We wouldn’t need to fight for protection of rights for marginalised community if we could embrace basic human rights.
KARACHI: My brother’s friend was shot dead in the bus carnage in Karachi, along with 42 others. I mourned for the dead until someone pointed out that all the victims belonged to the Ismaili community. This put me in hysterics. Who cares if they were Ismailis? Why is this even a topic of discussion?
We lost 43 precious, innocent human lives. Yet, our main concern is correctly labelling the deceased. Men create these differences on principle and then further prioritise them resulting in devaluation of certain human lives. Is it really that hard to understand that behind all these labels we are all human beings who stand equal in terms of deserving respect and the right to live? If not, then let’s mourn for the entire human race because on May 13, the rights of a certain community were not violated; human rights were. We wouldn’t need to fight for the protection of rights for any marginalised community if only we could embrace and respect basic human rights.
Aamna Aziz
Published in The Express Tribune, May 15th, 2015.
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