Following the murder of the controversial public figure, Qandeel, Aitzaz Ahsan spoke to the public and gave a statement claiming: “Women are not given constitutional and religious rights. The media has attempted to portray Qandeel’s brother as a hero, and it is likely that he would gain sympathies from the public.”
According to Mr. Aitzaz Ahsan, protecting women’s rights is perhaps the most important cause in view of Qandeel Baloch’s recent murder case. I came across an exclusive news story where a man was killed in the name of honor. Similarly, a 43-year old man, Muhammad Irshad’s throat was slit by his family members.
According to news reports, the man had secretively married a woman of his choice and feared retribution from his family’s end. A few months later, Irshad returned to his village and spent some time with his family.
In his brief statement, the local police chief, Ghazi Salahuddin said, “The assailants were armed with knives and hatchets, and after inflicting several wounds on Irshad’s body, they slit his throat.”
Most recently, a 24-year old man was killed for ‘honor’ by his family for an alleged affair with a married woman. So, my question to Sir Aitzaz Ahsan is; why consider passing a ‘Women Protection Bill’ when you have clearly shelved the untold stories of Pakistani men? I believe it is ignorant of him to suggest a proposal that belittles and overlooks men, considering that he is one.
Although women are predominantly victimized, the opposite gender should not be looked down upon. As a Pakistani, I believe we rely heavily on gender roles and stereotypes and cannot think out of the box in view of gender issues.
I approve of Aitzaz Ahsan’s statement, however; did he ever stop to think for once the torture and violence men have patiently endured over the years? The independent human rights commission has said that 1,096 women were the prime targets of honor killings compared to 88 men in 2015. For sure, a protection bill for women should be passed and justice should be served for those 1,096 women, but what about those 88 men who lost their lives? Do their lives not matter to him?
Has he not given some thought to child’s rights either, where each time a young boy is raped by the same-sex gender across the nation? If he really wants to shed light on the protection bill for women, consider every human being, not just women. Perhaps the bill should be titled ‘Human Rights Bill’ which is inclusive of all genders and the transgender community.
And why is that a famous public figure receives widespread attention by the media and not a lay man? Does it all boil down to journalistic ethics and TRP? As a nation, we should be more inclusive in terms of gender, sexes, race and diversity. Mental and physical brainwashing is ruining Pakistan for good. It is time that we take a firm stand for an issue as crucial as this. The bottom line, however is that Pakistan’s government should sideline political issues for once and contend with social problems which are adversely affecting the foreign policy of the nation. Hence, the current bill should be revamped to include people from all walks of life irrespective of their background and class. A string of issues presently exist in Pakistan namely class struggle, minorities rights, women and child’s rights. It is time that Pakistan does something for its people, for once.
