Tooba Syed

Tooba Syed (Urdu: طوبیٰ سید, May 29, 1991 - ) is a Pakistani feminist, grassroot political organizer and gender researcher. She is the secretary information and publishing of the feminist organization Women Democratic Front^[1] and political worker of the left-wing party Awami Workers Party^[2]. She teaches as faculty of Centre of excellence for Gender Studies in Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan.^[3]

Syed did bachelors in dental surgery, dentistry during 2010 – 2015 from Riphah International University, Islamabad. She practiced dentistry^[4]from 2014-2015and then started public health research and teaching. In 2017, she worked with the Pakistan National Council of the Arts, Ministry of Information as a project officer. She is teaches at Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad as a visiting lecturer of Centre of excellence for Gender Studies.

As a feminist, political worker and organizer, Syed is interested in feminist theory, its practice, issues of women, gender and politics of South Asia. She is a true catalyst for change.^[5]

Syed was involved in grassroot organizing since her college days. Syed occasionally writes in Dawn newspaper about political organizing and issues of politics and gender. She said, “In recent years, political organising has increased manifold in Pakistan, with progressive groups actively moving from politics of activism and resistance to getting organized”.^[6]

As a political worker, she is associated with the Awami Workers Party, a left-wing party since 2013. She became politically active after her first interaction with the AWP in 2012, during a protest organized in solidarity with the missing Baloch people. She joined AWP in 2013 and participated in arranging study circles at Quaid-i-Azam University with her fellow party workers.^[7] During her political struggle with AWP, she organized an anti-eviction housing rights movement in Islamabad’s kachhi abadis^[8]with the All Pakistan Alliance for Katchi Abadis (slums) and did advocacy and policy work too when Capital Development Authority decided to demolish twelve such settlements in the capital. The All-Pakistan Alliance for Katchi Abadis was an attempt to mobilise slum dwellers to stand up for their rights of low-cost housing instead of falling prey to land mafias and political manipulation^[9] Syed, during her political journey has also organized the landless peasants movement and Okara’s women’s resistance movement^[10] Under the banner of AWP, she arranges political schools was to deepen the understanding of methods of organizing progressive political resistance in Pakistan along with social, economic and political structures of inequality and oppression^[11] As a strong believer of progressive politics, she stresses on the role of youths in bringing real democracy in the country by raising their voice against all the ills. She preferred the system of political parties over activism as activists can work independently with no accountability contrary tp political partywhere everyone is accountable.^[12] While joining the anti-war train march to Karachi for their second workers’ congress on October 15-16, 2016, Syed said: “AWP is the political alternative. It stands against all kinds of discrimination, be it class-based, gender-based, or religion based, no war but class war”.^[13]

Syed believes in the importance of feminists working together with the left as it will protect them from threat of right-wing fascism. Syed while working on the history and politics of feminist movements in Pakistan, laments the lack of second generation of leadership of women’s movement after 1980s. She said: “With the recent developments in the feminist movement and politics in the country, I think what it has done for us is open up a space where generations of feminists can come together and learn from each other. There is still a long way to go. Bridges will have to be made to work together for the emancipation of women and people of all genders. One of the reasons why there is such a gap between feminists themselves.” According to Syed, feminist alliances between different organizations is the only way to bridge the gap: “There is a lot that the older generations have to transfer to us in terms of organising and strategy.” “In a country like Pakistan, a strong political movement encompassing and addressing all forms of oppression including class, gender, caste, religion and ethnicity is the only way to go forward. With the older feminists focusing on state and younger feminists shifting the narrative towards the home, I think we have together theorised patriarchy in Pakistan through our varying and evolving positions over time.”^[14] As part of the South Asian feminist network, she also works with South Asian women’s groups such as Sangat and collectives. Syed, supported the metoo movement in Pakistan while describing the incident of Khaisore^[15] she said, “It is an issue of feminism and it should be taken up as such. If #MeToo is about all women then the woman of Khaisore who spoke up should be the face of the movement in the country.”^[16] While describing Sheema Kermani’s Dhamal after attack (Feb, 2017) on shrine of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar, in Sehwan, Syed said, “Women know what violence is, and what it feels like when your freedom is taken away, that’s why they rise up like this.”^[17] Syed, as AWP worker, organized the event on International Women’s Day, 2017 and invited renowned south asian feminist Kamla Bhasin who is also a writer.^[18]

Syed is the secretary information of the socialist-feminist women collective and organization Women Democratic Front^[19]which was founded along with other AWP workers from across country with an aim to involve the working-class women in political struggle and ensure their representation from federal to basic unit levels.^[20] Under the banner of WDF, Syed condemned the recent Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government order of banning media coverage of all events in females’ schools across KP province. She said,: “The achievements of the girls will not be shared on social media and with the public in the name of “protection”, “modesty” and pardah”.^[21]

Syed was among the organizers of Aurat March 2018, which was organized due to widespread structural violence, gender inequality and organized crime against women in Pakistan. The same day Women Democratic Front (WDF), as socialist-feminist organization, was launched.^[22]

Syed, as a WDF member, also organzied the Aurat Azadi March 2019, in Islamabad.^[23]She said about march: “[The march was held to] heal collectively from the wounds inflicted on us by capitalism, patriarchy, militarism, religious fundamentalism and imperialism,”^{[24][25][26][27][28]} Syed said: “It has been particularly interesting to witness bourgeoisie men engage in an entirely selective class critique when it comes to women — an intellectual inconsistency that has never been more transparent. The critique is particularly insincere because it puts the entire burden of working-class representation on the shoulders of middle-class women [activists] instead of having a nuanced debate about concerted efforts to weaken the left [in] the country’s wider political spectrum.”^[29]