My maid brought along her daughter to work one day. I later got to know after enquiring from her that this kid was in the first grade.
Usually my servants' children or relatives would stay hidden in a corner of the house, only moving when my servant instructed them to assist them in their work . These usually children don't make a sound. Do nothing to get themselves noticed. But this kid was different.
It took her five minutes to stand beside me. A further two minutes to start flipping the pages of my book. I was completing my homework , you see. After a little while she started to ask me some questions. I was too engrossed in my homework to reply properly, ergo I would just mumble a little "Haan," which means yeah in Urdu.
A while later I have her using a pointer on some paper I have given her . I was baffled by what she wrote because, well kids of a maid are supposed to be illiterate right? WRONG. This kid had just broken free of her stereotype and had proved me wrong.
My dilemma was that I assumed. I had one look at the child and without getting to know her more I jumped to conclusions. I trapped her her in my mind in a sort of prison where the other illiterate people I had known in my life lived. I'm not saying illiterate people are criminals or villains to our society. Or that all of Pakistan's lower class is illiterate. In fact many of my maids have been sincere, kind and hardworking people who have had to forcefully adopt the despised occupation because of circumstances. Circumstances like a lack of schooling. The lack of schooling arose because they were female, poverty stricken -and oh I almost forgot-also because of us. Yes, we have also contributed to their illiteracy because we never gave them a chance, didn't realize their potential.
Had we provided them the opportunity, the tools to combat these circumstances Pakistan wouldn't be standing at the 180th number in world literacy rates . Had my mind not been a rut I wouldn't have had misjudged her.
I love how in Regina Brett in "Life's little detours" broke down the word assume in 3 parts as ASS|U|ME. So when we assume we make as (ass) out ASS of (you) U and (me) ME.
I assumed. ^This is what happened. Maybe this is why Pakistan stands at the 180th number in literacy rate in the world. Because we assumed.
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Usually my servants' children or relatives would stay hidden in a corner of the house, only moving when my servant instructed them to assist them in their work . These usually children don't make a sound. Do nothing to get themselves noticed. But this kid was different.
It took her five minutes to stand beside me. A further two minutes to start flipping the pages of my book. I was completing my homework , you see. After a little while she started to ask me some questions. I was too engrossed in my homework to reply properly, ergo I would just mumble a little "Haan," which means yeah in Urdu.
A while later I have her using a pointer on some paper I have given her . I was baffled by what she wrote because, well kids of a maid are supposed to be illiterate right? WRONG. This kid had just broken free of her stereotype and had proved me wrong.
My dilemma was that I assumed. I had one look at the child and without getting to know her more I jumped to conclusions. I trapped her her in my mind in a sort of prison where the other illiterate people I had known in my life lived. I'm not saying illiterate people are criminals or villains to our society. Or that all of Pakistan's lower class is illiterate. In fact many of my maids have been sincere, kind and hardworking people who have had to forcefully adopt the despised occupation because of circumstances. Circumstances like a lack of schooling. The lack of schooling arose because they were female, poverty stricken -and oh I almost forgot-also because of us. Yes, we have also contributed to their illiteracy because we never gave them a chance, didn't realize their potential.
Had we provided them the opportunity, the tools to combat these circumstances Pakistan wouldn't be standing at the 180th number in world literacy rates . Had my mind not been a rut I wouldn't have had misjudged her.
I love how in Regina Brett in "Life's little detours" broke down the word assume in 3 parts as ASS|U|ME. So when we assume we make as (ass) out ASS of (you) U and (me) ME.
I assumed. ^This is what happened. Maybe this is why Pakistan stands at the 180th number in literacy rate in the world. Because we assumed.
haan ka matlab 'Yeah' hota hai?
ReplyDeleteOH TERIIII
Alright but to dispel your belief that I am chronically negative
ReplyDeleteThis was a very good piece and I liked it (y)