Forgive me society, for I am fat

In my 24 years on this planet, I’ve committed several crimes. As a child, I have cheated on tests to score better, and as an adult, I have lied to gain favours. However, as far as society is concerned, the biggest atrocity that I am guilty of is the fact that I am fat. I am a young, single, Pakistani female who weighs above 80kg. A more outrageous sin could not be imagined.

It started at the tender age of 11. Ironically, at that time, the chubbiness was considered to be an appealing feature. As the weight and the years progressed, the excessive flesh started losing its charm. My parents grew anxious and as a result, I was enrolled in swimming classes as taking laps was known to be an effective impediment to weight gain. Dieticians were also consulted, however, much to the chagrin of my parents, nothing worked. The weighing scale seemed to be on a roller coaster ride that only went up. Eventually, the scale struck the big ‘8’ and ‘0’ and has stayed in that vicinity for some time.

There are several reasons for why my weighing scale hasn’t witnessed a downward trend in nearly a decade but ultimately, it is because I have never put in any effort as I have, erroneously, never recognised my weight as a serious problem. As much as I would like to live in denial, these extra pounds are a major concern. They threaten my quality of life and its longevity. Moreover, they are a constant cause of concern for my parents; the one nagging issue which, I’m ashamed to say has given them sleepless nights.

However, despite all the personal complications associated with being fat, I will maintain the stance that it is not the absolute worst possible thing to happen to a human being. Funnily enough, in our double standard society, it is treated exactly so. Let me cite an example. If one is a chain smoker, they are admonished for their actions by society; however, their habit does not define them. On the other hand, as a fat girl I can tell you from experience that if one is overweight, they must ‘work’ extra hard to show that there’s more to them than their plumpness. This is a sad and unfair state of affairs. In my opinion, we need to go beyond the flesh and dig deeper; we should teach our kids that being ‘fat’ is not the worst possible thing to be. Being a liar, or a cheat, cruel or being inconsiderate or indecent to fellow human beings are just some of the fates worse than those few extra pounds which we agonise over.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 16^th, 2015.