Diya - a Hero's Daughter

Text & Photos by Fauzia Minallah

Diya with her father Pervez Masih's photograph

Diya 3 and her mother Shaheen

Diya is only three, she is lost and has many questions about her father Pervez Masih. Pervez was a janitor at the International Islamic University. On the fateful day when IIU was attacked by suicide bombers, he was the hero who stopped the terrorist from entering the cafeteria for female students. Pervez lost his life, while saving the lives of more than 300 students.
He will always be remembered as a true hero by us. Diya will always be known as a hero’s daughter by us.


The Minister of Interior, Mr. Rehman Malik, publicly announced that his family will receive a compensation of approximately $10,000. According to his widow Shaheen and sister Perveen, so far, the family has not been contacted by anyone from his office. The IIU administration helped the family with Rs. 10.000 for the burial costs, employed his widow Shaheen as a sanitary worker and promised to help with Diya’s education. Other than that there has not been any help from anyone for Pervez’s family. The only person who has helped this hero’s family so far is a young student of Behria University, Maham Ali. She motivated her friends to donate funds for Pervez's family. She collected Rs. 52,500 and bought toys and clothes for Diya.

Maham and Diya.

We might be going through tough times, but even in this darkness there is hope. And for me that hope is in young people like Maham. She was our pillar of support by collecting funds for our effort in helping the internally displaced Pakistanis.

As a society we need to recognize our heroes, we need to rise above our prejudices and name streets, buildings and squares after Pervez Masih. So what if he was a poor Christian sanitary worker, he saved the lives of 300 Muslim students. Shaheen is happy that the IIU administration have employed her, but we should ask ourselves, is it fiiting for a hero's wife to remain at the bottom of the social ladder? Doing the most menial job?

At least on November 16th on the 'International Day of Tolerance', Maham was there to cheer up Diya- a hero's daughter.

Here is a CNN story on Pervez Masih:
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/11/11/pakistan.hero/

Some letters to the editor in The News.

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

This is in response to the couple of letters (November 23) published as a follow-up on Maham Ali's letter of November 20. The letters have made allegations on Maham and Islamabad's civil society which are patently untrue. Maham has single-handedly raised over Rs50,000 for the family of Pervaiz Masih. Details of her work can be seen here (http://funkorchildart.blogspot. com/2009/11/diya-and-maham.html). In addition Islamabad's civil society, particularly Fauzia Minallah and Ghazala Minallah, has been actively helping people affected by Taliban atrocities. The writers of the aforementioned letters should have double-checked their facts before pointing accusatory fingers.Samad KhurramHarvard University,Cambridge, US

*****

This is with respect to the letters by Umayr Sahlan Masud and K Hussan Zia (November 23) in response to Maham Ali's letter on Pervaiz Masih (November 20). Maham had lamented the fact that the government has yet to come forward with any assistance for the family of Pervaiz Masih and any serious acknowledgement of his sacrifice in saving the lives of about 300 students at the Islamic University bombing. Instead of acknowledging her point, Umayr Sahlan Masud and K Hussan Zia have criticised Maham for being critical of the government and have asked why she herself did not start a fund for Pervaiz Masih's family by asking her fellow students for donations. I just want to set the record straight by pointing out that Maham has in fact been doing just that, and she has already collected over Rs50,000. So the criticism directed at her is rather unfair.

Aqil Sajjad . Boston

UPDATE ON DONATIONS GIVEN TO PERVEZ MASIH'S FAMILY

RS: 52,500 GIVEN BY MAHAM ALI AND HER FRIENDS

RS: 70,000 BY A DONOR WHO WISHES TO REMAIN ANONYMOUS, WHICH WAS GIVEN AS A RS.56,000 CHEQUE TO THE WIDOW AND RS.14,000 CHEQUE TO THE MOTHER OF PERVEZ MASIH

ANYONE WHO WISHES TO DONATE DIRECTLY: WIDOW SHAHEEN 0301 535 5933 MOTHER 0344 522 7253