Shameless Men!

19th July'2008

I used to feel sick after hearing that we are living in a male dominating society. I never agreed to this statement. In my opinion it was a pathetic perception of people, I had 100 ways to prove myself but today I admit that we are living in a male dominating society. I heard the story of a poor abused woman.

A few days back I was reading a magazine and was completely engrossed in the fashion pages when I was distracted by the door bell. Nobody was at home therefore I opened the door. I was surprised to see a lady with gloomy face and filthy clothes. Her collar bone was so damn prominent that it could be used as a soap dish. When I inquired about her identification and the reason of arrival she replied,” Meri behen Shahnaz ap ke ghar kam karti hai usse bola dain” It took me a while to recognize her. She was the elder sister of Shahnaz (maid). I made her sit in the lobby and called her sister. Both of them were talking in their language “siraiki”, I couldn’t understand a single word. When I asked her about the deep black mark on her face she burst into tears and narrated me her story. She was being raped by her cousin. Her mother ascended voice against the injustice done to her daughter and therefore she was being killed by the jirgah people! Somehow Sajda (victim) managed to escape from her village and reached Karachi. She is a married Woman and a mother of 5 sons. Her husband is a drugee and bangs her ruthlessly in the community (the black mark on her face was the result of this). She has been working in houses for the sake of bread and butter and her husband stays at home all the day and curse Sajda for the financial crisis. Now Sajda is unable to work because she is a 4 month pregnant woman. In the just 5 years she has given birth to 5 sons. Due to the poverty she is deprived of the nutritional food she needs at the moment. Lack of proper diet has badly affected her health. I was spelled bound after hearing this, my senses had stopped working. That was the first time I had met a rape victim. It’s not just Sajda there are many other Women who are the victim of such deeds in this male dominating society. In the rural areas, women are like slaves subject to drudgery. They are there just to obey their fathers, brothers and husbands. They do not have the right to decide about themselves because women are considered as foolish creatures according to the dominant social and cultural norms. Likewise marriage is also a sort of trade between different families both in the rural and urban areas. They are highly vulnerable to violation of their rights to life.

A woman's right to liberty is restricted in the name of modesty, protection and prevention of immoral activity. In rural areas 90% of women work in the fields. They work for the whole day with their male family members, but they still have to face their wrath. Male family members keep a strict eye on the female family members in the name of "honour". But one must understand the meaning of honour because in our society honour does not have the meaning of its true sense. Here it really means possession of women as a form of property. Not only are the restrictions of women's liberty maintained in the name of this honour (ghairat) but they also can be put to death if they lose their "honour".

Is this what Quran teaches us? Was this there in the preaching of our beloved prophet Hazart Muhammad (P.B.U.H)? Is this the translation of any verse? Will this make our life after death gratifying? Will Allah forgive this crime of brutality on Women? This is a horrific reality and something needs to be done to save the women and girls from more glaring problems in the future.