Giving women their respect
Gabrielle Giffords, Dilam Rouseff and Aung San Suu Kyui are a source of inspiration to not only women but also to men all around the world.
It is an irony that people still see women as a source of trouble in society. The recent verdict by the Supreme Court to acquit all but one of the rapists has brought out again the misogynistic tendency of our society. Why do we see the freeing of Raymond Davis as an issue of national pride and the acquittal of the rapists as a verdict of the court which must be not be questioned.
A section of society is of the view that the nine-year-long imprisonment of the rapist is enough punishment for the perpetrators of the crime. However, it must be stressed that this case was not about a crime committed in a rural area of Punjab. This case would have turned a new page in the struggle for women’s rights in Pakistan.
It would have been a clear signal for patriarchal society that from now on no crime against women will go unpunished and perpetrators of crime against women would no longer roam scot-free in society.
Moreover, it is shocking to see that progressive parties have people in their ranks who believe in constituency politics and do their utmost to give state patronage to these criminals. The names of Jamshed Dasti and Israrullah Zehri readily come to mind. However, it was nice to see Sharmila Farooqui criticising these politicians. No one can forget how naively she named a rape victim on the national media just last year. It was pleasant to see her do the right thing this time.
The freeing of Raymond Davis may be a national issue for most but the impact of this acquittal will surely have greater ramifications for our country. Last year, a girl was electrocuted by the orders of the punchayat in Bahawalpur and the burying alive of five women is also a well-known fact.
The condition of women in Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunwa is no different. It is time parliamentarians reversed this trend and passed laws that ensure women’s rights are not subjugated and they must be implemented in the right spirit.
MUHAMMAD UMER KHAN
Lahore
Source: Dawn
Date:5/2/2011
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