"There is a moral crisis engulfing the world as we speak, a crisis of injustice and inaction, a crisis of silence and acquiescence...On this solemn occasion I stand before you not only as a Prime Minister but as a woman and a mother - A woman proud of her cultural and religious heritage, a woman sensitive to the obstacles to justice and full participation that still stand before women in almost every society on earth...When the human spirit was immersed in the darkness of the Middle Ages, Islam proclaimed equality between men and women. When women were viewed as inferior members of the human family, Islam gave them respect and dignity. When women were treated as chattels, the Prophet of Islam (Peace Be Upon Him) accepted them as equal partners. Islam codified the rights of women. The Quran elected their status to that of men. It guaranteed their civic, economic, and political rights. It recognized their participative role in nation building. Sadly, the Islamic tenets regarding women were soon discarded. In Islamic society, as in other parts of the world, their rights were denied. Women were maltreated, discriminated against, and subjected to violence and oppression, their dignity injured and their role denied...Women became the victims of a culture of exclusion and male dominance. Today more women than men suffer from poverty, deprivation and discrimination. Half a billion women are illiterate. Seventy per cent of the children who are denied elementary education are girls. The plight of women in the developing countries is unspeakable. Hunger, disease, and unremitting toil is their fate...I am determined to change the plight of women in my country. More than sixty million of our women are largely sidelined. It is a personal tragedy for them. It is a national catastrophe for my nation. I am determined to harness their potential to the gigantic task of nation building...I dream of a Pakistan in which women contribute to their full potential. I am conscious of the struggle that lies ahead. But, with your help, we shall persevere. Allah willing, we shall succeed."
Beijing Platform of Action Conference, 4 September 1995
I am no feminist, as far from one as an RGS girl can be. But this is a powerful speech that deserves your attention. This is the battle cry of a woman who believed in a better world, who fought to change it, but was tragically thwarted by men who opposed the change for which she stood.