Today women in every field of life perform primarily but are treated as secondary; such injustice is faced by her in domestic life as well as in society.
Aisha Saeed
Everything created by Almighty Allah is itself a perfect piece of beauty and for a need to satisfy, yet nothing created useless even a speck of dust. Among all of His creations, despite several flaws, the supreme creation is a human being. Men and women are always considered equal yet important for the progression of society, a mere consideration only. Today women in every field of life perform primarily and yet are treated as secondary; such injustice is faced by her in domestic life as well as in society. It is very important for individuals to have their own narrative to understand their priorities and uniqueness clearly regardless of gender distinction. If someone tries to take control of your body and make you a slave, you would fight for freedom yet how easily you hand over your mind to anyone who insults you. Just do not let their opinions dwell in and dominate your thoughts to become your master. Clear your fears and be courageous all the time, only with unceasing courage women will get what they want/deserve; that is respect and recognition.
“Everyone has his own specific vocation or mission in life; everyone must carry out a concrete assignment that demands fulfillment. Therein he cannot be replaced, nor can his life be repeated. Thus everyone’s task is unique as is his specific opportunity to implement it.” – Viktor E. Frankl
A woman is kept under the radar of criticism while managing home and work-life balanced struggles under tremendous burdens and carrying the full weight of everything that surrounds her. It is quite painful to mention that in several instances woman is unaware of the worth she holds by rather using her bone and brain for her own good than giving reins of her life to somebody else’s hands which leads her to adverse situations. How misfortunate understanding this is! For the achievement of greater ranks in religion and/or to gain a competitive edge in the modern age, either way, man-made to be her guardian, supporter, and protector, which is mostly, wrongly considered as to be her master/owner. How wonderful it would be if a man considered a woman as her equal and deserving companion in every walk of life then there would be no incidents of domestic violence, Karo Kari, acid attacks, rape, violation in inheritance, mismatched/forced marriages for property and so on.
I admit the fact that the earth became a more civilized place in terms of many aspects. There are numerous international conventions and national laws for gender equality and woman’s welfare rights. Several NGOs are raising voices for violence against women’s rights. Recently the law ministry has proposed “female stalking” as an offence by insertion of section 354B along with its complaint procedure and punishment in Pakistan Penal Code. Whereas the code also defined the term stalking as, “the term stalk or slaking means any man who follows a woman and contacts or attempts to contact such a woman to foster personal interaction repeatedly despite clear indication of disinterest by such woman or monitors the use by a woman of the internet, email or any other form of electronic communication commits the offence of stalking.” Likewise it was also suggested by the law ministry to add a new section 498D in PPC that “husband or relative of the husband shall be liable for an offence for causing cruelty to wife, for such offence they shall be punished”. Whereas the section defines the term cruelty as “willful conduct which is of such a nature as is likely to drive the woman to commit suicide or to cause grave injury or danger to life, limb or health (whether mental or physical) of the woman.” The same section further defines “Harassment of the woman where such harassment is with a view to coercing her or any person related to her to meet any unlawful demand for any property or valuable security or is on account of failure by her or any person related to her to meet such demand”.
It is of gratefulness that the state is making such laws for the safety of women. But will such newly added/proposed laws make any difference in the occurrence of these offences, when nobody knows about its existence and how/where to implement these laws when people have no awareness of who and when can use these laws! Prior to making new laws, the government should hold a closer eye on the workability of law enforcement agencies. Despite all these existing laws, why the crime rate against women is massively increasing? Are these laws are not existing at all and/or implementing inaccurately? The answer is despite all these laws the regulating/law-making bodies are lacking in getting their people aware of their rights especially to the women, not only of rural areas but of urban areas as well, where women think of themselves as dependent and purely helpless upon men, they feel no harm if they get beaten up by men for petty household issues and even if they get killed in family disputes/rivalries. When will people understand these two genders are equal and created with distinct abilities to support each other not to become slaves or subordinate to each other, and without one another cannot survive.
“Where are the women? No nation can rise to the height of glory unless your women are side by side with you. We are victims of evil customs. It is crime against humanity that our women are shut up within the four walls of the houses as prisoners. There is no sanction anywhere for the deplorable condition in which our women have to live.” – Muhammad Ali Jinnah
One of the answers to the above-quoted Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s words is; Workplace harassment, which is not a new term for women and a reason to leave the job and preferable to stay at home. Being the most regular, punctual and hardworking employee in any organization, being a woman discredit her completely. Is to be a woman a weakness! Certainly not! The male dominant society has reached another level of hypocrisy, for instance, the legal profession widely known for its unity when it comes to any dispute/conflict arises, all the learned advocates gather to show their solidarity towards each other professionally, but it all disappears when it comes to the respect and dignity of female advocates- the lady of the same profession- in fact, workplace misbehave, degrading treatment and harassment within offices and related to work is quite common events to happen which never take the place of incidents and so also remain unreported and unattended due to the threats and similar nature of future mishaps attached to it.
Be strong, history remembers the name of the women who tried the hardest, survived the most painful gracefully and steadily. “People think at the end of the day that man is the only answer (to fulfillment). Actually, a job is better for me.” – Princess Diana
Women should understand that the woman herself alone is sufficient to depend on her for the basic necessities of life than to be brutally beaten up /murdered by the man of the family who is supposed to provide care and protection to his woman and children. The hunger pangs are far better than the piece of grain gained after humiliation. The respect and dignity of each individual are equal in religion and law as well. Ultimately we are all answerable to Almighty Allah for all the wrongs and rights of our lifetime.
I would, being a woman, the most humbly suggest that love yourself with sacred reverence, run from what is comfortable, forget about safety and live where fear to live. Don’t bother yourself and let people talk about destroying your reputation. If you have to decide between the two, choose principles over power, principles will become your power, without principles your power will become your weakness.
[author title=”Aisha Saeed ” image=”https://sindhcourier.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Aisha-Saeed-Sindh-Courier.jpg”]Aisha Saeed is Advocate High Court, a student of law and former lecturer at University of Karachi.[/author]
