Daily Times

With deep concern and confrontation in his voice, he pointed at the two middle-aged ladies and asked the air hostess: are they going to sit with me? Of course, responded the stewardess with a soothing smile. Sporting a western business suite with high-water pants styled above the ankles and a missing necktie, he appeared overstretched bridging between the developed world and the orthodoxy of his self-styled belief. The elderly man insisted that women should sit elsewhere. The possibility of entertaining his request was nil in the packed flight. Besides why would the two ladies be displaced from their designated seats?

Cornered in the non-existent option, the fundamentalist reluctantly slinks in the window seat as the female passengers stood to yield. Looking at the souvenir bag he was holding with conference emblem, the sober lady in the middle seat broke the ice by asking the still unhappy individual if he had been to the same conference as them. His response was affirmative. Encouraged by the generosity of his fellow passengers, the man gradually picked up the conversation to full a swing amused by the fact that those women were equally intelligent and professional.

A head full of grey hair and a matching flowing beard, coupled with a shaven moustache — he reminded me of a character from a famous childhood television series ‘The Planet of the Apes’. Flying above 30,000 feet, he seemed to have unbridled himself from the bondage of false consciousness, that the civilised company of women can sabotage his piety. Embryonic in an astral world floating above silvery-white clouds visible through a window on a bright day, he probably never had been exposed to a mixed gathering other than with the suppressed women folks in the family.

Sitting beside me in the rear, a similar character was turning in his seat for the missed ecstasy. I felt a bit sympathetic towards the two reluctant fundamentalists and the agony they must have been going through — stretched 180 degrees between the professional world and their false consciousness. Crushed within their own self-crafted cocoon of compulsions, they have not given up their western clothes or frequent use of the English language, falsely employed to prove their professional stature and education. The conversation between the ladies and the gentleman remained focused on academic matters of mutual interest. The situation that could have turned ugly in the beginning turned enlightening towards the end of the journey, opening new vistas of thought for the man; the women can be as good, professional and intelligent as men, and that they have a bigger purpose on earth than just comforting men.

The perplexed modern media, particularly, in the South Asian environment, is complicit in spreading this ideology and false consciousness. Half-truths and manipulated information dominate public opinion and perceptions. The mobilisation of extremist forces is based on false consciousness, which is driven by illusions created by the media. Through media mobilisation, masses and specific groups are pushed to follow certain ideas that motivate forces of extremism in almost all walks of life, particularly, the electronic and speedy, yet unauthentic, social media, which is serving as the main tool.

Prof Hamid Mowlana underlines that the battlefield of international politics has shifted from geographical and physical levels to cultural and communicational levels

Built on the platform of social antagonisms, the 19th-century Marxist theory was best described in the Oxford Dictionary as: “A way of thinking that prevents a person from perceiving the true nature of their social and economic situation.” The polysemic concept of ‘false consciousness’ generally describes not only economic contexts, but every situation where individuals are seen to act against their owntrue interests. Among various types of false consciousness as described by social scientists, the actual resistance to change and justification of social roles describes the situation narrated in the beginning paragraphs.

The iconic communication guru and my celebrated professor in Washington, DC, Prof Hamid Mowlana underlines that the battlefield of international politics has shifted from geographical and physical levels to cultural and communicational levels with modern media playing a crucial role and increasing our dependency on it. And in the process, we have often lost our place within an actual community and the natural socio-cultural environment.

Does the solution lie in the Taliban bombarding girls’ schools in hundreds, or quarantining women in their homes, preventing their due role in the society under the lame excuse of gory hate-filled incidents against women? Or is the solution going to be found in a recent revived move to abolish co-education? Certainly not! But, the remedy lies in washing the linen off overzealous pseudo-intellectuals and unbridled opinion makers encroaching space in the media which is ‘private’ and not ‘free’.

Turn off the tap on the sources that facilitate the nation’s ascent to decay and axe the desperate extremist narratives hell-bent on targeting women. In a society challenged on various fronts, including education, the time is now to flush dirty minds and perceptions and not to marginalise half our population.

Prof Mowlana emphasises that an ethical way of communicating across cultures for mutual dialogue, respect, and dignity are required if we desire to move to a more equitable and just global community.

The writer is senior journalist and former Political Affairs Advisor to the US Consulate General in Karachi

Published in Daily Times, June 12^th 2018.