Daily Times

Being a liberal in an increasingly conservative society like Pakistan is definitely not a praiseworthy characteristic. Although their political philosophy is to encourage equal opportunities for everyone and promote freedom for everybody, their whole struggle is fraught with danger in our society. Not only their physical being can be threatened, or their assets attacked or a family member terrorised for being a progressive, their reputation as respectable human beings and honest professionals can be (and will be) tarnished. They can be labelled as an agent from the west (the US), the east (India), the Middle East (Israel) or the north (Russia), but in the worst case scenario, the attack from which they cannot redeem themselves is when they are proclaimed as an open enemy of the nation, a ‘Qadiyani’ whose patriotism is always untrustworthy and religion controversial. Who has not heard ‘rumours’ about most of our prominent civil right activists being Ahmadis before they were denounced as secular and therefore agnostics?

Generally, besides being ‘fascists’ there are a few other attributes that most Pakistanis ascribe to the liberals. None of them are very encouraging. First, they believe that the so-called ‘enlightened’ people are too indulgent towards drinking alcohol. Even at work, the conservatives are convinced that under their desks, the progressivists have a bottle of liquor hidden, so that they can add a little bit of alcohol in their tea, sodas or sometimes also in plain water. There is hardly a moment in their lives when they are actually sober and not under the influence. Although I believe the percentage of alcohol consumption — purely based on personal observation — is roughly equal between the conservatives and the liberals, yet the latter does not hide it from the public while the former drinks in the closet and criticises it in the public, with a straight face.

Second, most religious people would also think that the liberals, since they are much more vocal about women’ rights, the financial freedom of females, and way more vocal about their empowerment, invariably have an ‘open marriage’ contract as well. Without any reservation, further research or better understanding, and just because of their stance on feminism, it can be declared that moderates do not understand the significance of ‘honour’ in our culture. And that they are living life in a bubble that is out of touch with the realities of Pakistani society.

While talking to a practising physician in Lahore, a mother of three who serves as an Assistant Professor of Medicine in a private medical college, when I claimed that I thought the liberal values were more realistic and overall better for society, she suddenly touched both of her ears one by one with her right hand and said, “Tauba, Tauba, Tauba (God forgive us all), how can you have a normal family life then?” Initially, I have to admit that I was dumbfounded, not really able to grasp her deep misconceptions. Yet, afterwards, I realised she was not alone in her false impressions about liberalism.

Nonetheless, the truth, if studied well, may just be the opposite. And we may find out that the prevalence of infidelity in married couples is much higher in the conservatives than their liberal counterparts. If put against the level of conservatism with the incidence of adultery, we may see some surprising correlation: the more one pretends to be ‘religious’, the more is the likelihood of him/her being unfaithful to his/her spouse. Here, I am not denying the existence of liberals ‘partying’, but obviously if they exist, they are extremely uncommon and are kept highly confidential. Additionally, these parties have nothing to do with any political ideology, and are as unacceptable to the liberals as they are to the conservatives.

Third, based on their first two misunderstandings many Islamists would declare that liberals either do not believe in religion altogether or absolutely hate it. I agree that many moderates do not like to announce their religiosity and believe that their connection with the Creator is their personal matter. They may also condemn the public proclamation of hyper-religiosity, but it is hard for me to believe that they indeed disrespect any religion, be it Islam, Christianity, or Hinduism.

In general, Pakistani liberals stand up for two principle virtues: women’ empowerment and the religious rights of the minorities. Each one of them, without a doubt, is a highly commendable and a courageous standpoint, yet in a highly charged society both of them can pose a certain level of risk. Most liberals understand that risk very well, which, many times, makes them feel awkward and unsafe, yet it only strengthens their conviction — instead of weakening their stance — to stand up for the rights of the weakest and the most suppressed segments of society.

The writer is a US-based freelance columnist. He tweets at @KaamranHashmi and can be reached at skamranhashmi@gmail.com