Pity the nation

“Pity the nation that does not raise its voice save when it walks in a funeral,” said Khalil Gibran over a century ago. The prophetic words about a society like ours hold true as we mourn Zainab. Had Gibran been living amongst us today, he may have said to pity the nation where the murderers roam free and the rulers find the grieving parents blameworthy. He may have said, to pity the nation where rape is forgotten, for it is not a crime but a land dispute. Or he may have said to pity the nation where millions are spent on security, but a young girl is not secure. He may have said to pity the nation that finds the tools, but lacks the will to save a child. Or perhaps to pity the nation where the eagerness among folks is not about real issues, but about private lives of its famous.



The tragedy in Kasur is unbearable to imagine even for a second. The immediate response in any decent person is anger about how could this happen to this girl whose smile is angelic. It is also a desire to protect others, boys and girls, from the monsters lurking in the shadows. Yet, not once has the government in Punjab said that it won’t let this happen again. The response is impulsive and reactive, not proactive and determined. We have been told time and again how modern the police force is becoming, how new cameras, gadgets and apps, big data and machine learning is changing the face of the police, but none of that mattered in the case of Zainab and countless others we never get to hear about. It is because gadgets, data and cameras are no cures for a lack of empathy, incompetence and a missing desire to solve the core issues that make our children vulnerable.

Before we forget Zainab and bury her under news about whether someone would get married or not, or whether the food at Karachi Eat is worth waiting in line, let us ask in earnest not to only catch the perpetrators of this crime, but also how do we protect the Zainabs in every city, neighbourhood and street. The goal should not just be to solve a crime, but also to protect society from a future one.

This dark episode is also a time for reflection for who we are. Zainab’s tragedy reminded us that there are monsters living among our midst, but it also showed the deeply flawed, and morally bankrupt society that we live in and contribute to. It showed that our politicians are incapable of giving an honest, sincere statement that is kind without trying to score a political victory. It showed that the minister of law in Punjab lacks fundamental decency to acknowledge that there is more work to be done in protecting children. Instead, at this time of grief, pain and agony, he deflects the blame on the parents. It shows the complete lack of empathy by the reporters who thrust a mic in the face of the family shattered by unimaginable pain and ask them questions such as ‘please tell us some nice stories about Zainab’.



In the day after the story broke, Nadeem Farooq Paracha wrote on Twitter that “The condition of the society can be measured by the manner in which it behaves towards its children, women, minority groups and the kind of crimes it commits. I’ll leave it to you to decide the condition of the society we are all a part of.” I think we all know the answer to this. The real question is that do we want to do something to change it? Or are we at a point where one might say, to pity the nation that kills, maims and burns, but resists with all its might to change its ways.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 16^th, 2018.

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