Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
Note to images: where not attributed, the pre-1975 pictures are taken from ‘Women of
Pakistan’, a book produced by the Government of Pakistan for International Women’s
Year, 1975.
Women in political struggle
Jahanara Shahnawaz
The two women members of the first
Constituent Assembly (1946-54) are both in saris.
Saris were commonly worn by urban professional
women in West Pakistan (now Pakistan) until the
late 1970s.
“The national struggle threw many women into the limelight as determined freedom
fighters. Hundreds of them filled British jails. The story of the young girl who,
defying the Police, scaled the walls to hoist the Muslim League flag atop the Punjab
Assembly building in Lahore, has now become a legend.”
Note the variety of covering which would not nowadays be possible – all would be
in track-suit bottoms and baggy long-sleeved shirts to cover the body shape.
Punjab
University
Inter-
Collegiate
Women’s
Cricket
Championshi
p at Lahore
College.
Lahore Hockey
Collegein
forLahore
Women sports day
Iqbal Ch, The News, Dawn, January
Dawn, February 2000 April 2001 2000
Under the 1977-1985 martial law regime when dress
codes tightened, women continued to play sports but
under more difficult conditions. The participation of all
Pakistani women in sporting events abroad or in public
(in front of an audience that could include males)
stopped. In the early 1980s Pakistan’s highly successful
women’s hockey team was turned back from the airport
while on its way to an international event. After the return
of democracy, women were able to compete
internationally although there is still a reluctance to open
women’s sports events to the public.
Outside Influences
Lahore, Camerapix,
Urban shopping 1. Pakistan, 1994
ISLAMABAD: National dress should be worn on formal occasions, this is not a demand of the
newly emerged Islamic political force - Muttahida Majlis-e-Aamal - but a direction of the military
regime to all its key members and top bureaucrats.
Through an "immediate" circular issued to all the federal ministers, advisers and key bureaucrats
including federal secretaries, the cabinet secretary Javed Masud directs that on all formal
occasions the national dress should be worn.
The ministers, secretaries, advisers most of whom have been seen wearing western attire during
the last three years of the military regime are now told to wear national dress ie "white or black
sherwani/achkan or a buttoned up black waist-coat (V shaped in summer and closed collar in
winter), kurta/kamees and shalwar/pyjama, black shoes and matching socks, preferably with
Jinnah Krakuli cap."
… A conspicuous change is now expected in Pakistan television where the lady newscasters
and announcers have stopped wearing headscarf, models and television artists are shown in
western dresses in entertainment programmes and commercials and Azzan (call for prayers) has
been stopped.