The Second Gender

 

 

There was a time when women were solely responsible for household chores in the Pakistani society. That was treated as the only field for their activity. As advancing towards modernization, the mental status of our society for a woman is still traditional. Society doesn’t accept the existence or the independence of a woman even in educated families as well. Since birth or before she is born; a HIDDEN mental pressure is there on the family & if not it is coerced by the people in society.

An infant’s mother is in mental stress& pressure is built by people around. Sex selected abortion have become practice, mal/under nourishment by upholding nutritious food do lead to miscarriages. There are various unreported cases of losing pregnancy due to domestic abuse. Unfortunately women are blamed for gender births.

 

In childhood; girls are not encouraged for proper schooling as it’s thought that instead of spending money on her education they are trained as household helpers; as they ultimately have face the same fate as their mothers. Sexual abuse/molestation is the term from which young girls are not aware of; and at end they can’t differentiate, whether they are being molested or not. The most disturbing thing in our society is child prostitution, coming from uneducated families young girls are either been sold out by the parents or forced for sexual misuse.

 

Teenage is the most sensitive age in a girl’s life. As always there are number(s) of unreported cases of rape/forced sex by family members, teachers, coaches, molwis. There are no proper laws practiced in such crimes like forced marriages to older men for money, watta satta, vanni, sawara, teenage trafficking & sexual prostitution.

 

A woman can face numerous domestic& un-domestic problems. Violence by in-laws, economic abuse includes ruined credit, gambling; isolation, permanent or temporary abandonment, extreme exploitation, withholding adequate food, clothing, daily necessities, force into criminal activity, etc. As on other hand mental & physical harassment she faces if she works, character assassination, exploitation by coworkers, victim blaming, stalking & cyber stalking leads to mental stress. In many cases we also have experience forced suicides, murders by in laws & honor killings. Yet again with a moan no such cases are reported.

 

It is expected that being elder a woman maybe at ease, regrettably she faces mistreatment and abuse at home, cruelty in daily necessities. An unusual case reported that a man was accused of raping 48 dead bodies of women; like it is said “scared of life… they feel like embracing death, what if the troubles of life follow them in death too?”

 

Still searching when we will start behaving like human being, when will we start respecting each other?  



One Day by Matisyahu

Sometimes I lay
Under the moon
And thank God I'm breathing
Then I pray...
Don't take me soon
Cause I'm here for a reason

Sometimes in my tears I drown
But I never let it get me down
So when negativity surrounds
I know some day it'll all turn around

Because
All my life I've been waiting for
I've been praying for
For the people to say
That we don't wanna fight no more
They'll be no more wars
And our children will play

It's not about
Win or lose
Because we all lose
When they feed on the souls of the innocent
Blood drenched pavement
Keep on moving, though the waters stay raging
In this maze you can lose your way (your way)
It might drive you crazy but don't let it faze you no way (no way)

One day this all will change
Treat people the same
Stop with the violence
Down with the hate
One day we'll all be free
And proud to be
Under the same sun
Singing songs of freedom like


Lyrics of song One Day by Matisyahu

Shariqa Ahmed @shariqa_ahmed

Silence! Extra Judicial Killings Are In Process

Its shame on the ruling Government when talented youth is been disgraced and humiliated by the Law & there’s no-one to own them or upkeep. Karachi is gifted by the most educated & artistic youth, but when this generation is humiliated, the whole society is responsible of it. Time, the rulers and the people on whole are answerable if is a single dream is undecided.

MQM Malir Sector Committee Member Anis-Ur-Rehman was picked up by Rangers from home on new years’ eve. He was arrested charged with 8 crimes act including 302/34, 13D, 13E etc. Anis-Ur Rehman has served as joint incharge & he has been a very hard working peoples’ man. The neighborhood have witnessed that he have been a humble & helpful person. He is considered smart, someone who knows how to put things together and come up with a solution.

Belonging to a middle class family with ailing mother, wife & a daughter; were left alone behind. It was difficult but a mothers’ love is supreme than everything, with her illness she used to visit him daily in Karachi Central Jail. For us it’s easy to write in words but whatever this family was going through can only be knowledgeable by them and no one else.

The dilemma is that Anis Bhai mother passed away on April 3, 2014 waiting for her son to be back home (Inna Lillahi Wa Inna Elayhi Raji'un). He seek permission to attend memorial on parole, unfortunately He was not allowed to attend funeral of his own Mother. Does any human being can do this? Are we humans? Which law does not allow a son to attend his mothers’ funeral? It’s a shame on entire society, a tragedy, but who to be held accountable for this? The dead body was taken to Karachi Central Jail so the only son could have the ‘Akhri Deedar’ of his mother & wish forgiveness from her.

The questions may not describe the feelings but the answers are obvious, he must be imagining her being with him all the time, now he was left alone. The memories are alive and hallucinating him almost every minute. He must be longing to be hold by dearly departed mother and would have told her that how much he had loved her. He must have not stand the thought that she has gone and would love nothing more but to be with her, her memories must be haunting him every second. It must be hard for him to accept the fact that His Mother has gone FOREVER.

MQM Youth is here not for benefit of oneself but for the future of Pakistan. Someone who does not feel the same, is alone; the situation that they end up living life & they must ‘get back to the start’.

Shariqa Ahmed

Twitter @shariqa_ahmed