It’s only a matter of courage

Yasir Ilyas

Females are usually considered as a feeble segment of society who need extra care and protection. But some women surprise the whole world with their courage, determination and willpower. Women have proved themselves in every walk of life and set examples for others with their unshakeable character.

In this era of sheer competition, women belonging to poor families have also being doing extraordinary things. Razia Bibi, Shamim Bibi, Parveen Bibi and Salma Bibi are such women who did not make poverty a hurdle in pursuit of their dreams. They also denied using poverty as tool to have money through unfair means. They also rejected the option of beggary. They have chosen to live with dignity and make the life of their children smoother by sheer hard work.

All four of them own stalls of fruit and vegetables at ‘Sasta Bazaars’ introduced by the Punjab government in Rawalpindi. They toil hard not only to earn livelihood for their families but also to educate their children so that they may live a better life in future. They support their husbands financially.

Razia Bibi, who runs a stall of vegetables, comes to the ‘Sasta Bazaar’ of Shamsabad daily from Bangash Colony. Her husband is a labourer in Sabzi Mandi. According to Razia Bibi, she has been selling vegetables in different markets of twin cities for the last 15 years. She manages to earn two to three hundred rupees daily, which is sufficient to feed her four-member family.

“My both boys (sons) are studying in an English medium school, one of the best in our locality. I am doing all this to secure the future of my sons. I do not want to see them selling vegetables or doing odd works as their parents. I want to see my both sons as officers,” Razia Bibi said with determination in her eyes.

Shamim Bibi is another story of courage. She owns a stall in the same bazaar. She deals in potatoes and onions. Talking to this news agency, she said: “My husband is a labourer and works on daily wages. He cannot feed the family alone, so I thought to support him financially. I manage to earn a handsome amount through this stall which helps us in meeting our expenses.”

She said that she had two options, either to work hard to keep the education of her children going or to pick her kids up from schools to indulge them in child labour. “And I went for the first option,” She said with pride.

Salma Bibi and Parveen Bibi are two other examples of strong determination and character. Both of them, like Razia Bibi and Shamim Bibi, decided to work hard for the sake of education of their children.

All four of them have one complaint to make. They said that males should encourage them instead of misbehaving with them. They said that they have a right too to earn livelihood for their families.