Pakistan is a country famous for many corrosions of society. It is also well known for harboring an extremely patriarchal culture. Girls marry young, have babies, are expected to be dutiful wives and remain in purdah. Of course you have pockets of modern people shunning outdated and traditional norms but they are truly a minority. While women do make up a big part of our agricultural sector, they aren’t integrating into the cities and hardly gain entrance into the work force. Wearing a <i>burqa</i> in scorching heat and being expected to remain docile and subservient while melting in a makeshift garbage bag of sweat is not an easy task.
Recently, a story from Pakistan gave me goose bumps, but I could not help but dissect it. A woman named Zainab, took the law into her own hands, knowing fully well the society she relies on will not move a finger. She mustered up the courage and killed her husband, chopped up his body into pieces and then cooked his meat in a huge cauldron of man korma. Murder is in itself an inexplicable act, better left in the hands of the law, if the law is right. To take it a step further and cause a stir amongst psychoanalysts by making a curry out of her husband sounds far-fetched and alien, but truly a matter to take into consideration when studying the plight of Pakistani women.
What are the factors surrounding this story? I did a bit of research and the corrupt morals of the man in the korma burst forth in all their heinous glory. He had molested Zainab’s daughters and took a second wife without seeking Zainab’s permission first. So she cooked him. Literally.
Majority of the women cover up in Pakistan but still fall victim to assault and molestation at the hands of sexually repressed men. There are several stories of women being harassed in broad daylight in central cloth bazaars and markets. This is not limited to the public. I have interviewed over 15 Pakistanis in Toronto who have been attacked or molested by their servants, maulvis, tuition teachers or relatives; mostly stepfathers or uncles. Parents are usually in a state of denial and instead of dealing with the situation maturely by bringing criminals into the light, they close the chapter altogether by severing ties in order to preserve the ‘honour’ and ‘shame' of their daughters or sons who may have undergone the horror of their childhood being turned upside down.
This practice is certainly not restricted to rural areas, it is also prevalent within urban circles. In 2008 a member of the police force, Dr. Zulfiqar Siyal researched and recorded that there were 100 or more women raped in Karachi every 24 hours. Very few come forward to report their experiences out of fear of what would happen to them at the hands of the police, media and the psychotic rapists. Scenes from Seema Biswas’s performance in <i>“Bandit Queen”</i> come to mind. She eventually takes the law into her own hands and shoots her rapists.
Our society is capable of producing child prodigies and geniuses like Sitara Akbar, the youngest girl in the world to have passed all her “O” levels at 11 years of age. She has yet to receive any importance or recognition from the Pakistani government itself even though people across the globe are talking about her.
Our government has managed to pass two of the most important bills supporting women’s rights in Pakistani history and we are yet to see them being implemented with sincerity. Women are becoming bolder, no doubt, especially with the advent of Youtube, Facebook and the Internet in general; now we know more about what’s happening within ignored spectrums of society. Women are getting their messages across and the International spotlight is on Pakistan, more than ever before. People cannot be silenced for long and the momentum is stirring within our bright eyed and hopeful youth. Youth that needs to be raised by educated, loving and peaceful mothers, so that the future generations of Pakistan are successful at spreading the message of love, not hate. Sons and fathers need to be taught that women are not a source of shame but utilitarian, productive and spirited members of society, wanting to give so much and asking for equality, respect and opportunity in return.
When a woman has no one on her side, no one to turn to for justice she is left with no choice but to defend herself, her honour and her children in the only ways she can think of. In Zainab Bibi’s case, men in her neighborhood will probably think twice before committing sexual atrocities within their homes. They wouldn’t want to land up on a plate as the evening dinner.
No comments:
Post a Comment