Iqra, a Baloch girl of Absor Turbat, faces dilemmatic challenges in her life being a woman. She is attempted to be raped by strangers putting all the blames on her. She is tortured, scolded, weakened and beaten with harsh rebuke of the entire society day to day. She is not let to take admission in university resulting in a wastage of a year. And then she begins to change her attitude. She forcefully joins university but is left ignored and unsupported_ morally and financially. She chats with the moon_ her sole companion left.
Being a woman in the Pakistani society is not less than standing with one foot all day long in the scorching sun. You have to encounter so many obstacles to have yourself positioned among the ‘normed-women’ of the society. A tiny step out of the drawn line for women kicks them off the field.
Iqra Baloch vociferates from a very backward region of Balochistan. Her pains began with an incident she had never wished to come across.
“They were strangers trying to come closer to me,” explains Iqra with tears on her eyes.
She was attempted to be raped, but luckily, she survived from being raped. However, she was stuck before the society. The miscreants were known well to everyone out there, but she was alleged to have them called for fulfilling her sexual demands.
Why is it so when we know who the real culprits are and believe in rumours we already apprehend are unreal and hold the females responsible for the acts they had never done? Is it because females are very emotional and have been bearing all the nonsenses the males do in the society? Why only is a woman to suffer from all the wrongdoings of the men?
“When I tried to explain to my family the things were opposite, I was beaten. I was told a prostitute by my family despite knowing everything well. I was dumbstruck and got muted wondering if it really were happening in the real life. I wish it were a bad dream only, but in this society wishes are never meant for females.” Iqra tells me when lost in her thoughts.
She desperetely missed the time when she was loved the most by her family. She quests for a smile from her family every now and then, but only receives angriness and red eyes of even her little ones.
“How beautiful was the time when my younger and elders forced me to play and sit with them! I felt like the luckiest girl of my family, but look, where I stand today. Goddddd, why don’t you give a little time to help me out of this all shit…?” she looks at the sky and smiles painfully with tearful eyes.
In the given society, women are said to be given due respect, be it normally, traditionally or Islamically. But, the respect only lasts when you are an ‘obedient’ girl of the society.
To a great misfortune, being obedient in our society is referred to being silent to every atrocity done on women, bearing the violation of women’s rights, tacitly abide by the abusive behavior of the males etc. Why do not the both gender stay equal on like circumstances?
“When I joined the university, none of the students joined my group. Because they had terms with the society I belonged to. I was always seen from the societal eyes which was intentionally made heinous to cease my rights as a woman and silence my voice.” she cited.
When there appears something wrong in the society, we are to eradicate the ‘wrong’ not the people affected with wrongness. Here the whole picture is opposite: wrong was done by others and someone else is held accountable and is punishhed with social distancing.
“When I feel the pains are controlling my body, I sit on my window and look at the moon, fold my both hands tightly and talk to her. She does not reply back in words, but I feel she cries looking at my tears falling down.” Iqra laments closing her both eyes at once. “When the other days darkness takes over the light of moon, I get graved with deep silence_ internally and externally.”
What can a girl do when she is subject to words one cannot imagine_ that too by her own family members? Despite she cries her heart out, who can move forward to lift her to justice? If she is a girl, does not she deserve to be listened to? Is it what our society conveys to the coming generation to declare a girl guilty no matter if she has done nothing wrong? Are not we ourselves giving birth to culprits to play with the emotions of girls? Why cannot her family stand by her when she desperetely needs them? Will a girl always be so hapless in our society?
After listening to Iqra, a great many questions arose in my mind. But, I could not answer any one of them. I tried my best to get to the depth of the questions, but all I could feel at the end was; I too am a male of the same society.
All in all, a child always resembles the society_ be it either gender. They learn to grow according to the acts of the society. If we teach them to respect men and women, they will respect. If we measure the respect with a kilo extra to the males’ side, women are always going to suffer likely.
Secondly, if we cannot heal the pains of an affected woman, we do not have the right to play with their emotions either. What if she has done something wrong, will she be ever punished in the world?
Finally, we need to get women are not different from the men. There do exists some biological differences, but they are always equal in many grounds of the affairs of the world. They have their separate rights_ in the Constitution of Pakistan and in Islam. They deserve much respect.