While I sip a cup of my favorite tea and peek through the window with a complacent look on my face, I conveniently ignore the blessings that have been bestowed upon me. The sun is blazing, its radiance illuminating the atmosphere. I have been so accustomed to these beautiful mornings that I would never try to envisage what exists poles apart. My part of the world is an optimistic one. Hence, I wouldn’t even bother imagining what goes on in the world of gloominess and pessimism.
The world, I am referring to, is the one in which resides a girl, a 19-year-old, who has dreams like I do. A girl who has a burning desire to escape the tyranny she’s put through; the tyranny which encompasses the ever-present misogyny. She has always been victimized by the cruelest forms of patriarchy. Unfortunate for her, she dwells in a city which is hidebound in its nature, a city which sees a bleak future in changing what is ruining the lives of women who deserve the land, the liberty, the education, the independence as much as an ordinary man walking down the streets does. The people I refer to are no one but the hapless women. And the city I am talking about is Sahiwal. This is only one of the many wretched corners of our beloved country where women are undisguisedly objectified.
I read a Dawn Blog on ‘Why the Sahiwal Stabbings are an attack on all Pakistani women’. I hate to admit that this is not a “new” news. Probably, that’s why a feeling of desensitization has captured our minds.
The article explained how women in Sahiwal are put through extreme subterfuge and exploitation at the hands of men.
The reason is explicit. Sahiwal is one of those many cities in Pakistan where the enlightenment of women or the mere access of education given to women can stand as a massive threat. It could be seen as a gigantic hindrance on the path of men’s self-actualization. Hence, parochial and bigoted men would leave no chance in hovering over the shadows of women who might still stay adamant in seeking light.
I believe that while I have never encountered such extreme forms of partiality and have been born in a family which has been inherently liberal, it certainly is time to check my privilege and put myself in her shoes to empathize and actually understand her ceaseless victimization.
I also hate to admit that regardless of the sweet sympathy I might show to her, I would never want to give up my privileges. That’s where I will lag behind. Because the suppressed Pakistani women are no longer in need for ‘I understand you’ dialogues. What they expect from the privileged class women is to bring a change. I am not sure how will that be possible. However, I will remain audacious and optimistic.
Little good could do wonders. A little willingness can create a stupendous impact. All I need to do is to look out of my car window, try to breathe in the air similar to that of the 19-year-old. It’s time for me to hold her hand and make her walk the streets with me; the streets she doesn’t have liberty to walk on. It’s time for me to step out of my magnificent luxuries and make her avail her own luxury; the luxury which her father doesn’t want to be a part of, the luxury that her own male counterparts rightly deserve due to their physiology. It’s time for me to let the caged bird fly.
Are you with me?
