I wrote a poem some time ago, first stanza read:
She had to feed her kids at home
She could not move in streets alone;
Oh not in fear of US drones
Her pride was robbed by her own
The land of Pure – She was not sure! (Read entire poem with Video)
Today was International Women’s Rights day, I did not seem to get the inspiration to write and think (I mostly write without thinking, read: LOL) but just when I about to hit the sack, this amazing inspiration knocked the door of my conscience.
CURRENTLY THE CHARGE FOR MINISTER OF WOMEN DEVELOPMENT IS VACANT. (Click the link to view for yourself)
The status of women in Pakistan continues to fluctuate considerably across different classes, regions, and the rural/urban divide due to uneven socioeconomic development and the impact of tribal, feudal, and urban social customs on women’s lives. While some women are soaring in the skies as pilots of fighter planes, others are being buried alive for defying tribal traditions.
When Taliban took over Swat, they enforced a complete ban on female education in the Swat district. Some 400 private schools enrolling 40,000 girls have been shut down. At least 10 girls’ schools that tried to open after the January 15, 2009 deadline by the Taliban were blown up by the militants in the town of Mingora.
According to Dawn newspaper, the 2008 report of violence against women in Pakistan makes horrific reading. In that year alone, 7,733 cases of violence against women were reported in the media. What is shocking is the large number of women who lost their lives in this period — 1,516 were murdered while 472 were killed for reasons of ‘honor’.
Women cannot even walk safe in the streets of land of pure. Whenever they are out shopping, the local poondi-baaz crowd would harass them, when they are out for work, they are subjected to stalking, when they drive, ambitious men trying to act cool would come in front of their cars, taxis, rickshaws, pass below the belt comments, sometimes even embarrass them as they are with their family or friends. These things I have seen personally happening in the streets of Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Quetta, Peshawar, Risalpur, Sargodha, Chakwal and Interior Sindh – as I grew up in these cities. I have also lived abroad and quite honestly, I did not witness such ignorance outside Pakistan. Maybe it is also present outside, but not at a level where we, Pakistani men take it in our land of pure.
Respect women, please. Your personal frustrations should not spoil the image of the entire nation. Many foreigner friends who travel to Pakistan, some of them renowned journalists call me up the second day saying I need a Pistol (this has happened twice), because apparently some Pakistani men crossed the limits of Poondi and tried doing things they should have been in jail for.
Point being made here, we are a developing society. We, by no means have the necessary education and technological advancement to have an enlightened society, but some things are taught at home and do not require traditional education. We, the Pakistani men, must learn to respect women on the streets of Pakistan.
This might be a minor issue for some of us, but I really feel embarrassed and sad when I see the Shaheens of Iqbal, harassing women on the streets.
It is a taboo in our society, especially for a woman, to raise voice against injustice. Many rape cases go un-noticed due to the traditional reservations associated with the female sex. Minor girls are raped and thrown in gutters, women are raped by abduction from roads. Incidents of Mukhtaran Mai, Dr. Shazia, Shazia Masih, Zareena Marri, Daewoo Hostess and others are just the tip of the ice-berg.
Dr. Shazia
We need to educate Pakistani women, we need to respect woman-hood, for it is Paradise.
“The sight of God in a woman is most perfect of all “ – Ibn Arabi
I also end to agree with Napoleon when he said:
‘Give me good mothers and I will give you a good nation’
Syed Ali Abbas Zaidi's Blog 