In most non-Muslim countries, men today are haunted by the “spectre of a coming gender apocalypse”.
NIDDERAU, GERMANY: I enjoyed reading the piece “Too young to wed” (October 20) by Tazeen Javed. She recommends increasing the marriage age for girls until they are mature enough. I agree with her. It reminded me of a book I read, which describes the status of women in other countries. In most non-Muslim countries, men today are haunted by the “spectre of a coming gender apocalypse”. At least, that is what Hanna Rosin writes in her new book, The End of Men. She says that women are contributing more than ever to household income. They dominate university attendances around the world. In South Korea, more women than men pass the foreign service examination, which has actually led the foreign ministry into implementing a minimum quota for men. In Brazil, nearly a third of women earn more than their husbands, a phenomenon that has caused men to form support groups calling themselves “Men of Tears”.
So, there we are. The world is moving in one direction for increased rights for women and Pakistan in a completely different direction, where women get threatened for even daring to go to school and 12-year-old children are forced to marry older men who treat them like child-producing machines without any rights. Perhaps, it is time we changed this Taliban-like mentality. Ms Javed, there are men like me who support you wholeheartedly.
Sharif Lone
Published in The Express Tribune, October 23rd, 2012.
