Daily Times

In a country where most parents feel uncomfortable talking to their daughters it is no wonder that marital decisions are treated as a joke. However, it is one thing to stay mum on such matters considering we are known for hanging a cloud of shame over all that we consider “unholy” but to stoop down to unimaginable levels to silence those who dare reject the societal notions and speak their mind is heart-wrenching.

To hear of a father himself cutting the legs of a daughter because she did not wish to stay in an abusive marriage might give a comprehensive answer to all those animal rights activists who had taken to the streets to protest against the shocking episode of a man chopping off the legs of a camel in Sanghar last month.

Another girl in Karachi was murdered by her brothers infuriated by her interest in getting remarried. What’s more frightening is that these episodes are bound to prompt a series of explanatory statements by self-proclaimed televangelists, either advising women about the virtues of a good wife or splashing the holy concoction of divine limitations. Just last week, a female anchor had to face seemingly endless vile trolling, with so-called experts commenting on everything from her number of children to her career choices, after she had stepped into the open about her abusive marriage.

One cannot even begin to imagine how pervasive domestic violence is in our part of the world. Fathers, brothers, husbands, sons or even far-flung members of the family, there appears no shortage of those who would jump into the ring to claim “ownership” over the affairs of a woman, paying no regard to her age, intellect or even her rights.

Women are routinely seen as subordinate to men and are expected to fulfil traditional roles, leading to unequal power dynamics within the family. Sadly, for them, years upon years (sometimes, even a lifetime) of meek servitude is not enough to earn them a seat at the table. These jarring attempts to mainstream a systematic commodification of females would not stop until the state itself joined a strong pro-women’s movement in Pakistan, forcing the perpetrator in every single instance to face the music. Challenging traditional gender norms and ensuring that the stigma surrounding gender-based violence is faced by the culprit, not the victim might prove to be a great start. After all, having seen the negligible impact of passing historic legislation and appointing innumerable positions, perhaps, the authorities could try to focus on the implementation aspect. *