Regressive mindset about honour should be put aside and respectable attitude to women should be adopted
KARACHI: ‘Aurat March’ 2019 marked the execution of a great initiative to bring together women in the public space, in a way they normally would not. Its dissemination across social media allowed it to reach a greater audience as well, but the march still needs more representation of women from the rural areas too.
The number of attendees is thought to be half a million out of the estimated 100 million of female population of the country. While not everyone can attend, we must understand the cause of the grievances and start addressing them as a lot needs to be done, starting with empowering the woman.
According to a report released in 2015 by War Against Rape (WAR), 104 FIRs were registered against 369 cases in the last four years with many cases going unreported, denying the victims’ right to justice.
Similarly, unreported workplace harassment and assault might be in millions. In many areas, a woman’s purpose revolves around the men in her life, who treat her at their whim — beating and humiliating her whenever they will.
Cases of Wani and honour killings still exist, with about 1,000 honour killings recorded every year in Pakistan and the conviction rate for these crimes still being very low. Women in brick kilns are subjected to modern slavery crushed under the debt they take from the landlords. Besides rural spaces, the urban sphere also sees domestic workers suffering physical and sexual abuse at the hands of their employers.
In urban society, many women are given equal opportunities in education and in their professional life and they prove themselves to be as capable as men. However, many still fall victim to baseless societal pressures of “what will people say”. Women are denied the right to work, making the country fall short on half of its human resource.
To cut down on this economic shortfall, we must educate our people, especially the male members, to accept women as their equal and to give them space in every sphere of life. Being a man does not mean to dominate, nor does a woman’s work harms her honour or her family’s respect.
Giving her the equal right to education, and to rise and lead would never negatively impact anyone. The regressive mindset about honour should be put aside and a respectable attitude to women in the workplace should be adopted to pave the way for a progressive and balanced future.
Ahmed Azeem
Published in The Express Tribune, March 11th, 2019.
Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.
