We need to make sure that we do not interrupt the routine of our fellow citizens
ISLAMABAD: Peaceful protests and demonstrations are exceptionally significant in a democracy. The freedom of speech and the ultimate right to stand up against anything that a citizen deems wrong is what fuels a democracy with passion. However, unfortunately in our country this very right has become one of the greatest problems for the general public. Recently for more than a month the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi were affected with such protests. Highways, city roads were blocked and traffic remained choked. This caused a lot of trouble to commuters.
While the rest of the world has found many creative ways of protesting and garnering attention to their causes, we still believe that jamming roads is what will get the town talking about us. The issue on hand may be crucial but does troubling citizens that have no part to play in it the right way to protest? Is creating obstacles in the way of ambulances carrying serious patients, causing huge losses to businesses, making students miss their classes a productive way to protest? Aren’t VIP protocols by the elites already enough nuisances in our daily lives that we ourselves start creating more hurdles?
I think that we need to re-examine the way we protest. We as responsible citizens must learn to protest gracefully and peacefully before asking the government to listen to our issues. We must replace the truncheons in our hands with placards; aggressive chants with meaningful slogans and fight for our causes with dignity. We need to make sure that we do not interrupt the routine of our fellow citizens. I hope that we stop protesting the way we currently do.
Farwa Kanwal
Published in The Express Tribune, November 28th, 2019.
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