In the House
Two, they rightly say, is a trend. And going by the news from the lower and upper houses of parliament these days, there is now definitely a trend of bullies being accorded privileged positions. First Kh Asif took it upon himself to appear the most foul-mouthed of our little democracy’s lawmakers. But then Senator Hafiz Hamdullah of the JUI-F – incidentally also the chairperson of the Senate Committee on Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony – definitely took the cake. He was allegedly so upset with Marvi Sirmed expressing dissatisfaction with the CII that he chose to speak to her in words that cannot even be reproduced in this space and also, allegedly, threatened to hit her.
Unfortunately, going by precedent, this is where the matter will end. Sure, there will be plenty of tweets and Facebook posts, but that is about it. And if the Senate, or his own party, or even the media, takes some sort of action, it will be a welcome novelty. But the government has never worried about the behaviour of lawmakers – in or outside the public eye. The JUI-F has never been too bothered about women rights. And the media, or parts of it at least, would have had a good laugh over the whole incident since it could have done worse things than improve some of their ratings.
Sadly, unbeknown to Hamdullah and the like, it is exactly such behaviour that calls for an overhaul, or even a shutdown, of the CII. The Council has repeatedly come under fire for undermining women’s rights. The exchange in question also occurred because everybody other than the Maulana on the set questioned the CII’s silence over a number of honour killings of late. That Hamdullah chose to swear and threaten to punch in reply speaks volumes about the mindset that the far right still clings on to. Since the government never acts in such situations, and little can be expected of the Senate or JUI-F, the civil society must take it upon itself to ensure such attitudes are kept under check. Otherwise bullies will not only dominate our society, but the august House as well.
