In Pakistan, Clinton fails to charm professional women
ISLAMABAD 鈥� Addressing a roomful of Pakistani women Friday afternoon at the National Art Gallery here, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made every effort to connect with her audience. But after enduring multiple security checks and waiting over four hours for the secretary to arrive, most women left unimpressed.
鈥淔rankly, it was a waste of my time,鈥� said one assistant professor from the Fatima Jinnah Women鈥檚 University (FJWU) in Rawalpindi, who asked not to be named. 鈥淸Clinton] wasn鈥檛 interested in hearing the about the layman鈥檚 problems or the reality of our daily lives.鈥�
That caused many, such as Shazia Marri, the information minister of the Sindh province, to leave the meeting frustrated that their concerns were not heard. 鈥淓mancipated women in Pakistan have a clear point of view that did not come across,鈥� she said.
The local media has described Mrs. Clinton鈥檚 three-day visit to Pakistan as a 鈥渃harm offensive.鈥� Her town-hall meeting with female activists, lawyers, journalists, parliamentarians, and businesswomen from across the country was meant to conclude the trip on a high note, particularly in the wake of Wednesday鈥檚 car bomb attack on a Peshawar market that killed 117 鈥� mostly women.
In her interactions with Pakistani women, Clinton tried to engage in personal-level diplomacy. Explaining how the US would support democracy in Pakistan, Clinton discussed the importance of 鈥渉abits of the heart,鈥� such as tolerance and compromise, which could be ingrained within families and by teachers in schools. Addressing concerns about aid delivery, she described how the US government organized a team of female Pakistani-American doctors to treat internally displaced women. And in a rare digression, she reminisced about an exchange of family photographs with the late former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.
Clinton attempted a relaxed manner, with an aside about having a Pakistani roommate. But her jokes about visiting Pakistan and not discussing security for once failed to win over the crowd. Pakistani women 鈥� much like the country鈥檚 youth and professionals, whom Clinton met in similar meetings in Lahore on Thursday 鈥� seemed more keen on discussing security issues. The questions that met with most applause from the audience were on US drone attacks, alleged American designs on Pakistan鈥檚 nuclear arsenal, and whether the US intended to pressure India to settle the long-standing Kashmir conflict.
Several audience members said Clinton's answers did little to allay their concerns or skepticism. 鈥淭he responses were as expected,鈥� added Ameena Saiyid, the managing director of Oxford University Press.
Many women, including Zainab Azmat, a resident of the South Waziristan tribal agency, currently lecturing at Peshawar鈥檚 Institute of Management Sciences (IMS), complained that Clinton鈥檚 answers were too 鈥渞eserved.鈥� Ms. Azmat added that the intention of the meeting was unclear. 鈥淲hy were we here? What did they want us to ask? What did they want to convey to us?鈥� she asked.
It didn鈥檛 help that many women objected to the format of the discussion, which was moderated by five female news anchors. Before Clinton arrived, one State Department representative explained that the format aimed to imitate the popular talk show, 鈥楾he View.鈥�
But it seems the women were not all convinced that the show is what the meeting most closely mirrored. 鈥淭his meeting was as micromanaged as our country鈥檚 internal affairs,鈥� quipped the FJWU professor. 鈥淸The Americans] were trying to retain the upper-hand in the conversation.鈥�
Fariel Salahiddin, a financial consultant with Ministry of Information, still found the visit valuable, however. It is "admirable that Clinton is making this effort to reach out," she said.
