‘My Feudal Lord’ is an autobiographical novel that revolves around a prominent politician and a feudal lord, Mustafa Khar and a woman, the author Tehmina Durrani hailing from a wealthy, ultra-modern family

Tehmina Durrani, a Pakistani writer, an artist, a human rights activists, was born on 18 February 1953 in an educated and influential family. She is the daughter of a former governor of State Bank of Pakistan and Managing Director of Pakistan International Airlines – Shahkur Ullah Durrani. Her mother Samina Durrani, was the daughter of a Nawab – Sir Liaqat Hayat Khan, the prime minister of former princely state of Patiala.

Tehmina Durrani married three times. At seventeen she married Anees Khan. They had one daughter Taniya, and were divorced in 1976. She later married Ghulam Mustafa Khar, a former chief minister and governor of Punjab. Khar, who married five times, and Tehmina Durani had four children. After being abused by Khar for several years, she ended her marriage of fourteen years in divorce. In 2003, Durrani married thrice-elected Chief Minister of Punjab Mian Shehbaz Sharif. Durrani resides in Lahore with her husband, who currently is Prime Minister of Pakistan and a part of the politically prominent Sharif family. In 2015 she founded a foundation named ‘Tehmina Durrani Foundation, and continued its official activities till 2017. Once Tehmina Durrani said she continues the mission of Abdul Sattar Edhi, with whom she had worked for a few years. Tehmina Durrani is author of some books including “A mirror to blind (1996)”, “Blasphemy (1998)” and “Happy things in sorrow times (2013)”.

My Feudal Lord

‘My Feudal Lord’ is an autobiographical novel, published in 1991. It is her own autobiography covering the period she spent with feudal lord Mustafa Khar. The novel depicts the situation of feudal lords in Pakistan, how they suppress and exploit women. The writer holds the mirror to the feudalism and so called feudal lords. It portrays the themes of double standard of our society to women, manipulation, domestic violence against women, concept of feudalism, love of mother, materialistic approach and sensuousness, greed and class system.

The feudal system refers to a socio-economic and political structure where large landowners, known as feudal lords or zamindars, hold significant power and influence over vast agricultural lands. Feudalism is a system in which people are given land and protection by people of higher rank, they work, fight and die for them in return. This system emerged during the British colonial era and persisted in Pakistan after independence in 1947. Whereas these kind of psychopaths, womanizer and cruel feudal lords as Mustafa Khar, owning land and control over suppressed peasants (Haris) have demolished the societal norms and cultural practices. Feudalism has often served as a tool of promoting social inequality rather than maintaining social mobility. A feudal society can never grow, because feudal lords occupy all the revenue generated by peasants (Haris), just providing them food. This creates social inequality, where all the resources are in control of a particular class. As the time turned, feudalism has also changed its shape.

Tehmina Durani, a brilliant writer, lacks in her own personality, as she writes against feudalism, but on the other hand gets divorces and marries feudal lords

At first feudal lords controlled people by land, now they control and exploit them by politics. Due to involvement in politics feudal lords get more power to rule people. They possess all the rights to do anything, there is no law for them. This is the law of jungle – might is right, like the Lion king of jungle, prevails. Same is the case for feudal lords; they are the king of their area; they are all in all and final authority for the people of lower class. Feudalism exploits women by its tradition of jirga system, where feudal lords decide the life and death of women. Tehmina has referred in her book Mustafa Khar who exploited a young girl, Dai Ayesha through jirga system. In feudal society women has no right to live a life of their choice.

Woman the most beautiful creation is here portrayed as mad, greedy, lustful and full of sensuous love, as Tehmina Durrani breaks her first marriage and leaves her four year daughter Tania on her own for the lustful affair with Mustafa Khar. Woman is very complicated creation, when she gets stuck in lust; she does not see the pros and cons and meets her lust. As Eve left Adam, in Shakespeare’s Hamlet queen Gertrude gets murdered her husband by his own brother Claudius. Thousands of examples can be found in books or in the visual world like that. There is no better lover than Woman in the shape of mother but she may leave her infants for sexual desire. On the other hand woman is so brave and powerful, when she fights for her children.

Conclusion

My feudal lord revolves around a prominent politician and a feudal lord, Mustafa Khar and a woman named Tehmina Durrani hailing from a wealthy, ultra-modern family. She wanted to shake society’s foundations by exposing the feudal mindset and how inhumane they are but unfortunately her book lacks honesty. She portrays herself as completely innocent and plays the women card skillfully. But, at the same time she also raises important issues like domestic violence, lawlessness, concept of might is right, exploitation, involvement of external forces, tribalism and feudalism. It’s a grim truth of our society that needs to be addressed. Whereas Tehmina Durrani, a brilliant writer, lacks in her own personality, as she writes against feudalism, but on the other hand gets divorce from Mustafa Khar and again weds a feudal politician Shehbaz Sharif.

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Published under International Cooperation with "Sindh Courier"