“Eventually things will have to get better. However, the way they will improve is not going to be because of the government or the elite leadership, or the political leadership, or the institutions of our country, most of which have actually crumbled. It will be the people of the country themselves who will bring about the change in society because they have had to struggle to fend for themselves at every level.” – Asma Jahangir, Interview by Farahnaz Junejo, Zameen, Dec 1997. In 1983, Asma Jahangir was under house arrest and later imprisoned for her active participation in a revolution, which was intended to restore the political and fundamental rights taken away during the martial government of Zia-ul-Haq. She faced one of the dark days of her life as her free speech and movement were curtailed. Again in 1993, Asma received frequent death threats for her defense as the lawyer of Salamat Masih, a 14 old boy and his uncles, Manzoor Masih and Rehmat Masih, who was accused of w...
Shiva Shankar Pandian