Standing for all

What would happen if an incident similar to the one that happened with Ahmed was to occur in Pakistan?

The #IStandWithAhmed campaign brought out the best amongst people all over the world. As a group, we made clear that in no society should creativity and curiosity be suppressed. The sense of wonder is what drives us to achieve the greatest feats, and it should be preserved and protected at all costs. In the end, it was not paranoia or an impulse driven by racial and ethnic suspicion, but the unifying theme of fairness and encouragement for creativity that carried the day. It was heartening to see so many people, including many in Pakistan, support Ahmed and his creativity. This is how it ought to be.

Yet, standing with Ahmed should be driven neither by politics nor race. As I followed the overwhelmingly positive social media activity in Pakistan, I asked myself, what would have happened if a similar incident had taken place in our country? How would we deal with a situation like this? To illustrate, let us do a hypothetical experiment: how would we react if the law-enforcement authorities pick up a kid and assume guilt automatically, even when the child repeats that he is not guilty of anything? Would we stand up for him or her? What if that child belonged to a minority, one that elicits strong reactions and suspicions from the majority, then what? What if the child happened to be in a region where suspicions are particularly high? What if this youngster happened to be from the ‘wrong’ religion or tribe or is the child of an Afghan refugee? Would we rally behind him? Would we support him or her and admonish the school authorities for stifling creativity? Would we automatically side with the law-enforcement authorities?

Let us take this experiment further and ask ourselves, what would the rich, mighty and powerful do in our society? Would the prime minister stand up for the rights of the child? What would the various chief ministers and their cabinets do? Would they go against the law-enforcement groups, or their core constituents? Many may argue that this is a hypothetical experiment and our realities are different. But if we pay attention to events in the recent past, we will recognise that unfairness towards minorities and marginalised groups is actually quite prevalent in major cities and small towns, in all provinces. How often do we question the overreach of the law-enforcement groups? How often do we invite those who are mistreated to the palaces of power and give them the dignity that they deserve?

If we pay attention, we all can find an Ahmed amongst us who does not get our deserved support. Amongst us are plenty of real champions who are suspected of ill intentions that are based on nothing but innate suspicion, insecurity, conspiracy theories, paranoia and a twisted sense of reality. It is one thing to jump on the bandwagon of fairness and high moral ground in a far-off land, quite another to embrace it when it is closer to home. Standing up for the rights of an individual is great, but equally important is to stand up for everyone who has had his or her fundamental rights violated. For us, the #IStandWithAhmed campaign should not just be about the fundamental right to curiosity and right to discovery of a brilliant, Muslim kid; it should be indifferent to race, ethnicity or sect. Perhaps, this episode should lead us to a soul-searching campaign that looks at our own actions and our lack of support for those who are marginalised. I hope one day, the #IStandwithAhmed campaign will become #IStandCorrected campaign — where we recognise that we need to stand up for curiosity, creativity, the pursuit of knowledge and, above all, dignity of everyone, particularly those who carry a heavy burden of suspicion. Perhaps, one day, we will choose to be on the right side of history and be proud to say to the naysayers that #IStandWithMalala.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 22^nd,   2015.

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