More in-depth posts coming soon as a couple of us return from trips abroad and finalize changes to the blog’s layout. In the meantime, I wanted to briefly share what I have found to be quite an illustrative debate about Pakistan’s portrayal in the international media.
There has been an effort in recent years on the part of Pakistani journalists, documentary filmmakers, artists, etc. to present the “true face” of Pakistan (documentaries such as “Made in Pakistan” and movies such as “Slackistan,” to name a few). Most often, this means something as simple as demonstrating to outsiders that not all Pakistanis are terrorists, that not all of them are conservatives espousing anti-American sentiment or even, that not all of them are victims of terrorism or repressive cultures in the traditional sense. Simply put, these filmmakers/artists/journalists seek to demonstrate their own comfortable, often Westernized, lives to the outside world.
Last week, as Pakistan Fashion Week in Lahore came to a close, most Western media sources jumped at the opportunity to provide a profile of this “other side” of the country. In her piece for The Times, Mary Bowers wrote:
“A triumph for young liberals, the event was also a red rag to those who protect conservative Islamic values with an iron fist. Inter Services Intelligence and the bomb squad were standing by to keep out haute couture’s uninvited guests.”
In response, blogger XYZ at Café Pyala wrote: “Oh shoot. Here we go again with fashion weeks and Pakistan. Can we do anything in Pakistan without it being linked in some way to either appeasing the Taliban or kicking sand in their faces?”
Aside from questioning Bowers’ factual reporting and the quotes she chose to include in the article, XYZ raises the important question of whether, in their haste to present Pakistan as multi-faceted, Western journalists are merely emphasizing a societal cleavage that is less pronounced and highlighting issues which are in fact mundane.
I understand XYZ’s annoyance. I must admit that when I wryly noticed Pakistan having gone a bit Valentine’s Day crazy, I half-expected there to be an article in at least one of the Western media sources lauding Pakistani youth’s efforts at fighting militants through red, heart-shaped balloons.
However, is our cynical response just hoping for too much given current geostrategic concerns? In her response to XYZ’s piece (yes, there’s a full-blown blogosphere war going on!), Mary Bowers has rightly argued that “even if a Western journalist wanted to ignore the bombs and threats, Pakistan’s fashion week will not yet make the editorial schedule on its own merit, not least in the week where New York closes its catwalks and London’s open.”
“The fact is, a journalist arriving at the opening of London Fashion Week would not have a car full of policemen dedicated to her protection. . . .The first point to be made, therefore, is that however normal it has become for residents, Pakistan still has a problem that foreign commentators find fascinating.”
Rafia and I think you are awesome