So here goes, this #MothersDay .

Mum was born in a poor, rural household. My grandfather was a retired sepoy engaged in farming when mum was born. She was the youngest of 9 siblings, 7th daughter. Her elder sisters followed the traditional pattern of village life. 1/8

They enrolled in school, learned to read & write & dropped out at puberty. Thereafter they would take over household chores, care of younger siblings & own farm work before being married off into another family in the village.
Mum, however, was a dreamer. 2/8

She recalls that two women teachers rode their horses to teach at the village school from a nearby town. Mum was inspired & wanted to become one, a teacher. She was diligent, smart & wanted to learn. She completed matric with flying colors & insisted on continuing education 3/8

There was no college in the village so she moved to city where her eldest brother was. It's unfair to cut her story short, but suffice it to say that she braved many storms, including family pressure & violence but completed her bachelors & her masters from a university. 4/8

She secured a scholarship to continue her studies at Al Azhar University, Cairo but wasn't allowed to go. So she cleared the FPSC exam & started teaching at colleges for women, first in Kuhat, then at Wah & finally in Isb. In b/w she got married & had us. 5/8

Dad was good man, life was finally good. Except that he passed away, very suddenly. She was left to take care of 4 children the eldest of whom was 16 & the youngest 5. We were a nuclear family so there were no grandparents or any in laws to take care of her & of us. 6/8

She became our father & mother. Since then, mum did everything on her own. Everything that a father does & everything a mother does. Never taking a day off, from work or from parenting. It's now been 20 years. I don't know how she managed to do much in a woman-hating society. 7/8

She really was and is a formidable force. I wish her every Father's day & mother's day both, as she is both for me.
Happy Mothers Day Mum 8/8