LAHORE: This week, the watch takes on the male ego, the ‘well actually’ mansplaining, the NUST’s student incident and women empowerment in Upper Dir (YES!).
1- ‘Well actually’ isn’t the other person correcting you, its the other person trying to establish their superiority over you, it is the fragile ego that cannot fathom that you can be wrong.
“Well actually” isn’t the guy correcting false information.
“Well actually” is the guy who needs to talk over you, who wants to say what you said only better, who needs to occupy your space, who can’t accept that he misunderstood, not you. The guy who just cant let you be right.
— feminist next door (@emrazz) June 8, 2018
2- This is the question that all men and women in Pakistan need to ask when they engage in a crusade against the wisdom and indulge in victim blaming and victim shaming: How would you feel if your friends saw someone bully you and did nothing? The answer to that is exactly what victims feel when they come out and risk so much. They think of you as their friends, their family. Respect everyone even if you disagree.
If they say nothing, they’re letting your other friends pick on you and saying nothing because they want the benefit of being cool with the rest of the group. That would make you feel pretty shitty no? Like those people weren’t really your friends.
— feminist next door (@emrazz) June 7, 2018
3- Here’s some wisdom: Feminism is not equal to hating men. It’s about equal social, political and economic rights for humans (Which includes both men and women in case some of us were still confused about that). Feminism is egalitarian, not matriarchal.
?? Patriarchal: rights, resources and values are controlled by men’s interests
?? Matriarchal: rights, resources and values are controlled by women’s interests
?? Egalitarian: rights, resources and values represent the interests of all and emphasize equity over parity.
— feminist next door (@emrazz) June 6, 2018
4- Here’s Bismah giving a lesson on entitlement (This one’s for all those men and women who think they’re entitled to everything over and beyond everyone else):
I dont hate all men (Most but not all) . I just think almost all men need to be put in their place. They’ve been told they are demi gods, aankhon ka chaandh, the caller of the shots, the authority on everything, entitled to anything and everything etc FOR WAY TOO LONG#TimesUp
— Bissmah Mehmud (@bissmahmehmud) June 8, 2018
5- On the other hand, Imran Khan did what seemed impossible until now. Women had been barred from voting in polls in Upper Dir by the social setup of the locality. Breaking the chains in one blow, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) supremo gave the party ticket for the upcoming elections from Upper Dir to a woman. Turning the tables, now the men will have to vote for a woman if they support PTI.
Presenting the breaker of chains, Hameeda Shahid, a brave daughter of Pakistan:
Here’s another woman from Saudi Arabia, breaking barriers:
While universities continue to fail to curb misogynistic mindsets and a person said this:
Mashallah he is graduating today from NUST. And that’s what he said just a day before his graduation. Dangerous things our institutions are producing. pic.twitter.com/vZue2pYBfw
— Nighat Dad (@nighatdad) June 6, 2018
But the graduate apologised and promised to amend his mistake, something that warrants appreciation. After all, this is a learning process.
I apologize for my remarks against Gul Bukhari, and for the anguish caused. My expression and choice of words were unacceptable.
I shall be counselled by NUST Centre for Counselling & Career Advisory, and undergo mandatory community service so as to develop respect for women.— Mursaleen?? (@mursaleenpti) June 8, 2018
Others continued to justify (via unnamed/fake accounts) his previous actions (The ones that he apologised for himself) and tried to use religion for the justification:
On the other hand, NUST tweeted from its official handle that the university would take appropriate action.