these policies in silos.
“We must examine them and question whether they are exclusively or specifically for working-class women,” she added.
(Edited by Theres Sudeep)