“The social relations have sadly not changed at all. We mourn honour killing, for a mere minute when we see the news flashing on tv.”
Protests against the discrimination of women in society have been taking place as far back as the 18th century, with one popular example being that of the suffragettes. However, we still live in a society which is largely discriminatory against women. Some prime examples are the unequal pay rates, women being treated as more delicate and of less value than men and the most recent scandal: beating women “to protect them”. Discrimination against women is a social issue that keeps on influencing them adversely. It influences their capacity to participate freely and fully in society and in turn brings psychologically harmful consequences.
Furthermore, it is also an obstacle towards equality, development, and peace. Despite this, a majority of women in different communities in many countries are still subjected to various forms of discrimination at different stages of their life.
This, in turn, is incompatible with women’s empowerment. Despite the increased literacy rate in Pakistan among females, there is still a vast majority of women who are still facing discrimination in their everyday lives. The states of mind towards ladies in Pakistani society make the battle for equality more difficult. The lack of democracy and feudal practices of this system leaves the under-powered, women in particular, in a very vulnerable position. The long-lived socio-cultural belief that women play a reproductive role within the confines of the home leads to the belief that educating women holds no value.
In light of recent cases of honour killings and the degradation of women by serving legislators on national television, the government who had vowed to take all necessary legislative and administrative steps to protect and empower women are now silent.
DNA asked the public about the issue and how it affects the society:
‘Women were considered an important part of our society, what’s sad about 21st Century is that our moral values are not enough to stand against it,’ says Muhammad Asad Ahmed, a Social Media Strategist at Creative Dots.
Asad was of the opinion that discrimination has been happening for a very long time, but dating back 15-20 years go that did not affect our moral values or how women should be treated, unlike today, there is a case of violence against women every other day. He further commented saying that we live in a country where, when a lady parliamentarian is being verbally harassed in a Parliament session instead of standing up for the woman, everybody mocks and creates a hype in the media for all the wrong reasons.
‘Intolerance of women’s rights is a cultural issue. It exists in families which are educated and illiterate. It depends on the belief system of the person and the level of awareness as well as rational thinking,’ said Maxus Global Group M’s Assistant Media Planner, Aimon Bashir.
Today’s world is where the mindsets of people are as such, they talk about feminism, yet they do nothing to achieve ‘equality’ – the idea that men and women are equal. Living in a society where technology is advancing,, but the mindsets are not. We talk about being a civilised society, yet there is ego, which causes chaos in the society.
Saqib Khwaja, a Professor in Peshawar said, ‘We talk about living in a civilised and feminist society, a society where intolerance against women is being talked about, there is something being done about it, yet there is nothing being done.’
He further added, ‘Just a few months ago the Women Protection Bill was passed, but instead of sorting things for women , it led to more chaos, rather more cases of acid throwing, more cases of girls being burnt. We talk about equal rights for women, yet these cases happen. In my opinion, we have failed as an educated society who don’t know their rights and wrongs.’
“When Hudood Ordinance was passed to cater women rights in 1979, a lot was misinterpreted and same happened in 2016 when the Bill when passed. Major Islamic-led parties stood against the Bill which was astonishing for a normal person of Pakistan, but it was obvious the bill had its flaws and further consequences. Now, it is seen that if it was allowed it would be same as how it happened in Zia’s time. At least now there is national discussion and awareness that’s going on about the drawbacks in our Laws and politically led society.”
Amna Tariq, a Senior Digital Strategist was of similar opinion, ‘women have become more financially independent, with financial power comes confidence and positive attitude to move forward in life,’
She went on to say, ‘this threatens the society or the people who can’t do much in life and wait for the credit to be given to them without any work. When you are educated, you will question the norms, when you’ll question the norms, you’ll be the bad guy since you are trying to take them out of your comfort zone.’
A supply planner who answered on condition of anonymity, said, ‘Intolerance against women is a product of ingrained patriarchy since the Mughal era, which is why it needs more attention that it usually gets.’
In addition to that, Sadia Aziz, Head of Primary Section at The Froebel Education Centre in Karachi said, ‘Cases of intolerance against women need to be dealt with more severely. Not only that, the offenders should be put to task to create examples and the masses ought to be educated in this regard.’
She said that NGOs have started playing an active role, projecting this malice on a broader spectrum. There are documentaries being showcased on a global forum, thereby creating pressure on the government to take adequate measures to alleviate the intolerance against women.
While referring to Zia-ul- Haq’s Islamisation in the 1970s and 1980s, had laws that continued to deny women, their constitutional right to gender equality, fuel religious intolerance, and violence against them were the basics that started building a fire against the rights of women.
Asad Ahmed continued saying, ‘When Hudood Ordinance was passed to cater women rights in 1979, a lot was misinterpreted and same happened in 2016 when the Bill when passed. Major Islamic-led parties stood against the Bill which was astonishing for a normal person of Pakistan, but it was obvious the bill had its flaws and further consequences. Now, it is seen that if it was allowed it would be same as how it happened in Zia’s time. At least now there is national discussion and awareness that’s going on about the drawbacks in our Laws and politically led society.’
Dr Rohina Gul, Gynecologist at Hameed Latif Hospital commented on the post-Zia era saying, ‘post-Zia time lead to the unprecedented strengthening of the madrassas. These madrassas who now represent and preach a completely different brand of Islam are to be blamed for the ills women face now. Increasing exponentially in numbers these religious lunatics become vital vote banks for some political parties. So their access to the government machinery gave them the power to block anything they were “un-Islamic” for the brand they preached.’
‘The social relations have sadly not changed at all. We mourn honour killing, for a mere minute when we see the news flashing on tv. Our least bothered attitude is what has led us here,’ she added.
Dr Rohina continues, ‘Under Zia’s regime, we saw a radicalisation of Islam because he let religious authorities play a huge role in governing the country to boost his popularity. This further led to the religious scripture still oppressing women and stop them from receiving an education and make something of their lives. The thing is, the situation hasn’t changed since Zia’s time, it’s actually just gotten a lot worse.’
The majority of the society is unaware of the rights of women when it comes to equality and discrimination. This is prevalent in rural areas where education is next to being absent.
Sadia Aziz says, ‘People in the rural areas need to be taught the fundamental values of a decent society, where respect for opposite gender is upheld.’
‘If this continues it will breed negativity and intolerance in the society. A division of the school of thoughts will be diversely negative. Freedom of expression and harmony is the way to go,’ says Amna.
An anonymous source added, ‘people have started to realise the intolerance women face, and that it is now time to fulfil the responsibility in order to uphold standards of due diligence and take steps to the rights of women, before it’s too late. This why there must be education and awareness.’
If intolerance continues to prevail, it will destroy the society. In order to change that, to avoid destruction, the society needs to be educated.
