ALKHOBAR, 5 March 2004 — Gulshan Nawaz is a poet and a short story writer who has written for famous Urdu publications like Hoor, Zebunissa and Jang. She has also written two books. One (Ghail Hasratain) is a biography of her father who fought in World War II. Her father started the book himself, but his death interrupted the work, and Gulshan ended up finishing it.
Her second book, Ahkamat-e-Elahi, is a reference book of things that are compulsory in Islam. “I went through the seven volumes of Tafheem-e-Qur’an and compiled the list of duties that every Muslim must perform,” she explains.
Gulshan wrote her first story when she was still in primary school. It was the story of a fellow student who was abused by her stepmother. “My friend died a week after confiding in me. That really disturbed me, and I thought I had to tell her story,” she said.
Gulshan lost her mother when she was six months old, and she too had a stepmother.
Now a correspondent for the magazine Overseas International published in Islamabad, Gulshan is also president of the women writers forum which she recently renamed the Social and Welfare group. It has 70 members.
What are some of the common problems of women living in Saudi Arabia? Gulshan said that in the Pakistani community there were three kinds of women. “The first live in compounds and usually have Canadian, British or American nationalities. They look down on everyone else. They seem to have no problems. They are very arrogant. For example, once when I was general secretary of an organization a woman wanted to visit me. When she found out I lived in a flat, she said, ‘Oh how can you live in a flat? Doesn’t that suffocate you?’
“Then there are the middle class women. They have money problems. Their families are sometimes divided, with half living here and the older children studying in Pakistan.
“The last category of women, the lower-income group, has the most problems. They are neither rich nor educated. Their biggest problem is mobility. They are stuck in their homes and often suffer from depression. The husbands work hard all day and come home to wives who are eager to go out. There are mood, personality and temper clashes. The children too just go to school and come back home. They do not have outlets to play, because they live in flats. They rarely even get to go home for vacations because their company does not pay for the family.
“These women often have health problems too. Most of them do not have health coverage and cannot afford to go to doctors and hospitals. So they live on Panadol or home remedies.”
Why don’t these people go home then instead of suffering here? Gulshan said, “Because they will be worse off in their own hometowns. Believe me, I always say anyone who leaves his country is miskeen. If he was so well off in his own country, why would he come here?”
Gulshan would like to see changes. “I’d like to see everyone get the same pay. Why should somebody doing the same job get paid more because of their nationalities? Muslims should be more tolerant, and helpful. They should be recognized by their character, not because of intolerance.”
In her spare time especially when she is traveling, Gulshan likes to make videos. “I studied anthropology, but being a woman I couldn’t work in the field. So I’ve transferred that desire to making videos. One of my favorites is one that I shot in Southall in England. You can see a Pakistani make jalebis. I told him in jest that I was making a film for TV. He said, “Oh, in that case, let me change this old oil which I’ve been using for days. I’ll put fresh oil in and make delicious jalebis for you.”
