You can take away our work days, our lectures, even our semesters but you cant take away our deadlines!
This is the ode, the plea, the call, to those at the helm of the affairs, to please stop!
Gone were the days when we use to feel ecstasy for getting unwarranted holidays and half holiday.
Islamabad has been jinx with them, big time!
International conferences
Darnas
Jalsas
Hungamay
Foreign Delegates
Protest
Protocols
VVIP movements
It is like Islamabad have been demoted to serve the scared sheep of country and the world.
Roads are filled with life yet congestion is like something stifles the traveler with traffic jams. The Islamabad highway is like the choked artery that supplies blood to the cascade of corporate housing schemes lined at its periphery on both sides. The census will detail the gravity of the influence it has on the population, number wise. But this is just the one point recurring with the traffic.
But another Darna is around the corner... in for some more hungamay
We are living in a bubble right now. The media is the most idealistic medium as well as the most drastic source of depression.
But democracy is the best revenge.
The revenge from all those who decide to deny the reality.
For some educated reason, I have forgot about the spectrum of our society that I live in. Thinking we have become articulate, and sensible human beings. Alas! I was made aware of this fallacy, by the 'people of internet' or in other words, trolls, from Pakistan.
Although, our youth may have been de-misoginized, but a large portion of men in our society beyond 35 years of age, still believe in intolerance and slut shaming, the unfortunate Achilles's heel of mid-life crisis, of Pakistani men.
As of recently, Mehwish Hayat, gave an interview at a social event, in which the reporter bluntly asked her about stance on Kashmir, to which she refused to comment, due to some pre-event instructions from the PR or organisers.
Now, this resulted in a shit storm of patriotic jingoism filled with slut shaming and degradation of the national-award-winning-artist.
The problem here, is deep rooted in the society, where the ‘showbiz’ is
still considered a 'spit-worthy' profession. Yet, in contradiction to this viewpoint, ever since the advent of
internet, everyone wants attention, and loves being treated like a
superstar. Women, to these people, are still objectified and considered weak-links; hence, according to them, these are the
lesser mortals who have to cater to the society’s whims.
You have seen the trolls and unfortunately, I am going to typecast, the unquestioned one, and thus, these are few characteristics, of a self-righteous troll uncle:
He is a businessman or grade 20 officer, in his 40s, hailing from a rural or sub-urban area.
He has a wife, but would love to get married to a young beautiful second wife, as a status symbol.
Bemoans the women of house in contempt, frequently expresses anger and abuses and beats them.
Monkey see, monkey do, this is what he has always seen in his elders too.
Watches entertainment, like vulgar stage plays and Television programs but calls the women in the industry, ‘whores’.
Has a daughter, plans to educate her and make her an independent woman and marry her off in same clan and/or a powerful family, but would still have preferred a son.
None of the traits above, are in harmony to any principle, therefore, the adulthood of such class of Pakistani men, is in shambles. These are some oversized adolescent on the internet, who see no repercussion of slut shaming women in our society or on social media.
You will come across these men, on roads, where they might act antagonised, or in offices, where they might act irritated and indifferent to you, at the same time. Is this disrespect? Is it egoistic behaviour? Frustrated? Intolerant? Condescending? Series of unfortunate events occurring in their life? Prejudiced? May be they are confined to their own world and cannot think of anything beyond themselves.
These are men with inferiority complex, who cannot bear the sight of women, who are more powerful than them, and are able to climb the corporate ladder.
These are the same men who call a woman, a slut, behind her back, when she gets a promotion over them.
These are the same men who would question the menstruation cycle of a lady, on her bad day at work or her personal life/or carnal satisfaction quotient, introspectively, in their locker-room/table talk.
They will slut shame a women who goes against their insecurities (political leadership, challenge religiopolitical status quo etc.) examples include Reham Khan and Malala Yousufzai.
I wish I could simply write over them, with the power of pen, like they
walk over the tradition of decency, under their feet. We have to reach a
cultural adulthood, and these men should be marginalised, for real. And most of all, they should be called out for their bigotry (the cake of foul smelling hypocrisy), with a nice sprinkle bits of dur fittay muh on top, served with a cup of 'grow-up'(a tannin-filled, bitter tasting, astringent of a tea).
