اردو | Urdu
کچھ سال پہلے، میں نے ایک ایسا کردار ادا کیا تھا جو سن ۱۹۱۱ میں مین ہیٹن، نیویارک کے ٹرائینگل شرٹ ویسٹ فیکٹری کی آگ میں جان بحق ہو گئی تھی۔ اپنے اس کردار کی تیاری کے لیے، میری پروڈکشن ٹیم اور میں نے، عورتوں کے حقوق—جیسے کہ ان کی محنت، معاشرتی اہمیت، تعلیم، اور سیاسی انتخابات میں ووٹ دینے کا حق—کے حوالے سے تفصیلی گفتگو کی۔ یہ گفتگو ان گزرے ہوئے واقعات کو سمجھنے کے لیے ضروری ہیں، جو آج بھی ہماری دنیا کو ترتیب دیتے ہیں اور انہیں سمجھنے کا انداز طے کرتے ہیں۔ جب میری عمر ۲۷ سال تھی، تب مجھے پہلی بار اُس تحریک کا پتہ چال جو اٹھارہویں صدی سے انیسویں صدی تک چلتی ٹھی تھیں۔ رہی—ایک ایسی تحریک جہاں دنیا بھر کی عورتیں اپنا پیدائشی حق—ووٹ دینے کا—حاصل کرنے کے لیے اُ کسی نے مشکل راہوں کے باوجود کامیابی دیکھی، تو کسی نے صرف کوشش۔ جو جیت گئیں، انہوں نے مستقبل کے لیے بنیاد مضبوط کی۔ جو نہیں جیت سکیں، اُن کا سفر اب بھی جاری ہے—اُمید اور ضد کے ساتھ۔ آخر جیت ہمیشہ کچھوے کی ہوتی ہے، نہ کہ خرگوش کی۔ پ منظر میں سمجھ آتی ہے۔ پہلے مجھے س ِس میں یہ سب اس لیے کہہ رہی ہوں کیونکہ آرمین کی کہانی اسی
ا کے بارے میں کچھ ُ نہیں پتا تھا—جب تک پرزیسٹنس تھیئٹر کمپنی نے یہ پراجیکٹ نہیں بنایا۔ نام دیکھ کر سوچا، کیا وہ آرمینیائی تھی؟ یا 'امین' نام سے کوئی تعلق؟ پھر سوچا: اگر وہ یہاں نیوفاؤنڈلینڈ میں کارکن تھی، تو میرے ۱۷سال یہاں گزارنے کے باوجود میں نے اُس کا نام کیوں نہیں سنا؟ کیا وہ اتنی اہم نہیں تھی؟ یا لوگ بھول گئے؟ جب تحقیقات کی، تو اُس کی زندگی کے اتار چڑھاؤ سمجھ آئے—کچھ کاموں کی قدر کی، کچھ پر سوچنے پر مجبور ہوئی۔ شروع میں مجھے آرمین کے والد کے لیے افسوس ہوا۔ میں نے سوچا کہ ایسے کون سے حاالت تھے جو انہیں نشے کا عادی بنانے کا سبب بنے—اور اس کا اثر ان کے خاندان پر بھی پڑا ہوگا۔ یہ بھی سوچا کہ اٹھارہویں صدی میں شراب کی قیمت کیا تھی، اور انہیں س
ا نشے تک پہنچنے کے لیے کیا کچھ کرنا پڑا ہوگا۔ ُ اور پھر یہ تصور کیا کہ آرمین جیسی لڑکی کی زندگی کیسی رہی ہوگی، جسے معاشرہ صرف ایک معمولی سا رومال کی طرح دیکھتا ہو۔
نوکری مل گئی۔ آج بھی یہ آسان نہیں ہے، تو
مجھے اچھا لگا کہ آرمین نے مشکالت کے باوجود تعلیم حاصل کی، اور پھر فوراً ا وقت تو اور بھی مشکل رہا ہوگا۔ ُس پھر بھی، وہ نیوفاؤنڈلینڈ آ گئی—ایک مہاجر کے طور پر۔ کبھی کبھی سوچتی ہوں، اگر میں اُس دور میں ہوتی، تو کیا مجھے بھی وہی حقوق ملتے؟ وہ بھی ایک نمایاں اقلیت کے طور پر؟ پتہ نہیں۔ میں نے سوچا کہ آرمین کی ایک خوش نصیبی یہ بھی تھی کہ اُس کی شادی ایک صاح ِب حیثیت شخص سے ہوئی۔ ا کا نیا مقام س ُس
ا کی سوچ اور مقاصد کو آگے بڑھانے میں مددگار رہا، کیونکہ سے ُ
ا کام کرنے کی ضرورت درپیش نہیں آئی۔ ُ
ایسے راستے س
ا وقت ہر عورت کے لیے ممکن نہیں تھے۔ ُ
یہ بات مجھے اکثر سوچنے پر مجبور کرتی ہے کہ معاشرے کی تحریکیں اکثر کس طبقے میں پیدا ہوتی ہیں۔ مجھے سب سے زیادہ حیرت ووٹ دینے کی عمر میں مردوں اور عورتوں کے فرق پر ہوئی۔ سوچا، اگر نظام خود بیکار تھا، تو اسے کیوں نہ توڑ کر نئی شروعات کی جائے؟ یہ انقالب صرف عورتوں کے حقوق کے لیے نہیں، بلکہ مارکسی نظریے سے بھی لڑا جا سکتا تھا۔ میں یہ بھی سوچتی ہوں کہ اُس وقت نیوفاؤنڈلینڈ کے نمایاں اقلیت جیسے کہ حبشی، ایشین، اور مقامی باشندے، کیا ووٹ کا حق رکھتے تھے؟ کیا اُن کو پورا حق مال؟
ابھی ان سوالوں کے جواب نہیں ہیں، مگر یہ تفویض میری سوچ کا نیا حصہ بنا ہے۔ وقت کے ساتھ میں اسے بڑی تحریک سے جوڑوں گی جو آرمین کے دور سے چل رہی ہے۔ آرمین کے کام کو سمجھنا ایک دروازہ ہے جہاں سے ذاتی اور عوامی تحریکیں ملتی ہیں۔ جتنی زیادہ بات چیت ہوگی، اتنی بہترین اور انصاِفی دنیا بنے گی۔
ا کے بارے میں کچھ ُ نہیں پتا تھا—جب تک پرزیسٹنس تھیئٹر کمپنی نے یہ پراجیکٹ نہیں بنایا۔ نام دیکھ کر سوچا، کیا وہ آرمینیائی تھی؟ یا 'امین' نام سے کوئی تعلق؟ پھر سوچا: اگر وہ یہاں نیوفاؤنڈلینڈ میں کارکن تھی، تو میرے ۱۷سال یہاں گزارنے کے باوجود میں نے اُس کا نام کیوں نہیں سنا؟ کیا وہ اتنی اہم نہیں تھی؟ یا لوگ بھول گئے؟ جب تحقیقات کی، تو اُس کی زندگی کے اتار چڑھاؤ سمجھ آئے—کچھ کاموں کی قدر کی، کچھ پر سوچنے پر مجبور ہوئی۔ شروع میں مجھے آرمین کے والد کے لیے افسوس ہوا۔ میں نے سوچا کہ ایسے کون سے حاالت تھے جو انہیں نشے کا عادی بنانے کا سبب بنے—اور اس کا اثر ان کے خاندان پر بھی پڑا ہوگا۔ یہ بھی سوچا کہ اٹھارہویں صدی میں شراب کی قیمت کیا تھی، اور انہیں س
ا نشے تک پہنچنے کے لیے کیا کچھ کرنا پڑا ہوگا۔ ُ اور پھر یہ تصور کیا کہ آرمین جیسی لڑکی کی زندگی کیسی رہی ہوگی، جسے معاشرہ صرف ایک معمولی سا رومال کی طرح دیکھتا ہو۔
نوکری مل گئی۔ آج بھی یہ آسان نہیں ہے، تو
مجھے اچھا لگا کہ آرمین نے مشکالت کے باوجود تعلیم حاصل کی، اور پھر فوراً ا وقت تو اور بھی مشکل رہا ہوگا۔ ُس پھر بھی، وہ نیوفاؤنڈلینڈ آ گئی—ایک مہاجر کے طور پر۔ کبھی کبھی سوچتی ہوں، اگر میں اُس دور میں ہوتی، تو کیا مجھے بھی وہی حقوق ملتے؟ وہ بھی ایک نمایاں اقلیت کے طور پر؟ پتہ نہیں۔ میں نے سوچا کہ آرمین کی ایک خوش نصیبی یہ بھی تھی کہ اُس کی شادی ایک صاح ِب حیثیت شخص سے ہوئی۔ ا کا نیا مقام س ُس
ا کی سوچ اور مقاصد کو آگے بڑھانے میں مددگار رہا، کیونکہ سے ُ
ا کام کرنے کی ضرورت درپیش نہیں آئی۔ ُ
ایسے راستے س
ا وقت ہر عورت کے لیے ممکن نہیں تھے۔ ُ
یہ بات مجھے اکثر سوچنے پر مجبور کرتی ہے کہ معاشرے کی تحریکیں اکثر کس طبقے میں پیدا ہوتی ہیں۔ مجھے سب سے زیادہ حیرت ووٹ دینے کی عمر میں مردوں اور عورتوں کے فرق پر ہوئی۔ سوچا، اگر نظام خود بیکار تھا، تو اسے کیوں نہ توڑ کر نئی شروعات کی جائے؟ یہ انقالب صرف عورتوں کے حقوق کے لیے نہیں، بلکہ مارکسی نظریے سے بھی لڑا جا سکتا تھا۔ میں یہ بھی سوچتی ہوں کہ اُس وقت نیوفاؤنڈلینڈ کے نمایاں اقلیت جیسے کہ حبشی، ایشین، اور مقامی باشندے، کیا ووٹ کا حق رکھتے تھے؟ کیا اُن کو پورا حق مال؟
ابھی ان سوالوں کے جواب نہیں ہیں، مگر یہ تفویض میری سوچ کا نیا حصہ بنا ہے۔ وقت کے ساتھ میں اسے بڑی تحریک سے جوڑوں گی جو آرمین کے دور سے چل رہی ہے۔ آرمین کے کام کو سمجھنا ایک دروازہ ہے جہاں سے ذاتی اور عوامی تحریکیں ملتی ہیں۔ جتنی زیادہ بات چیت ہوگی، اتنی بہترین اور انصاِفی دنیا بنے گی۔
Some years ago, I played a character who perished in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in 1911, Manhattan.
To prepare for our roles, my production team and I extensively talked about women’s rights with regard to their labor, social value, education, and suffrage i.e. right to vote in political elections.
These conversations were important to contextualize events of the past that continue to shape and inform our worlds today.
It was then, at age 27, that I first learned about this movement that was scattered across several decades from the 1800s to the 1900s.
It was a movement where women across the globe stood up to reclaim their inherent right to vote about decisions that affected them from the ground up.
Many tasted success, albeit struggle and resistance, and many did not.
For those that did, foundations for greater things and better rights were hammered into the ground.
For those that didn’t, the fight still persists to this day, with hope and stubbornness, because even when it seems impossible, it is the turtle and not the hare that wins the race.
I say all of this because this is the context in which I place Armine’s story.
To begin with, I didn’t know anything about her until Persistence Theatre Company designed this particular project.
At first, I remember trying to figure out the roots of her name.
Was she Armenian?
Did it have any connection to the Arabic masculine name ‘Amin’?
Once I got past her name, I asked myself: why don’t I know anything about her?
Given that she lived in Newfoundland and was a well-known activist here, why did she never come up in any conversation during my 17 years on the island?
Why wasn’t a building, or a library named after her?
Was she not that important?
Or was she important only until people’s amnesia kicked in?
I don’t have exact explanations for any of these questions, but these were the first thoughts that came to my mind when I first thought of Armine’s legacy.
It was when I researched for this project that I found out about the trajectory of her life.
I appreciated some of her achievements, and questioned a few others too.
For starters, I couldn’t help but feel empathetic toward her father because I tried to imagine what all went wrong in his environment that led to his addiction problems.
Because of course, whatever the influence was, affected his family as well.
I tried to guess what the cost of alcohol was back in the 1800s, what Armine’s father had to do, or not do, in order to buy enough quantities to become dependent on it.
I tried to imagine what her parents’ relationship to each other was, and what everyday life would have looked like for a girl whose society would have deemed her as valuable as a handkerchief: contained, limited, and reusable at most.
I appreciated Armine pursuing her education against all odds, and thought how fortunate she was to receive a job offer soon after completing her studies.
It isn’t easy now, and certainly wouldn’t have been easy then.
But still, she jumped on a ship and sailed to Newfoundland as a newcomer. As an immigrant.
Hey, I wonder! Would I have had the same rights as her, whatever they were, had I come to Newfoundland as an immigrant then too? That too as a visible minority?
I wonder about that.
I also reflected on Armine’s blessings, one of which was to become a wife of a well-to-do person of privileged background.
It’s evident that her new social status must have played a significant role in furthering her aspirations, because she didn’t need to work anymore.
This would not have been the case for many women of her time who couldn’t afford such a pathway.
This is something that I think about when I investigate how social movements begin and from which pockets of society.
What did surprise me was the discrepancy in the voting ages given to men and women.
It made me wonder: when the system that she and thousands of women lived in, was not working, why not smash the system itself, and start from scratch.
A revolution that didn’t just fight for women’s rights, but fought for it with a Marxist lens (which was emerging across the western hemispheres at the time).
While it is commendable that many nameless individuals persevered alongside Armine in the struggle for the reclamation of human rights, I wonder what the conversations may have been for any visible minorities who would have been in Newfoundland at the time.
For instance, the black people, the Asians, the Chinese, the Indigenous, and more.
Was the movement for the right to vote for them too?
Was it conditional in any way?
If the right applied to them, did they get to exercise it with full freedom?
I realize that at this time, I do not have the answers to most of my own questions, but this assignment has opened a new folder in my mind, titled “Investigation: to be continued” because I know that with time, and with more bits of information here and there, I’ll be able to connect it to the larger cause that was evolving around the world in Armine’s time, and is still evolving around the world in my time.
But my one take away from all of this, is that bringing awareness to Armine’s body of work is just one door in a bazaar full of movements: some personal, some public.
The more the public becomes aware of the personal, and vice versa, the more conversations all residents of NL can have with each other so that we can imagine better worlds and better dreams in which all are weighed equitably---and most importantly: more compassionately.
To prepare for our roles, my production team and I extensively talked about women’s rights with regard to their labor, social value, education, and suffrage i.e. right to vote in political elections.
These conversations were important to contextualize events of the past that continue to shape and inform our worlds today.
It was then, at age 27, that I first learned about this movement that was scattered across several decades from the 1800s to the 1900s.
It was a movement where women across the globe stood up to reclaim their inherent right to vote about decisions that affected them from the ground up.
Many tasted success, albeit struggle and resistance, and many did not.
For those that did, foundations for greater things and better rights were hammered into the ground.
For those that didn’t, the fight still persists to this day, with hope and stubbornness, because even when it seems impossible, it is the turtle and not the hare that wins the race.
I say all of this because this is the context in which I place Armine’s story.
To begin with, I didn’t know anything about her until Persistence Theatre Company designed this particular project.
At first, I remember trying to figure out the roots of her name.
Was she Armenian?
Did it have any connection to the Arabic masculine name ‘Amin’?
Once I got past her name, I asked myself: why don’t I know anything about her?
Given that she lived in Newfoundland and was a well-known activist here, why did she never come up in any conversation during my 17 years on the island?
Why wasn’t a building, or a library named after her?
Was she not that important?
Or was she important only until people’s amnesia kicked in?
I don’t have exact explanations for any of these questions, but these were the first thoughts that came to my mind when I first thought of Armine’s legacy.
It was when I researched for this project that I found out about the trajectory of her life.
I appreciated some of her achievements, and questioned a few others too.
For starters, I couldn’t help but feel empathetic toward her father because I tried to imagine what all went wrong in his environment that led to his addiction problems.
Because of course, whatever the influence was, affected his family as well.
I tried to guess what the cost of alcohol was back in the 1800s, what Armine’s father had to do, or not do, in order to buy enough quantities to become dependent on it.
I tried to imagine what her parents’ relationship to each other was, and what everyday life would have looked like for a girl whose society would have deemed her as valuable as a handkerchief: contained, limited, and reusable at most.
I appreciated Armine pursuing her education against all odds, and thought how fortunate she was to receive a job offer soon after completing her studies.
It isn’t easy now, and certainly wouldn’t have been easy then.
But still, she jumped on a ship and sailed to Newfoundland as a newcomer. As an immigrant.
Hey, I wonder! Would I have had the same rights as her, whatever they were, had I come to Newfoundland as an immigrant then too? That too as a visible minority?
I wonder about that.
I also reflected on Armine’s blessings, one of which was to become a wife of a well-to-do person of privileged background.
It’s evident that her new social status must have played a significant role in furthering her aspirations, because she didn’t need to work anymore.
This would not have been the case for many women of her time who couldn’t afford such a pathway.
This is something that I think about when I investigate how social movements begin and from which pockets of society.
What did surprise me was the discrepancy in the voting ages given to men and women.
It made me wonder: when the system that she and thousands of women lived in, was not working, why not smash the system itself, and start from scratch.
A revolution that didn’t just fight for women’s rights, but fought for it with a Marxist lens (which was emerging across the western hemispheres at the time).
While it is commendable that many nameless individuals persevered alongside Armine in the struggle for the reclamation of human rights, I wonder what the conversations may have been for any visible minorities who would have been in Newfoundland at the time.
For instance, the black people, the Asians, the Chinese, the Indigenous, and more.
Was the movement for the right to vote for them too?
Was it conditional in any way?
If the right applied to them, did they get to exercise it with full freedom?
I realize that at this time, I do not have the answers to most of my own questions, but this assignment has opened a new folder in my mind, titled “Investigation: to be continued” because I know that with time, and with more bits of information here and there, I’ll be able to connect it to the larger cause that was evolving around the world in Armine’s time, and is still evolving around the world in my time.
But my one take away from all of this, is that bringing awareness to Armine’s body of work is just one door in a bazaar full of movements: some personal, some public.
The more the public becomes aware of the personal, and vice versa, the more conversations all residents of NL can have with each other so that we can imagine better worlds and better dreams in which all are weighed equitably---and most importantly: more compassionately.
Nabila Qureshi (she/her)
Nabila Qureshi is a seeker of knowledge that transcends geographical and temporal boundaries to unify humanity. In the arts, she rejoices in stories, mediums, and discussions that foster critical exploration, deep self reflection, and earnest expression.
She is currently writing a children’s play with her husband Abdullah Omar Saif, for Shakespeare by the Sea Festival. Recently, they were writers in residence at PARC’s 2025 Annual Playwrights Retreat in Sackville, New Brunswick.
Nabila’s latest theatre/play project was NewfoundLanded with TODOS Productions & White Rooster Theatre. She participated in the project as a co-playwright, assistant director, and actor under the artistic mentorship of Santiago Guzmán.
Since 2016, she has participated in several staged readings of plays in development, and has acted in White Rooster Theatre’s 2019 play Remnants, directed by Ruth Lawrence and written by Jenna Turk.
Nabila Qureshi is a seeker of knowledge that transcends geographical and temporal boundaries to unify humanity. In the arts, she rejoices in stories, mediums, and discussions that foster critical exploration, deep self reflection, and earnest expression.
She is currently writing a children’s play with her husband Abdullah Omar Saif, for Shakespeare by the Sea Festival. Recently, they were writers in residence at PARC’s 2025 Annual Playwrights Retreat in Sackville, New Brunswick.
Nabila’s latest theatre/play project was NewfoundLanded with TODOS Productions & White Rooster Theatre. She participated in the project as a co-playwright, assistant director, and actor under the artistic mentorship of Santiago Guzmán.
Since 2016, she has participated in several staged readings of plays in development, and has acted in White Rooster Theatre’s 2019 play Remnants, directed by Ruth Lawrence and written by Jenna Turk.
