Daily Times

Sir: A large number of women and children attended the funeral of late Asma Jahangir. It was probably the first funeral in our history that was attended by women in such a large number.

I’ve never seen such an emotionally-charged funeral where people from all walks of life, religions, genders and ethnicities had gathered to bid farewell to the deceased woman. The presence and participation of women in the funeral rituals reflected Asma’s legacy and lifelong struggle for gender equality in the country.

Women took to the social media to share their overwhelming stories and experiences from the funeral. Many of them said it was Asma’s life and work that inspired them to defy the conventional patriarchal tradition and offer funeral prayers with men.

Asma needed no state funeral; she was above all these worldly things. The state only missed an opportunity to establish its credibility.

FAREEHA YOUSUF

Rawalpindi

Published in Daily Times, February 15^th 2018.