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Slander, Slurs and the Society

What Shireen Mazari endured yesterday in the assembly – being referred to as a ‘tractor-trailer’ by the opposition member Khawaja Asif- is not the first time an individual has been humiliated this way, neither is it the last.

Political intolerance has reached such startling heights, within the nation, that this sense of superiority almost seems to come naturally. Us and them. Above, below. Upper class, lower class. Punjabi, Sindhi. And the list of man-made divisions is continuous.

The way we group ourselves into categories, separating each person from another, ranking them in order of how much respect we think they deserve, is steadily damaging society. These prejudiced attitude, however, begin at the top, and filter their way down.

Yesterday’s debacle, is a leading example.

We choose who we bring into power, we also choose to keep them in power, hence we are also somewhat responsible for what they do when they are in power. Our leaders are a reflection of ourselves. And in this case, Khawaja Asif’s slur against Shireen Mazari, is a microcosm of Pakistani society, something that occurs on a larger scale than what was seen in the assembly. Something that is slowly breeding in each and every one of us.

Intolerance.

It was only a month ago, when a Jirga decided that a cart driver should put the shoe, of a feudal master, in his mouth, as the price for crashing into his vehicle. The enrage was subtle, silenced. The event, humbly accepted as another daily occurrence in our divided society. The consequence? A continuation of such regressive behavior, in our own National Assembly.

Yet as mentioned before, it is not first time an individual, a human, has been insulted for their belief, views, or then simply, for their way of being. This nature of slandering is an inseparable part of all political campaigns, in person, and now, on social media too. Twitter, recently, has become the hotbed of indirect and shamelessly direct insults echoed across the T Ls of many ‘respectable’ politicians. Whilst some control themselves on television, there is a massive number of who reveal too much of themselves on Twitter. And whilst at times, we might secretly take pleasure in the cat-fights that ensue on a seasonal basis, there is this depth of hopelessness in our laughter.

Are these the men in charge of our futures? Are these the men we bind ourselves to for 5 years? Are these the men that reflect our society? But more importantly, is insult, humiliation, division, deeply woven into the fabric of our society?

The pitiful answer may be, yes.

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