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| Sunday, 11 January 2004 |
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Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Hajara : A searing tale about displaced Muslims Women, what strengths do they have? What role could they play in creating a just and peaceful society? Ahmed Shamshad Begum has come to fore creating awareness amongst Sri Lankan women of the role they can play in the peace and reconciliation process through her maiden novel. Though the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka related to the Sinhala and Tamil communities, it affected everyone equally. Living in a mixed community in Nuwara Eliya, Begum had first hand experience of the futility of war. by Vimukthi Fernando
A woman from a remote village. Soft spoken, fragile, married to a suitable man and bearing his children? Not this woman, though she is pressured by the village to resume the traditional woman's role. But one whose character is shaped and sharpened by the injustice meted out to her by the society - the infidelity of her own father, jealousy and greed of relatives, ignorance of friends, inconsiderateness of the neighbours and so on. She is the leader. Ever sacrificing. Ever enduring. For the sake of those who are more unfortunate than her. And, the leader who would not stand injustice. Moreover, from the very people who profess to be protectors of the people. She is 'Hajara', the unconventional woman who had to sacrifice her unborn child in her quest for justice. A rare attempt for an author writing her maiden novel, but a very readable one in easy, picturesque, almost poetic Sinhalese from Ahmed Shamshad Begum, a teacher from Nuwara Eliya, 'Hajara' is a portrayal of the ethnic conflict from a Muslim perspective, which seeks to reawaken humanity. Depicting the conflict between the lives of the internally displaced people and those of the villages they have settled in, it leaves the readers with a yearning for justice for the marginalised.
What inspired Begum to select this theme for her maiden novel? How did she learn to use a language, which is not her own, so precisely? And what makes her speak so strongly about justice and peace? The Sunday Observer interviewed Ahmed Shamshad Begum to find out. Though belonging to the Muslim community, Sinhala as well as Indian and Russian literature interested and inspired her says Begum. Along with Tolstoy, Charles Dickens, Alexander Dumas, Rabindranath Tagore, R. K. Narayan she read Martin Wickramasinghe and Munidasa Kumaratunga as well. Munidasa Kumaratunga's work had a special influence on her, says Begum "It gave me strength." So did the work of many a contemporary Sinhala author and scholar. Being in the teaching profession in the cool climes of Nuwara Eliya, the heat of the civil war which raged in Sri Lanka for nearly two decades burnt their lives as well, says Begum. Another point was the deterioration of humanitarian values in the present society. That's what had inspired this author in her novel, 'Hajara.' "I had the opportunity of teaching in Nuwara Eliya, Hanguranketha and Walapone. It was pathetic. The sheer waste of so many young lives - becoming just a number in the list of casualties. Boys there did not complete their education during the times of war. One who is blossoming with his youth this term, would come home in a sealed coffin the next. Some, were my own students and others sons of the neighbours. The sadness and the waste of life etched deep in my mind were renewed when I had the opportunity to visit refugee camps and experience the lives of those who lived there. In late 1980s and early 1990s Muslims who had been living in Jaffna, and other areas for years had to flee their traditional homes. Of the rich some settled overseas and others settled in cities in the South. However, the poor were destitute. They had to live a pauper's life, in refugee camps. That's what inspired me to bring 'Hajara' to life. I wanted to show the reality of the internally displaced persons," Begum points out. "And the other focus of the novel is on the role of women in the peace process. Many depict women as fragile, unable to stand on her own. But in reality women are strong. Emotionally stronger than men, many a time. Women do not have to be dictators. But they are stronger than dictators for they are committed and selfless. 'Hajara' is the peaceful and nonviolent struggle of a woman whose character is strengthened by the obstacles she had to face in life, to bring about justice. For a fair opportunity for those who had been deprived," explains Begum. What does Begum think of the Woman's role in the peace process? "Women are for peace. Not for war. Especially mothers. It is a universal truth. The qualities of love, kindness, selflessness and so on are motherly qualities. They do not want to see their sons and daughters in danger or get hurt. Women's viewpoint is not given prominence in the peace process. If women's views and needs are given priority, I am sure we would be able to achieve a more powerful and lasting peace, and achieve it sooner." And her view on war? "The ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka is definitely not a conflict of the common man at the grassroots. I speak thorough my own experience in Nuwara Eliya where families of Sinhala, Muslim and Tamil communities live peacefully and amicably along with descendants of other communities as well. It is a conflict rammed down the throat of the common man by the power hungry politicians and political factions. "The roots of the conflict could be traced back to the 'divide and rule' policies of the British. Though English was the mediatory language, it was a privileged language for a particular class of society. Understanding and dialogue was limited only to this faction. The rest were in the dark, ignorant of the language, culture, values of the other community and highly suspicious of the other's intentions. Besides, a national identity was not created. We do not identify ourselves as Sri Lankans, but still speak in the terms of Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims and so on." "National identity, and the participation of the three communities are vital elements for peace" says Begum. "We have a good opportunity to build up national identity through the peace process. And, no amount of mediation will bring lasting peace unless participation from all three communities and women and men from all walks of life is sought. Involvement from academics, artists, students, farmers and so on is as important as that from those of the government, military and the LTTE. Artists in particular have a role to play - be it through a novel, short story, poem, painting, tele-drama or cinema they can speak to the very core of the people they address. "Deliver the message strongly and leave a more long lasting impression than any other form of communication," Begum points out. That's what she had attempted to do, through her novel. "It will not be easy, neither will it be instant. But, we can bring in peace and reconciliation to this island, for we have been a peaceful society living in harmony. "However, we cannot call a society peaceful unless it recognises human values, respects the other's viewpoint and treats him or her with equality. Creating opportunity for these is what is needed to be done now." |
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A strong will to bring about equity and the positive assurance one can
bring it about through nonviolence.
