In recent days, sexual harassment has become very much common in Pakistan. Whether it is sports, workplaces, or common areas of the country, sexual harassment has been occurring. But unfortunately, we can’t see any quick reaction by the government after it is done. And later while it comes to investigation, the authorities blame the women for it. Why so?
Sumira, a girl in an NGO in Islamabad, is spending her days in fear from her senior colleagues. Her male colleagues always come to her and touch her. If she talks to the head, the colleagues claim that they went to her for a related matter. If she accuses them, her colleagues send letters to the head by writing that she had affairs with most of the men in office. Unluckily, we are living in a male dominating society where we are ready to believe a man but not a woman. We have many other women like Sumira who are confronting harassments by men but no serious actions are being taken.
According to Anees Haroon of a NGO, there is a culture of silence in Pakistan. Whenever a woman is harassed, she won’t file the FIR, if she does, then she will be alleged as a professional in the field of lies
Furthermore, a report confirmed that per year, 50 to 70 percentages of women go to psychiatrists just to deal with being sexually harassed. A large number of the women are affected by sexual harassment who neither can be happy nor can be able to do something for the development of the country.
They can’t as well take part in outsider jobs neither they can come out of their houses for any positive purposes. Like the Yemen and Afghanistan, where a woman can’t come out safely. If she mistakenly comes out then she won’t go back home with the respect and honour in which she was before coming out. In Pakistan, there is a prediction of a similar era.
Besides other places, now-a-days, harassment has grown its feet in sports as well where the farmer hockey player Syeda Sadia was assaulted by her head coach, she alleged. But as usual no serious attention is being taken for these words are quoted by a woman. This can cause her to death as well. As the farmer cricketer Haleema Rafiq committed suicide because her words were taken as fictional. We can only find women who are not believed in this regard. They are also warned to keep quite otherwise they would be band or killed.
Furthermore, according to Anees Haroon of a non-governmenal organization (NGO), There is a culture of silence in Pakistan. Whenever a woman is harassed, she won’t file the FIR, if she does, then she will be alleged as a professional in the field of lies.
We ourselves tell the women not to be silent but while they speak up, we tell them to keep silent. They are the criminals whether they have invited the males to harass them or the males forcefully harassed them because, as I mentioned earlier, we are living in a male dominating country where we have blind mindsets to think that yes, this woman is saying the reality. But no. If you are a woman in the society, you are a criminal. This is decided with your birth whether you will rule or you will be ruled.
Thus, knowing the fact that one of the main causes of the backwardness of the country is not empowering the women, the citizens are creating more and more troubles by snatching the liberty of the women. Just because of harassment, a number of girls are unwilling to work in any institution where they are to work with the males.
There should be pure steps for provoking the nation that women are the respect of our society. Harassing women is an unbearable act. Just think of your own sisters and mother before harassing the next one. What if in spite of that girl, it was your sister? If such thoughts get born in the minds of every individual, harassing will no more be an issue in the country.
The writer is an English teacher Turbat and a student of Law at School of Law University of Turbat. He can be reached at [email protected]
Published in Daily Times, November 19th 2018.