When Asma Jahangir led from the front, even in death
Sarika Sharma
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, February 14
Hundreds of women joined Asma Jahangir on her last journey on Tuesday, defying the tradition that bars Pakistani women from attending funerals. This was called the ‘last subversive act’ by the activist, who fought for peace between the two nations till the very end.
She died of cardiac arrest in Lahore on Sunday. She was 66. The funeral was held at Gaddafi Stadium. Earlier, the procession was led by her daughters, Sulema and Munizae.
In an email to The Tribune, journalist Ammara Ahmad, who attended the funeral, said there were around 1,000 women at the funeral. “...something I have never seen in Lahore, especially when someone well-known dies. There is no doubt that the Jahangir family planned and allowed this to happen. There was an arrangement for women on the right side, and it wasn’t behind the men, as is often the case in mosques and during Eid prayers. It was side by side.” She shared that many of these women were activists, lawyers, young students and even some acid burns victims.
