So I’m pretty certain that MNA Javed Latif must have mass-forwarded Women’s Day messages on his WhatsApp, the kind that call women a wonder of the world, worthy of utmost respect.
It was only the day after that he revealed his inner self when he made disgusting insinuations about Murad Saeed’s sisters.
People with the mindset and disease that Javed Latif is ailing from are found everywhere, sometimes our women will also not bat an eyelid before they too use similar kind of language against other women.
No amount of apology from Javed Latif can repair what has already been suggested so let’s trash his apology into the garbage can forever. However, what was sad to observe was that opinion on the issue polarised the public and even the media personnel into two groups PTI vs PLMN; the real social menace Javed Latif’s idle commentary grazed upon was left ignored.
Those who were anti-Imran Khan focused on the violence aspect, calling Murad’s furious reaction ghalat, and Imran Khan supporters saw the entire episode as a means of distraction from the Panama Leaks case.
I felt bad for women in our country as they go through this almost daily and it can be detrimental to one’s emotional well-being and can bruise people psychologically.
Within the same week, the week celebrating women internationally, Pakistani society’s dark underbelly was ripped open and colors of selective-feminism shone through.
Women’s rights activists who shout at the drop of a hat and write articles upon articles on patriarchy, harassment and misogyny did not feel enough for women insulted in this case, not as much as they did for Qandeel Baloch’s right to express herself, or other females in distress.
Their statements on social media pages condemning the issue had a ‘but’ attached to them, not many condemned it out rightly and called a spade a spade.
Now I understand a certain brand of feminism is quite trendy at the moment but my God I can’t wait for this pseudo version of it to go out of style! This version of feminism has been the worst thing to have happened to Pakistani women, it simply encashes desi misery and glorifies our vulnerability to the west.
A true feminist will never pick and choose who to protect and fight for, your feminism if its really genuine has to embrace all with the same passion.
It cannot have political motives and shouldn’t be used as an axe to grind with your least favorite leader. Some women pulled out clips and quotes of Imran Khan speaking on women in the past and used it to equate to Javed Latif’s chauvinism.
Our dearest ‘champions’ of women’s rights must have thought that there is no use making room for middle class women from Swat, KPK.
Every man that I spoke to regarding the incident said that he too would have smashed some heads in the same situation as Murad.
That’s our eastern mentality, Murad Saeed should have shown some restraint and not acted in the heat of the moment, the punch was avoidable completely, but that does not absolve Javed Latif of his crime.
Locker room talk that goes unchecked between males also needs self-censorship, it is high time we reward our women with real respect, one that expands beyond greeting cards, flowers on her birthday and random compliments on her beauty.
The onus of bringing up decent men in society lies first and foremost with the mother of the male child herself, she is not just bringing up her laadla munna only but also preparing a man that we will have to face one day in both personal or professional context.