Let women live

As a society, it is crucial to publicly discuss the importance women’s right to have ownership of their life choice

In this country, women’s bodies are treated as a playground for acts of abuse and violence. In a recent incident of barbarity, an 18-year-old woman from Naushahro Feroze district of Sindh was set on fire, with more than 60 per cent of her body being burnt as a result. The accused threw kerosene at the teenager before setting her body on fire because she refused to marry him. The reason for the attack, however, is irrelevant because there is no way to justify or explain the atrocity. Violence against women and harassment is so widespread in Pakistan — from incidents of acid attacks to sexual abuse and honour killings — that it is rare to find women who have never experienced any gender-based harassment or abuse in their lives. The rampant nature of such crimes only points to the general state of lawlessness where perpetrators suffer few consequences, if any. It also shows how women’s bodies are seen as the property of another, owned more by those around her than the individual herself. They are often not even seen as individuals, but identified as a man’s mother, sister or daughter.

What is very important to discuss with respect to this particular incident is the lack of understanding that people have regarding a woman’s consent. The idea and understanding of consent seems to be missing in our society, with oppressive sayings like a woman’s silence being a sign of affirmation or worse, that a woman’s ‘no’ is actually a ‘yes’, often repeated unthinkingly. As a society, it is crucial for us to publicly discuss and create awareness regarding the importance of consent and women’s right to have complete ownership of their bodies and life choice. These matters are usually left to human rights defenders, but the general public must be made more aware of these issues. It is also imperative that the prevalence of such violence does not desensitise us. Only because we are used to poor treatment of women is no reason for not fighting for the rights of nearly half of the country’s population.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 29^th,  2015.

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