I've had nothing but positivity from Indians: Mehr Tarar

Book: Do We Not Bleed?: Reflections Of A 21st Century Pakistani
Author: Mehr Tarar
Publisher: Aleph
Pages: 299 
Price: 599

Mehr Tarar is among the better known Pakistani journalists in India – she writes regular columns in newspapers here and appears on TV, speaks frankly about the issues and troubles in her country (not to forget the fracas over her Twitter exchange with Sunanda Pushkar shortly before her death). The current book contains short essays on various aspects of contemporary Pakistan – religious oppression, honour killings, Islamicist violence, the vacuousness of society's upper circles, etc. It is both close-focussed and wide-angled, passionate and reasoned, hopeful and pessimistic, painting a complex reality of a country pulled in many directions. Edited Excerpts:

How did this book come about? What was the impetus for writing it?

This book is a continuation of my columns: my perspective on myriad issues around me. Writing a book gave me scope to look at things in a more in-depth manner, and to present stories of people whose experiences, trials and tribulations are relatable anywhere: the universality of love, pain, survival, overcoming the odds.

Given the constraints on media freedom in Pakistan, how hard is it to write, as you do, against the clergy, the army and government?

There are no real constraints on media freedom as long as you know how to put across your point of view. I've consistently written about the ills plaguing Pakistan – religiously driven issues, governmental failures, flawed policies of the establishment – without facing any backlash. Pointing out bad things with an intention of seeing improvement, and highlighting flaws looking at all angles of the narrative are what differentiate healthy criticism from gratuitous trashing.

Much of the book is about the constricted lives of women in Pakistan, the violence they face daily. But Pakistan has also thrown up several positive role models – a woman prime minister, speaker of the national assembly, fighter pilot, diplomats, etc.

There are countless stories of women doing great things and leaving a huge impact on perspectives and narratives of women in Pakistan; Shazia Mushtaq and Muniba Mazari in my book are two examples. Pakistan is predominately a patriarchal society with many regressive ideas about women, but there's a slow and steady change, which is evident in presence of women in almost all fields of life today.

You were in the news recently, along with other Pakistani women journalists, protesting the ban on Padman. Are there many women in the Pakistani media? Have their numbers gone up or down over the years?

I spoke as a woman, not as a former journalist. Any film that deals with a woman-centric issue in the backdrop of a regressive set-up needs support from everyone in a predominately male-dominated society, yours or mine.
In every media house, the number of females is quite high. There are women working in all fields: editors, anchors, reporters, producers, content-writers.

A lot of writing from Pakistan on contemporary Pakistan is finding a ready market in India. How do these books, holding a mirror to the 'bitter truths', fare back home?

Most books by Pakistanis simply present the reality as the writer sees it; there is no conscious attempt at least on my part to sensationalise my writing with "bitter truths". Most lives, anywhere in the world, are an amalgamation of black and white, good and bad, dark and light. This is what I try to encapsulate in my writing, and people respond to that. It doesn't matter where they are from; it is how a story affects them.

You are quite well known in India, in large part due to the Sunanda Pushkar incident. How do you deal with the notoriety?

I became known in India because of a horrible tragedy. I've been very fortunate though; I've been to India four times since 2015, and all I got from people was love, warmth and friendship. I write for an Indian media house, I've appeared as a panellist on many talk shows, and I've been to three conferences/festivals. Other than occasional trolling on Twitter, I've had nothing but huge positivity from Indians. People in this age have enough sense to sift through media reports and come to their own conclusions; they give me nothing but love and respect. My heartfelt thank you to all Indians whom I've met in person and online, you guys rock!