As the next generation, we should all strive to make our respective communities recognise that to advance as a collective; we must first take care of the needs of the individual.
I realised this a few months ago when I was carelessly scrolling through my Instagram feed and I came across several posts of friends and friends of friends talking about a girl from a local university who had committed suicide. Suicide – a word that oft leaves a bitter taste on the tongue of the speaker and an uncomfortable silence in the air. My first reaction was of shock and I almost dropped my phone. Things like this never happen, I thought to myself, At least not here.
That was a misconception of mine that was to be challenged. In Pakistani society, suicide along with mental illnesses such as clinical depression is treated as something shameful that people step around. People whisper about them in their small circles but never want to speak up and question the hesitation around the subjects due to cultural stigmas.
My second reaction was to fill with anger. As more and more people became aware of what had happened, soon arose the judgements and accusations.
“She should have thought about her family.” “How selfish”. “Kids these days don’t know what real problems are”.
This made me realise how truly ignorant my community can be about other’s situations and their surrounding circumstances.
It feels as if from birth, all human beings are conditioned to put the desires of society at large before their own.
The writer is an aspiring poetess. She can be reached at [email protected]