I will convey your views to my husband: Sehba Musharraf

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, JULY 14. If actions speak more than words, then the very presence of the Pakistani First Lady, Ms. Sehba Musharraf, at a peace initiative here this morning should have been enough proof of her commitment to peace.

But the women of a sub-continent starved of peace needed words of reassurance. And, there Ms. Musharraf was found just a bit wanting for though she did address the gathering, the Pakistani First Lady did not even once mention the word `peace'. Still, the disappointed women peace activists from India and Pakistan did find some solace in her assurance that ``I will try to convey your views as best as I can in my own language to my husband''.

But for this, Ms. Musharraf confined herself to a prepared text on the steps taken by her country to improve the lot of women. Sensing that some of the women in the gathering were disappointed by Ms. Musharraf's refusal to make any formal commitment to peace, the leadership of Women's Initiative for Peace in South Asia (WIPSA) sought to drive home the point that peace does not only mean resolution of conflict but also includes pro-women measures that would ensure their upliftment.

Earlier, women from both India and Pakistan made brief presentations to advocate peace between the two countries. Ms. Anees Haroon - a member of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan - said women in the two countries opened their hearts to each other in the 1980s when all other roads across the border were closed.

While the seasoned women's activist, Ms. Promila Dandavate, insisted that ``peace is indivisible'', the general secretary of All India Democratic Women's Association, Ms. Brinda Karat, said people - particularly women - in both countries do not want bombs, but bread. ``Our people need the wherewithal for existence, not destruction.''

Speaking as a mother, Ms. Justice Leila Seth, said India and Pakistan have gone to war three times to resolve issues. ``Let us give peace a chance.'' Echoing similar views, the principal of Lady Shriram College, Ms. Meenakshi Gopinath, said there was an urgent need to move away from demonising each other to ``rehumanising''. Also, she was of the opinion that women were best placed to teach ``our men to dialogue and not debate''.

Though for the most part, the First Lady quietly heard the ``interventions for peace'', occasionally she acknowledged some of the activists - who called on her during a visit to Pakistan last year - with a nod.

Practically the only time when the seemingly tense First Lady let down her guard was when she was being hounded by journalists for ``bytes''. Dodging most of the questions with silence, she did quip when the scribes became persistent that ``you are going to kill me with questions''.

And the lone query she fielded was to respond to whether the visit had refreshed memories of India in general and Lucknow - the city to which her family traces its roots - in particular. ``I have no memories of India. I am a Pakistani''.

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