KARACHI:
Societal norms and values are not always right. They can have deleterious impacts on minorities and women. Therefore, such types of embedded norms and values should be questioned and, if need be, deterred.
In Pakistan, practices that perpetuate male hegemony are rampant and continue to restrict women’s opportunities and movements. We need to understand that in the long-run female subjugation eventually leads to gender-based violence. As a result, the political, economic, spiritual, and moral lives of women are greatly disturbed. It is because of the fear of harassment and violence, even at the hands of their own family members, that women are not able to assert their freedom in the public as well as private sphere. Their economic stability is emaciated as they are not allowed to work freely and spend on themselves. Their political image — that of acting as a symbol of male honour or as a housewife — further impinges on their moral and spiritual life.
Being subjected to constant harassment and violence will eventually affect a women’s mental and physical health. In most cases, it leads to severe mental illness. According to an estimate, approximately 70-90% of Pakistani women are subjected to some form of violence. This figure alone underscores the dire need for strict action to be taken. The so-called honour killing is one such example that could fit into the frame of gender-based violence. The eradication of such gender-based norms and values will abate women’s suffering and give them more freedom.
Haris Zahoor
Karachi
Published in The Express Tribune, July 3rd, 2021.
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