Where Pakistani Women Stand In Society, Even In 2020

Today, I choose to talk about rape.

Rape is treated with public beheadings, hanging the culprits or a death sentence in Muslim and non-Muslim countries all across the world, but we see very little implementation in Pakistan. Sure, a few culprits were hanged and justice prevailed for a while, but news makes rounds again, after a while, about females dying left, right and center: the evil hasn’t died, it managed to survive. WHY? Because of the inconsistency of this law’s implementation.

In January 2018, Zainab Amin, 7 years of age, an innocent child, was raped and killed in Kasur. Her body was later found in the trash.

Before her, 12 other child rape cases had been reported. Two years later, Hooz Noor, another minor of the same age, is kidnapped and murdered in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Noor, Asma, Farishta, Asifa and so many have gone this way, all because of the evil sinnings of men who go unharmed, and are able to carry out these heinous crimes easily.

Female activists marched all across the country in the ‘Aurat March’, and were met with hate speech, death threats and resilience due to the placards and witty slogans they held in their hands. The posters stating ‘my body, my consent’ were met with lewd remarks and memes by men. Moreover, a provincial assembly even passed a resolution stating that the slogans asking for women’s rights was ‘propagating vulgarity and western values’, something they think women of Pakistan need to shun.

So I ask the people who want to shut down ‘feminism’ and women marches in Pakistan: who is going to stand up for the women who are victims of:

• Mental and physical abuse?
• Domestic Violence?
• Roadside kidnappings?
• Rape and Murder?
• Honor Killing?
• Human Trafficking?
• Marital Rape and Gang Rapes?
• Work place harassment?
• Street Harassment, Groping and Cat-calling?
• Acid Attacks?

It is, however, sad that even in 2020, as new opportunities arise for women world over and they have finally started enjoying their place in a society, Pakistani women are still fighting for their basic rights to be deemed human. They are still fighting the same social evils that existed 40 years ago, and they are still waiting for justice to be served.

As long as we keep our eyes shut to other people’s daughters, wives and mothers, we are not going to bring any change to the situation. We are immune to hearing stories about women being raped, murdered and burnt around us, as long as they are not our own. That, in itself, is the biggest tragedy of a nation.

Farewell to all the murdered, innocent victims that have left us; till we start raising a voice against rape, kidnappings and murders we won’t be able to change the situation.

I apologize, from the bottom of my heart, to the fathers, mothers, brothers, sons, daughters and husbands that were unable to seek justice for their beloveds.

Every day I step out of the house and I know: I am my own savior. Nothing and no one will be protecting me today, and I am on my own.