After twirling around the same roundabout for what seemed like a lifetime, the horrifying Islamabad couple harassment case has finally been wrapped with Usman Mirza, the notorious assaulter with a penchant for film-making been given a death sentence.
Since Mirza’s high connections and rolling money has earlier helped him escape glaring video evidence; painting an episode that left the entire nation reeling as nothing but petty propaganda, it wouldn’t take much to guess what his next move would be.
Notwithstanding the duration of his stint behind bars (thank you, medical emergencies), the state deserves the greatest appreciation for holding its ground and seeing the proceedings through. Tolerating pressure from quarters that very conveniently made the victims backtrack their statements and even point their guns at some unknown “implicators” was a commendable feat.
However, this was just one case and going by the scores of videos found from the mobile phones of Mirza and his accomplices, a large number of hapless boys and girls have been greasing the wheels of his sheer blackmailing. Was it then only a deafening uproar on social media that prompted a call for “day-to-day hearing” from Federal Information Minister? Would the honourable Law and Justice Secretary ensure state prosecution for the provision of justice in all other instances? As the silence hangs heavy in the air, it becomes increasingly difficult to not brand our mechanisms as knee-jerk, reactionary and a little hungry for good press.
In an ideal world, the law enforcement authorities should be on their feet all the time and citizen activism should not be needed to rattle them out of their complacency. But then again, that world would not see the so-called beacons of progress and female empowerment throw members of their own sorority under the bus for the sake of colourful tweets. That it is 2022 and there’s talk of #HeForShe, our women legislators still need a storm on social media to realise their misogynistic banter was too much to stomach. *