Recent justice hashtags on Twitter have traumatized and jolted the entire Pakistani nation. These physical abuse cases make the women utterly gutted. These acts of bloodthirsty femicide are at a surge due to the flawed judicial system of Pakistan, where the probability of getting justice is nearly zero. Be it Noor Mukaddam, Qurat-ul-Ain, or Naseem Bibi, the rising misogyny in Pakistan has left all of us terror-stricken. However, the question is, till when would women be victim-blamed? Will the injustice in this state continue to devastate women’s life? Will evil men ever stop physical abuse due to lack of consequences? Well, there are thousands of questions I can put in front of you but unfortunately, no one’s ready to confront them.
Misogyny in Pakistan | Unwrapping the box of truth!
Gender-based violence in Pakistan is a suppressed topic about which no one’s allowed to talk. Fortunately, the media has performed well in breaking the stereotypes and has highlighted many social issues we need to work on. Among them, “Domestic and Gender-based violence in Pakistan” was the most important and common issue.
A Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey, 2017-18, explained that 40% of men in the country consider it right to beat their wives under specific situations. At the same time, 40% of women agree with that. This situation could be going out without taking permission, messing up with the food, and sometimes being unable to take care of children. Unfortunately, one out of four women in Pakistan has gone through domestic violence. Around one-third of the women in marriage face spousal violence. Moreover, approximately 26% of them experience injuries such as bruises. The dejected part is, none of them would have ever sought help! Family seals their mouth with a label of honor that ends up being the cause of their death in quite a few cases.
The point to consider is that most of such cases go unreported. If we consider all such cases, then where will the tally reach? It’s horrible to think about it. Being the sixth most unsafe country for women, the judicial system can do all despite providing the victims with justice.
“Pakistan ranks as the sixth most dangerous country in the world for women, with cases of sexual crimes and domestic violence recording a rapid rise. Activists blame society’s patriarchal attitudes for the problem”.
“Deutsche Welle”
According to the News, 83 women were killed in the name of honor in Lahore between January and November 2020. Whereas in Sindh province, media reported the honor killing of 210 females between 2014 and 2019. Back in 2019, “Women, Peace and Security Index” ranked Pakistan 164 out of 167 countries.
Victim-Blaming | an escape?
A few months ago, the Lahore Motorway incident took place. The victim was physically abused in front of her children, and still, people have the audacity to question her for traveling at night. Victim-blaming is the easiest approach for a patriarchal society where no one recognizes crime. Similarly, in any case of physical abuse, victim-blaming is an escape to law. Recently, five men gang-raped a goat in Okara. What did the innocent animal do to provoke men? Can somebody blame his appearance? This now goes farther than misogyny in Pakistan. Now at this point, if we don’t stop it, then we definitely fail as a nation.
Sadly, it’s not only about women. Even children aren’t safe from such predators. Men raped a six-year-old girl, Maham, in Korangi, Karachi. Can anybody blame her for what she was doing at that time? Actually, no one can because victim-blaming is totally senseless. What’s wrong can only be corrected by the consequences of such cases that would refrain the culprits from attempting such disgusting acts.
A day ago, Twitter was flooded with two hashtags debate, “Not all men” and “Yes all men.” Well, the fact is everyone knows that all stories have two sides; not all men are the same. In contrast, the matter of concern is “Women don’t know which men,” which indirectly shifts the pulley on the “Yes all men” side. The fact is only “Serving Justice” can now help to stop femicide. Surely, some women are happy in their lives, but there are also females dying every day as victims of men’s frustration. Changing perspective can help a lot. Just try it once, it really works.
The official religion of Pakistan, “Islam,” teaches to respect women and allows them to fulfill the same roles as that men. The fault lies in the mentality of our system. Government must address the social failures, including domestic and physical abuse in Pakistan. If we refrain from talking about such issues then the darkness will surely kill the light in Pakistan.
What #JusticeforNoor means? Who is Noor Mukaddam? Who slaughtered her? Read all about it!
