Daily Times

Can a suicide bomber be given a license to blow himself up on the pretext that it is his body, and he can ‘use’ it the way he wants, irrespective of the havoc it may wreak to the life and property of the fellow human beings? It is in this spirit that the law prescribes punishments for every crime; else every accused would deny the criminal liability on the ground that it was his hand or weapon used to commit the offence, and he could use them the way he wanted.

Your freedom ends where mine begins — such is the nature of all the fundamental rights and freedoms guaranteed by the divine as well as human charters. Thus, all the freedoms/rights, including the right to life, liberty and property, right to free movement, right to expression, right to association, right to profession, and right to religion are qualified by certain restrictions imposed in the public interest and order, morality, national interest and security etc. Consequently, these freedoms cannot be misused to hurt religious, national, ethnic or sexual sentiments of others – to have an unlawful assembly, to engage in any illicit profession, to spread obscenity, and to violate the dignity of man, among other such limitations imposed for the protection and security of the fellow human beings and their properties.

However, before this concept of freedoms is further elaborated in context of the sensitive topic of the women rights and the annual “Aurat March”, one would like to condemn the untoward incident on the national television, whereby a seasoned writer of “Meray pass tum ho” fame used uncivilized and reprehensible language against a women-rights activist. Irrespective of the provocation by the said activist when she used the much-maligned phrase of “Mera Jism, Meri Marzi” to deride the writer’s point of view, the latter should have shown patience and maintained his calm rather than repeatedly hurling invectives at the activist.

This wanton behavior of the writer, apart from holding him criminally liable for violating the modesty of a woman, would cost him dearly with respect to his profession, as the time would tell. However, the damage that this rather shameful incident has caused is irreparable, especially to the otherwise cogent narrative that every right, including that of the women, is qualified by reasonable restrictions imposed by law in the interest of public order and morality.

The opponents of the ‘feminism’ may say that the majority participants of these women-right gatherings, including the annual “Aurat March”, belong to reasonably well-off families, that too in big cities like Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad, much to the chagrin of the women from the lowest rung of society who actually bear the brunt of the male chauvinism and superiority. However, they are forgetting that every movement has a modest beginning from a certain section of society; and then it becomes a harbinger of the greater rights and freedoms for all and sundry.

No can one justify the immoral placards and posters that have become the hallmark of the “Aurat March” in recent years

Take the example of the movement for women’s suffrage in the United Kingdom, which, despite having a humble beginning, culminated in ensuring the right to vote for every women in United Kingdom in 1920s. Another example is that of the “Civil Rights Movement in America”. Slavery was officially banned in America in 1865; but it would take many more years and colossal struggle before the black Americans could be treated on a par with the white Americans. Talking of movements, how can one forget the powerful movement commenced by our Holy Prophet (PBUH), which, despite drawing a scan response in the beginning, rose to become a universal movement of peace and harmony – the religion of Islam.

Nevertheless, no can one justify the immoral placards and posters that have become the hallmark of the “Aurat March” in recent years, as it gravely violates the restrictions imposed by law upon the right to expression and protest. It was in this context that a petition was filed in the Hon’ble Lahore High Court recently to regulate, and not to stop, the impending “Aurat March”. It is appreciable that the lawyer representing the women-rights’ group undertook to adhere to a code of conduct regarding the annual gathering before the Hon’ble Court, which, inter alia, includes the restriction on the display of the objectionable placards and posters.

Here, one would like to deprecate the news of the threats to the organizers of the “Aurat March”, and the resultant security issues. One need not reiterate that every citizen of Pakistan, of which more than half are women, has a fundamental right to freedom of expression, association and protest. It goes without saying that as long as the any gathering remains peaceful, calm and adheres to the law, rules and regulations, the State would be duty bound to make adequate security arrangements in order to protect the right to life and property of every participant thereof.

Finally, a note to the effect that “life does not belong to the living” – the human beings do not have any control over when, how and where they are born; whether they bring with them certain inherited diseases or not. They may have reached the moon and far-off planets, but they do not have any power or control over their bodies and when and how they suffer from diseases – the helplessness and haplessness of the human race over the recent outbreak of the Corona virus, and other such deadly diseases that, to date, remain, without any cure. Similarly, the vulnerability of the human race becomes more conspicuous when one recalls that a human being may pass away at any time or place, without being given any time to windup his worldly affairs. How can he claim to say that it is his life or body; and he can spend the way he wants?

The writer is human rights and Constitutional lawyer