Written by: Syed Mubashir Shah
I had always had a passion for writing, but today a horrific incident turned the pen in my hand into a dagger and forced me to write. In the safest environment of the hospital, in broad daylight, an educated, dignified doctor was thrown acid on his face, destroying his future. Was it Dr. Mahnoor’s fault? Did she dare to say “no” to a man’s ego or was it for some other reason, but would this be her decision or result? Just this one word of hers was enough to melt his face. I thought, this is not the first incident, nor is this the last sacrifice. Then a question screamed inside me—what dark cave are we heading towards? In the country, that means ‘La ilaha illallah’, where every child claims to sacrifice his life in the name of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), why is a woman so unsafe even at her workplace?
The brutal truth is that our feelings may be false, but statistics never lie. Just look at the UN Women report and your soul will tremble; a woman is raped every 45 minutes in Pakistan. A recent report by the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SSDO) is even more horrifying. In just one year, 32,617 cases of sexual violence were reported across the country. Out of which 5,339 were purely rape incidents. Now just look at the spectacle of our justice system. 4,641 cases were registered in Punjab but the conviction rate was just 0.4%. 243 cases were reported in Sindh, and the number of accused convicted? Zero! In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, only one accused was convicted out of 258 cases. Remember, these are the cases that reached the police station. Psychologists and social organizations claim that the actual number of incidents that are suppressed due to fear of shame and disgrace is ten times higher. What is more, the four walls of the house are no longer a refuge, because 60 percent of the incidents took place in the victim’s own home, where 32 percent of the perpetrators were not strangers but acquaintances.
That incident in Lahore is etched in my mind like a poisonous thorn, and even today, remembering it keeps me awake at night. An innocent girl from a poor, destitute family used to go to a wealthy palace to clean and earn bread. The spoiled son of this palace and his driver together inflicted an atrocity on this young girl that would make humanity ashamed to even imagine. When the girl became pregnant as a result of this brutal cruelty, an attempt was made to force her to have an abortion, during which this agonizing soul died. I ask the contractors of this society, what was the fault of this girl? Was there any nudity in her clothes? Did she go to invite someone to sin? She had only gone to earn two meals a day for her old mother and hungry siblings. But alas! Where did that case go? No one knows. The rich man is still roaming free with the law in his pocket, and the poor man’s daughter has been reduced to dust. This has become the real system of this country.
Whenever such an accident happens, the hypocritical section of our society immediately comes out with a stick and says— “If only the girls had dressed properly, all this would not have happened.” I ask these sick minds, Dr. Mahnoor was wearing a full dupatta, then why was acid thrown at her? That innocent housemaid was wrapped in full sleeves, then why was she raped? The girl whose honor this peddler robbed in front of her helpless parents, was also wearing a chador from head to toe. Then whose fault is it? Psychologists say that rape is not a sexual need, but it is a crime of sheer power, dominance and ego. This is not born of the desire of the self, but of a psychologically sick desire to break, crush and see the other helpless. The problem is not the woman’s clothes, the problem is the dirty mind of the man who considers the woman a “thing” or his estate instead of a human being.
How can we call ourselves Muslims when we have completely forgotten the good example of our Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)? Our master, our leader ﷺ had said: “The best of you is the one who is best to his wife, and I am the best of you to my wives” (Ibn Majah). He ﷺ even emphasized that “Be gentle with women – if you try to straighten them forcibly, they will break” (Bukhari and Muslim). This is the same departure of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. Who, while leaving this world, even in his last illness, advised the Ummah—“Prayer and good treatment of women.” If we are truly true Ummahs, then this example should have been our mirror, not this horror that we see in the markets every day.
In our sick society, saying “no” to a woman is considered a declaration of war against masculinity. The man here thinks that the woman is his father’s slave. If she says yes, then fine; the punishment for refusal is death or molten acid. I say, this is not masculinity; this is the worst cowardice and impotence. A real man is one who is a protector, not a beast. He is emotionally strong enough to tolerate refusal; he is not uncontrolled. In his shadow, the weak feel safe, not afraid. In fact, our society has trained men on the wrong lines; he has been made tough but not made strong from within; he has been made insensitive but not made courageous. And today, the entire nation is suffering the consequences of this poor training. (Edited) Restore original
I am not a supporter of any Western agenda or thought; I am a son of this soil. But I will say this truth with full confidence: until our law wakes up from its slumber, until the conviction rate in the courts remains at zero point five percent, and until the oppressed daughter continues to be made an accused by standing in the dock, this country will continue to create a living graveyard for women. A society that cannot provide justice to its daughters can never flourish, and a nation that closes its ears to the cries of its weak can never live with its head held high. There is still time; wake up in the court of conscience before the next acid falls on the doorstep of your own home.
