Blah Blah from The TeaBreak Team.

Studying for the BSc English exam (Punjab University) has been an amusing experience in itself. Compared with the O and A levels English exams, BSc English exam is highly ludicurous, both in its contents and its approach to the subject. However, in this post i want to share an outline of an essay given in the book “BSc English Simple - Grammar and Composition” by Prof. Zia-ur-Rehman Khan. It is a matter of tragedy that Pakistani students are expected to write essays of such inferior quality, both in language and thought. The title is “Qualities of the Future Wife”, and reflects the androcentrism that people like Freethinker and Alderson Warm-Fork have been blogging about. It presents a woman as an object to be acquired, like an animal to bought for one’s farm. No essay by the title of “Qualities of a Future Husband” is given in the book (and even if it were given, it would only have reflected the male-female, husband-wife stereotypes present in the society.) The essay, it sees a wife as just a bundle of qualities, what about the person herself?

I am copying it word by word from the book, page 283.

1. The Introduction– Every young man thinks seriously of the kind of wife he would like to have.

2. Some qualities of the future wife that a man should have in mind:

a) Faithfulness. In any case, she should prove faithful to her husband, in all possible ways.

b) Noble character is another main requirement.

c) Good habits

d) Education - She should be as much educated as possible.

e) Good appearance. If possible, she should be attractive.

3. It is very difficult to find a young woman having all the above qualities. One should look for a woman who has as many good qualities as possible.

4. A good husband can cause his wife to acquire some noble qualities after marriage.

5. The conclusion - It is the greatest blessing for a man to get a wife having the qualities he likes dearly.

This cup of tea was served by: A Myth in Creation: Awais Aftab’s Blog