Deep misogyny on full display

When I was growing up, I was taught that the sources of all ills are zarr, zameen aur zann (money, land and women)

If Ben Franklin was alive today, and had he visited Pakistan, he would not have said that the two certain things in life are death and taxes. Death, certainly, but taxes not so much. Instead, what he would have found was that the only thing certain was the unequivocal and exclusive blame on women for all marital troubles. Yes, I am talking about the Imran-Reham divorce.

Whether the lives of politicians and public figures are public or private is a separate discussion, with some strong arguments on both sides. The really disturbing part of the conversation, in the aftermath of this unfortunate situation, is the deep and ugly misogyny that has been on full display. It is hard to find any incident, where women are a party, and not find them having to take the entire blame for the situation. From the character assassination of Reham Khan to the assertion by senior party activists that women will now start voting for Imran and his party again, we are once again flaunting our deeply rooted and vile moral decay. Some analysts have commented that the “real reason” for the break-up was Imran’s sisters! Not at all difficult these days to become an analyst. The formula for analysis has become too obvious. Find a woman, ideally the wife, to blame for all problems, political and personal. If you feel like getting on a slightly higher moral ground, there are plenty of other woman targets. Just make sure that the man is the victim and his intentions and decisions do not get questioned. Even better if you make the man a victim of vicious female conspiracy and compare him to Jinnah, Gandhi and Mandela.

The problem of misogyny is not limited to die-hard party workers or the supposed analysts, but is reflected even among those who are tasked to engage our intellect. In a recent conversation with a university professor in Pakistan, I was told that girls should not pursue higher education in certain disciplines, as they are fundamentally unqualified to study them. His list included a number of areas of engineering and the sciences. They are hard and require math, which is fundamentally hard for women, I was told. This despite girls outperforming boys in nearly every test at every educational level. No argument was provided, except for deeply rooted cultural biases. There is no surprise when we look at our universities, including medical universities, where the number of women outnumbers men by a significant fraction. We are hard-pressed to find women leaders. I have been to seminars by outstanding female students and the questions from the male members of the audience have often been a combination of hostility, vulgar flirtation or downright contempt.

In a recent article, Adil Najam argued for having women on the Supreme Court bench. The response from many readers on social media reflected similar biases which were thin veils to deep misogyny. Thought leaders on TV have argued that women should not drive and how it leads to societal moral decay. Let us not forget when a former leader of the country argued in front of international media how women are using rape to get Canadian citizenship (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4251536.stm).

When I was growing up, I was taught that the sources of all ills in our society are zarr, zameen aur zann (money, land and women). Unfortunately, little has changed in our attitudes in the last couple of decades. But it can change and it must change. We have to reject, individually and collectively, these cultural notions of misogyny. I have argued in the past about misogyny in our humour in particular and literature in general (https://i1.tribune.com.pk/story/785630/misogyny-and-humour/). We have to create structures, in our institutions, that value respect and dignity, of everyone. In particular, our educational institutions have to pay particular attention to both the curriculum and the environment and come down hard on misogyny and disrespect in any form, against anyone.

It may not change things overnight, but even if a few of us stand up and stand firm, we may find many unlikely champions to create a more tolerant and inclusive Pakistan. It is well worth a try — the alternative is immoral and disgusting.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 3^rd, 2015.

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