Rushdie Haunted by his unholy Ghosts — Page 87
Rushdie: Haunted By His Unholy Ghosts 87 rule of Government and Zia’s ideals. Rushdie also relates Bhutto’s execution by Zia-ul-Haq using fictional characters. (pp. 230-231). Even Benazir Bhutto’s plight is mentioned sympathetically, and her character is also disguised using a fictional name. The fictional characters used, however, do not, for a moment disguise the real political message that Rushdie wishes to convey. He was totally against the Zia regime in every way, and has open- ly expressed favouritism for the Pakistan People’s Party of which Zulfikar Bhutto was once the leader. He has used the character of General Raza to represent Zia and has deliberately highlighted Zia’s crude tactics so that Rushdie could portray Islam in a barbaric and impure light. For example : ‘On the Prophet’s birthday Raza arranged for every mosque in the country to sound a siren at nine a. m. and anybody who forgot to stop and pray when he heard the howling was instantly carted off to jail. . . . . He announced that God and socialism were incompatible, so that the doctrine of Islamic Socialism on which the Popular Front has based its appeal was the worst kind of blasphemy imaginable. . . . that men would spit at women in the street if they went about their business with their midriffs showing; and that a person could be strangled for smoking a cigarette during the month of fasting. ’ (pp. 247-248). A whole chapter entitled, ‘Beauty and the Beast’, (pp. 146-173) is devoted to humiliating Pakistan in its treatment of women. The idea of arranged marriages is disdainfully dealt with and the supposed maltreatment of women by Muslim men is highlighted. The notion of Muslim women being in chains is highlighted more and more to portray Pakistan as an uncultured and savage country controlled by its religious beliefs. As Rushdie writes : ‘It is commonly and, I believe, accurately said of Pakistan that her women are much more impressive than her men. . . their chains, nevertheless, are no fictions. They exist. And they are getting heav- ier. ’ (p. 173).