article review: a woman leaving legacy

i recently read and article in the new yorker. the magazine, no matter what side of the spectrum you're on, has a common reputation for being extremely left. but the article i read, i couldn't help but to be impressed. it was entitled, letter from pakistan, days of grace by william dalrymple. while i felt the article was fairly presented as dalrymple visited a number of groups and gained different opinions on pakistan; it was most interesting that dalrymple examined the state of the pakistan and musharraf goverment through the eyes a female human rights lawyer, asma jahangir.

i should note, that in islamic communities, it is not common for women to play such a high role in society. but asma grew to her belief in the people with her father as an example. as a child her father served in the government and her family lived a luxurious lifestyle, but after Ayub Khan overturned the existing government in 1958 to a miliary run government, her family lost everything, her father, who opposed the move, was arrested and tortured. still a teen, asma led her own pro-democracy women's demonstration. she has, for years defended women, rape victims and people w/o a voice. but such a stand has put her under scrutiny as well, living in a strong islamic society where religious law can often trump human or political rights.

asma jahangir does note ecomonic improvents under musharraf, but overall is critical of his use of presidental authority. she did say, in the article, that, "however flawed democracy here [pakistan] is, it is still the only answer." she is a strong woman, with passionate opinions and desperate to help bring human rights to her country, esp for young women.

dalrymple noted that asma jahangir is an idealist and believes that change is possible. he even asked others if she might be naive, but the response was inspiring-"many thought they [refering to Martain Luther King Jr and Ghandi] were politically naive but it was they, not the realists who succeeded in changing the course if history."

how important it really is to believe that change is possible. there are people who need someone to reach out and defend them, and there nations that need to see peace. a wise man once told me, "change comes hard, change comes slow, but change does come." i believe that those that are willing to break the rules will be the ones to change the history of our future.