We have become desensitised, we tolerate the harassment that goes on our streets every day
HYDERABAD: Just days after the country rejoiced over its first transgender person obtaining a passport containing the ‘X’ option in its gender category, a transgender woman was publicly harassed in an open bazaar during Eid. Although the two events are significant on their own, only the former caught more public attention. It’s safe to say, Pakistanis are so caught up with embracing achievements, wearing it on their sleeve for the world to see, that the flaws are shrugged off only to increase with every year.
As identified by the video of harassment that went viral on social media, if a group of men can publicly harass someone without even showing an expression of guilt, and if bystanders can carry on shopping then that is something to feel fearful about. Consider this: the video of the harassment was shared a total of 1,228 times on Facebook, while the news of Pakistan issuing its first passport with the gender-neutral option was shared 13,292 times in this paper alone.
Pakistan has come a long way. We are no longer the nation that fought against growing intolerance in society. We have become desensitised. We tolerate the harassment that goes on our streets every day. We tolerate the lynching in the name of religion. We tolerate the corruption, the discrimination and the bombings. As usual, this incident will perhaps, like many others, nudge us but only to put us back into our deep collective slumber.
Sanam Zaidi
Published in The Express Tribune, July 4th, 2017.
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