The Way Forward
By Aiza Nadeem
An apt recap of the relevant recent news in Pakistan: Our Prime Minister once again perpetuates rape culture amongst a flurry of support from his worshippers. Women at an award show are subsequently faced with astonishing vitriol for wearing clothes of their choice and a man who, as a Twitter user rightly remarks, ‘has more allegations of rape and assault by multiple women’ than artistic accolades is asked to host these awards. An actress is bashed for grieving at her own terms since we think we exercise control over all forms of women’s experience. Importantly, the domestic violence bill has been halted from passing once again as it is deemed ‘un-Islamic’.
Yet, what is truly disarming is none of these events would be shocking to residents of the country.
In Pakistan, being a woman is constantly treading on eggshells. Even the fragility of eggshells cannot do justice to the turmoil we are subject to. Your emotional and mental capacity to exist is constantly tested as new examples of horrific violence or hatred against women emerge. I find myself wondering how exactly one is to find joy, support, and camaraderie in an environment that tests your will to live, frankly.
Mobilizing, protesting, and registering our dissent against the current regime becomes ever so important as it ignores the suffering of women and actively engages in practices that both endanger them and perpetuate violence and hatred against them. It has never before been as evident as it is now our government is violently against women. A party that hands the domestic violence bill to a group of men who have not been elected into office and have a strong history of anti-women is all but calling us to remove them from office. The perfect complement to a prime minister who makes incendiary comments at women at every given opportunity.
The Aurat March’s protest to remove the Prime Minister from office is significant here as it is a fruitful example of the resistance discussed before. Conversations like these need to continue happening for us to advance forward. Alarmingly, the Prime Minister’s comments are always met with supporters who viscously shut down any calls for him to acknowledge the severity of what he is saying. This demonstrates how deep-set the problems are currently and how change needs a dramatic upheaval of what we as a nation have been informed and learned about gender and sexuality.
On the question of where we find hope — joy? I think in a situation where the odds are stacked so heavily against us, small acts of resistance are equally significant. Acts of rebellion in homes, taking up space in a public setting, or simply finding a way to create joy in our lives are all valid ways of resisting and light up the spark for a bigger revolution.
In the face of such blatant disregard of women’s well-being and the everyday acts which confront us, the need for radical change becomes apparent. We are negotiating a sorry excuse for an existence currently. The only option remaining is to challenge, resist and pave the way for more conversation.
“So it is better to speak
remembering
we were never meant to survive.”
Audre Lorde, A Litany of survival
