Comments on: Begum Nawazish Ali Running For Parliament

By: ummesalama

ummesalama — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 15:02:41 +0000

i like dhoom machao dhoom. i love pink band i know all the songs.

By: nadir

nadir — Mon, 19 Feb 2007 10:27:48 +0000

has anyone heard the biffin bridge podcast? Drugs,drink,illicit acts,exemplary paliamentary behaviour??

By: Red

Red — Thu, 15 Feb 2007 00:28:54 +0000

Kamla Jaan unseated

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/2224164.stm

By: morris minor

morris minor — Wed, 14 Feb 2007 01:38:50 +0000

pakistanis love a good laugh as much as anyone… maybe even more. that helps account for the begum’s popularity but doesn’t mean her political career is going to be a success. back in ’97, pashto film actress mussarrat shaheen (spandex-clad star of “miss atom bomb” and other classics) made a run for parliament from dera ismail khan, one of the most conservative districts in the country, against maulana fazlur rehman. it was great fodder for media coverage, and she was truly brave to campaign for office in such a conservative area, but in the end, she lost (and so did the maulana, for that matter.) better luck to the begum.

By: neo bloggerette

neo bloggerette — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 14:32:48 +0000

Amardeep, sorry to nit pick possum but, it’s Dame Edna.

By: Neale

Neale — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 05:37:47 +0000

True Amardeep. Historically, theatre has always had men playing women roles. And probably still so in South Asian non-urban settings. And many of them are probably gay. So, yes, gays have always been looked upon as entertainers i.e. non-threatening. And therefore, it is not so earth shaking that Pakistan has a star in Begum. I am hoping her entry into politics will signify much more positive. Because, she is danger of becoming even more of a caricature.

BTW, there was nice story on Renee Richards in NYT a few weeks ago. How lonely and confused she still is about what she did and signified.

By: Amardeep

Amardeep — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 02:21:09 +0000

Neale, I believe she would call herself an entertainer — why does she have to “educate”? What is the “issue at hand” that is being “desexualized”?

By: Neale

Neale — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 00:27:30 +0000

These kind of performers desexualize the issue at hand. Does nothing to educate. Unless his/her platform is LGBT rights.

By: Sin

Sin — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 20:37:12 +0000

Words fail me. There WILL, however, be much in the way of comments from me regarding this once I manage to get some sleep.

By: SP

SP — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 20:34:28 +0000

Yes, she is very lady-ish…which definitely throws things. But everyone knows it’s an act and treats it as such (except for the poor JeI fellow, hehe), so I suspect she still gets cut some slack with the sexual suggestiveness. In Delhi many years ago a tranny hairdresser called Sylvie was the toast of the town, interviewed on the nightlife channels occasionally too, and managed to bridge the traditional giggle-evoking hijra stereotype with the fabulous fashion queen one. No-one would give a hijra on the street this much respect of course, and the “colonel’s widow” upscale aunty act allows her to do the talk-show bit. The ambiguous sexuality can pique people’s interest and make them open up more, in some ways, cf Karan Johar’s show compared with Simi Garewal’s (though Simi just has a stick up her ladylike rear in general).