(We don’t do such things)
By exposing the extent of the problem, the ‘Me Too’ campaign has made it impossible to ignore the subject of sexual abuse of women. It should not have been ignored in the first place but it was. That was because in this country, we like to imagine that such things as sexual abuse do not take place here, in the Land of the Pure.
If ever there is a misconception, it is this.
The sexual abuse of women, as well as the sexual abuse of minors of either gender takes place here as much as anywhere else, and with for example the marriage of girls while they are still minors, also has social sanction.
To help create a safer environment for children, the NGO Sahil works to combat such abuse, and Sahil’s annual publication ‘Cruel Numbers’ provides some damning statistics. But what, as always, of women?
Women everywhere, and very much so in Pakistan, are subjected to abuse and harassment on the street and at home. It would be hard to find a woman, whether in a rural or urban setting, liberal or conservative, who has not been subjected to it. Which is interesting, given that the conservative segment of society, both here and elsewhere such as the Republican Congresswoman from Texas Eddie Bernice Johnson, thinks that women invite abuse, and advises them to dress to avoid it. Yet it would be impossible to find anyone dressing more to dispel such things than the unfortunate burqa clad, gloved and socked women in this country of temperatures over 40 degrees Celsius.
So what is the solution? Is it to keep women from interacting with anyone outside of home?
Twenty years ago it was estimated that the majority of murders of women in this country were committed by family members. ‘According to a study carried out by Human Rights Watch, an estimated 70-90 percent of women in Pakistan have suffered some form of abuse of which an estimated 5000 women are killed as a result of domestic violence every year, with thousands others maimed or disabled.’ A survey carried out by the Thomson Reuters Foundation found Pakistan to be the third most dangerous country in the world for women.
So no, there is no point keeping women confined to the house, or keeping them covered from head to foot since studies show that abuse takes place whether women cover themselves excessively, or not.
Since it is not possible to eliminate the female of the species although that is often tried, we are left with a problem. The first thing that comes to mind, is that perhaps the problem lies with men.
To imply that the problem lies with the biological make up of men is to cast aspersions on divine engineering, yet, that is what conservatives say, that ‘men can’t help it, that’s how they are.’ Taking that as the usual throwing the blame elsewhere statement that comes from such quarters, could it be that there is something lacking or undesirable about the education (taaleem) of men, and their upbringing (tarbiyat)? At least that would be something one could do something about, if one tried.
School and home. These are the two places responsible for education and upbringing respectively, with a substantial overlap. If schools are monitored, homes are likely to improve in their role of imparting attitudes which influence an adult’s behavior.
Pakistan has one of the highest rates of illiteracy in the world. And it has hundreds of thousands of madressahs, schools teaching so called ‘religion’ and very little else. Although attempts have been made to monitor these madressahs, the syllabus and the teachers of these madressahs are pretty much allowed to remain as they are and do as they wish. These institutions are very often funded by ‘foreign’ donors, and the brand of Islam taught here does not include rights for women, an irony since Islam was responsible for some of the first rights given to women, ever. Not believing in rights for women is indicated by the disparity in numbers between education among men and women in the poorer class of society from which madressahs draw their clientele. Madressahs also often stress things like jehad, the violent sort, and sectarian divisions.
It is hard to blame families for enrolling their children in madressahs. Often illiterate themselves, and almost always poor, these families see madressahs as free institutions that (claim to) impart literacy and religion to their children, children who would otherwise not receive either. In many of these madressahs, students also receive boarding, lodging and food free of cost.
The solution is to a) monitor madressahs if they must exist, b) to overhaul their curriculum to include mainstream subjects, and a better quality of education c) to improve the quality of mainstream government schools d) alleviate poverty so that families do not feel constrained to send their children to whichever institute feeds them.
For this the person in charge of the Ministry of Education needs to be a person of dedication, vision, and education. We might well have this in the person of the current incumbent, but it has been impossible to discover his educational credentials online, where one can generally discover anything, down to what the latest celebrity ate for breakfast.
