In Feb, GWHI had a camp in Sheikapura.
As I stood near the medicine station, a little pretty green eyed girl approached me. She was about 10, wearing not so clean shalwar kameez, and she was donned in a big brown chador. Isha had some coins in her hand, and she asked me where she could get a parchee;
I was surprised at her asking me for a slip because the medical camp was free, and because I had seen a hundred women already and none of then came to me with four RS 2 coins to get a slip made. I felt intense love for her right then and there. I had never known her, I didn’t even know if she had a mother to care for her; Isha said that she was suffering from severe back pains and couldn’t sit properly at times.
I thought of my ten year old cousin then, my cousin whose only back pains which were of course transient and were caused by her large Hannah Montana school bag; my cousin when she didn’t like the food that was cooked at home, had the privilege of eating out or ordering food that was just a call away; my cousin who never had to work at home, who slept whenever she wanted, played whenever she wanted, watched TV whenever she wanted; my cousin who wore clean clothes-which were nicely ironed; who had a mother to care for her when she was ill and a father to get her whatever she wanted and whenever she wanted it. My cousin who went on summer trips with her parents, who had an account on Facebook….
All of this was hard to digest. Reason being, we live in a bubble. Our world extends from our households to the salons for regular manicures, our designer bags and shoes, the Indian soaps we watch on TV, the trips we make abroad and the restaurants we visit sometimes almost everyday. We want the best for our children when they graduate; we want them to apply to Universities abroad. We want our children to become successful doctors, lawyers, accountants, engineers and what not and what follows is a cycle- our children doing the same with our grandchildren and in this rat race we forget who we are what we were here for.
The best of people is the one who is the best to mankind. Are we living up to that standard of ‘the best’ endorsed by the Holy Prophet Sallallahu alyhe wasallam?
All of us have to answer that question. Sometimes what’s better than shopping is helping someone in need? That feeling of altruism is the one that helps us with a good nights sleep. All of us have the potential to change lives and help our Pakistani brothers and sisters in need.
We don’t know how many Isha’s are out there. InshAllah one day Isha will have her own children. What she gives them is really what decides the future of our nation. There may be many accountants, lawyers, doctors out there, but are there any good human beings out there? We need to work collectively inshAllah to eradicate poverty, work for the betterment of girls and women and help those in need. Together we should dedicate our lives for the betterment of humanity in the name of goodness and in the service of our Universal One and Only God.
A woman is a pearl. She has to be protected, nourished and given the best so that the generations that follow can become the best of those to mankind. We need to think anew on this Women’s day, we have to like for others what we like for ourselves. This is an investment that will pay dividends both in this world and the Hereafter-inshaAllah.
To help us with this cause please visit www.gwhi.org for more information.
