Saturday, January 28, 2006
Marathoners and Mullahs in Lahore, Pakistan
Can The Mullahs Stop the Tide ?
*
*****
Strange world. The BBC reports that in Lahore, Pakistan, Islamic hardliners are up in arms because women runners are among those who have registered to participate in a marathon on Sunday, January 29th. "We intend to put up peaceful resistance against the un-Islamic act of organising a mixed race, by making our presence felt all along the route Salman Butt,Protest leader. The six-party alliance of religious parties, the MMA, say they will go ahead with protests. "It is against our cultural, social and religious norms," Liaquat Baluch of the MMA said.
This is funny. "In May women's rights activists defied the ban by holding a symbolic one kilometre 'mini-marathon' in Lahore. Women participants wore traditional dress, the salwar kameez, and some wore high heels rather than running shoes."
One kilometre--that is 0.62 mile. Not enough to sweat and disturb the coiffures ! If Pakistani women take part dressed in Salwar-Kameez and high-heel shoes then the mullahs have nothing to worry. The women will not go far from the starting line. If they are serious about running a marathon and not taking part in a tamasha (show) then they should put on running gear, the mullahs be damned. As the Iraqi blogger says "Ya Habeebi".
