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prostitutes are living in poor surroundings. Were
diseases common amongst them? 

FS: The prostitutes did live in areas where there was
a very low standard of hygiene. They knew nothing
about AIDS until about one year ago, when an awareness
programme imparted some knowledge to them. Sexually
transmitted diseases are common and medical treatment
is administered by the dais. 

Did you make any friends while visiting the Mohalla? 

FS: Yes, I certainly did. I still have friends amongst
them and I do visit them occasionally. 

Do your friends from the Mohalla come to visit you? 

FS: Well, once when I was away from home my mother
called me to say that one of the girls from the
Mohalla had come to visit me at my home in Islamabad
along with her husband. That really upset my mother,
who insisted that although she was supportive of my
research work she did not feel comfortable with my
subjects coming to our home. I respected her wishes
and made sure it did not happen again. 

What message did you want to convey based on the
findings of your book? 

FS: Well, I wanted to tell my readers, especially the
younger male generation, that they must think for
themselves and not in the way society has moulded our
minds to think. I wanted people to see the truth as it
is; that it is up to a woman to perceive her morality
for herself. It is not for a man to tell her whether
she is "good" or "bad" and then limit her life
accordingly. It is time men begin to rethink their
roles and adjust to the needs of women too. 

As we can see from Fouzia's research, the status of
women is somewhat of a complex phenomenon in the
subcontinent. Not for the woman who holds it, but for
the average male inhabitant who has to define it for
her. Whilst men have the luxury of doing as they
please, it is the women that are perceived as likely
to cause shame to the men they are "owned" by,
regardless of any dishonourable acts that men chose to
commit themselves. It is therefore deemed necessary by
society, that men keep their women well inside limits
as defined by a male dominated society. Having said
this, we must acknowledge that the struggle for
recognition for women of our social order continues. 

Women are starting to put up a greater resistance to
the confinement that a patriarchal culture imposes on
them, and much to the uneasiness of their male
counterparts, are beginning to speak out against the
many illogical notions that have dictated their roles
as the "less seen, less heard" part of society. 

Fouzia ends her narrative with the conclusion that
whether women are considered "good" or "bad", they are
in fact "two sides of the same coin". She concludes
that in our male dominated culture, the Shahi Mohalla
and society do have something in common - one woman is
sold in the name of sin, the other is sold in the name
of honour.

 



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