By Kanwal Ali
Wearing a yellow shirt under a blue sky, Fari was tightly holding the pale hand of her grandfather, while passing through the brown streets of Banni Bazar, Rawalpindi. Pakistan was hardly a decade old then and families like hers, who had migrated from India were struggling hard to settle in the new land.
Most people could barely make both ends meet, yet the darkest hours were over for them. They were survivors of an unprecedented mass migration in which almost two million lives were lost. They had created history for the future generations to cherish. Each person had a hundred tales to tell. And Fari was about to begin that very day.
A pair of tiny red doll shoes displayed on one of the shops caught Fari’s attention. She instantly decided to get those for her doll at home. She requested her grandfather but he simply nodded in refusal.
“I want these Nana,” Fari insisted. He looked straight into her big green eyes and replied in a firm voice: “We don’t have money to buy unwanted items, but if you work hard and become an officer then you’ll be able to buy things like these.” Fari bent her head down in obedience but a new word had entered it: “Officer”.
“Who is an officer? How can I be one? If I become an officer, will I be able to buy those red shoes for my doll? Will those be available for sale till then?” These questions kept her restless during the days that followed.
Years passed by and just before the roof of her dilapidating school was about to collapse, she had become the first girl in her family to have qualified the Matric exam.
“College” was her next dream destination and she literally had to go on a hunger strike to convince her traditional parents to allow her to continue her studies. Clad in a big black burqa, she was amazed to see big green lawns and huge classrooms of her College in Rawalpindi.
Quaid-e-Azam University became her next target. Her high grades enabled her to get admission to the University. On the other hand, her parents wanted to arrange her marriage. She opted for another hunger strike to dispel her family’s plans. Her strategy worked again and her wedding was postponed till the completion of her Masters degree.
She got married right after graduating from the University. Her husband was a simple man who did not object to her academic pursuits. She felt liberated and started studying again with a renewed passion.
Even the news of her being in a family way did not deter her from studying. On many days she felt sick, but her resolve to move forward was greater than anything else. Her books and notes became her pills.
Eventually, she appeared in the CSS Exams while her daughter was still an infant. The newspapers of July 23rd 1980 had her name in the list of CSS-qualified candidates. It was a turning point in her life.
Fari took a deep breath and thanked God that she was not dreaming. She finally became an “Officer” and was allocated the then Income Tax group. She also became the first person in her entire family to have qualified for the prestigious Exam.
Autumns turned into winters and winters gave birth to springs and springs transformed into summers but Fari’s ambitions remained intact. She kept on climbing one ladder after the other and earned the reputation of being an honest, upright and intelligent officer. She soon got a foreign scholarship and left for the USA for further studies.
One day she saw a pair of “tiny red doll shoes” at a toy store in Pittsburgh. That was it, she thought. That was the day her grandfather had foretold. Time had devoured her doll, but she had money of her own and the liberty to spend those as she wished. She bought those tiny shoes for her daughter who was an avid doll collector by then and left the mall with tears of fulfilment.
Fari’s daughter grew up to be an unambitious girl who liked to live in her own idealistic world. Fari knew the challenges of the real world so she advised her daughter firmly one day: “Appear in the upcoming CSS Exams.”
“But how can I Mama? After all it’s such a tough exam and you know I am not very intelligent?” Her daughter pleaded. “If I could, then you can. Have faith and work hard,” Fari replied in her firm voice and her daughter knew that it was the end of the discussion.
During the next four months, Fari’s daughter studied as hard as she could and appeared in the CSS exams. Another turning point in Fari’s life came when she saw her daughter’s name in the list of qualified candidates in newspapers on 2nd July 2005.
She was overwhelmed because up till that point, no other CSS-qualified lady’s daughter had been inducted into the civil service of Pakistan. Her daughter became part of the Customs Service of Pakistan. Fari had set another record. Thus it became her biggest victory.
So years later, one day her daughter asked Fari as to how she had decided to do CSS. Fari narrated her whole journey starting from the tiny red shoes, till that golden afternoon at her home in Islamabad where she was basking in the sun.
It was a beautiful story. It was a mesmerizing story. It was the story of how a young girl, triggered by an innocent desire decided to give meaning to her life. It was a story of how women have played their part in nation-building. It was a story that was too special to be left untold. So her daughter decided to pen it down. Destiny, they say is the strength of one’s desires and Fari had proven it.
In recent years, Pakistan has witnessed a significant increase in the number of women joining its civil service. According to government statistics, the number of women in both federal and provincial bureaucracies has increased by approximately 20% over the past decade.
This growth reflects a broader trend toward gender inclusivity within governmental roles that were traditionally dominated by men.
The same trend is observed in Pakistan Customs and as per FBR’s data 28% of Customs officers in BS 17-22 are females with 33% in BS 17-18 only. The civil service landscape in Pakistan Customs is evolving, with women increasingly taking on important positions across various cities.
The government has also implemented policies to support this trend, such as reserving a 10% quota for women in all federal government jobs and promulgating the Maternity and Paternity Leave Act in Pakistan.
The contribution of women in Pakistan Customs illustrates not only an increase in numbers but also a growing acceptance and recognition of women’s capabilities in roles that were once considered male-dominated.
Fari’s daughter being part of the Pakistan Customs Service shall also be celebrating International Customs Day, revising the lesson of honesty and hard work that her mom has ingrained in her. No doubt, she is proud to be her daughter and part of the esteemed Customs community.
The writer is the Director NNDA, Pakistan Customs.
