Sexual Harassment in Karachi: Whose Fault?

If the state wants, such behavior can cease overnight.....When Kanjaras and Randees rule the roost, what do you expect?

There have been several instances where bystanders tried to stop harrassment. These hijras had connections with the kanjars...and the good samaritans were punished for the deed....What kind of message does this send?

“If rape is inevitable then why not relax and enjoy”

You can never put the word ‘relax’, ‘enjoy’ and ‘rape’ in one sentence. How dare you say something like that. I don’t understand why your post wasn’t filtered out. How can you expect a woman to relax and enjoy herself when a man is beating her and penetrating her violently without her consent, and forcefully ensuring that she is being punished. The trauma of rape lasts a lifetime. And gang rape is far worse, no woman is going to derive and sexual or personal pleasure out of being raped!

“In 55 years we have created a society in Pakistan that is based only on one priciple: Exploit and oppress the helpless the one below you.”

And what do you think the western socities in their centuries of existence have created socities any better? Do you not think that there are daily conflict between the powerful and the weak in these societies? The conflict you speak of today is purely a western phenomenon. The western man faces the same oppression but in a different context. Yet both societies as you say have figures of rape and gang rape in ‘astronomical’ figures.
Every society is based on exploitation; if there was non then we would have been living in a perfect society. So don’t give us women the bullshit that men rape women because of the daily economic struggles. Because that is not the reason, now is it. It is about male exertion of power over the female. It is a form of female punishment directed towards the suffering for the woman only.

No woman (or man) should be forced to have any kind of contact with her (his) consent. First of all we have to recognize individual rights. Only then can we see the sanctity of a person`s space. In the west, touching or coming too close to a person is an intrusion, unless that person invites or permits the ``intruder.`` to cross that invisible barrier.

In the east, especially Indo-Pak, I have noticed that there is not much emphasis on individual rights, especially in Islamic societies. People take all kinds of unwanted liberties with each other, as long as the sexes are separated. Grabbing hands, taking one by the arm, bumping strangers without a word of apology are all too common. Parents and friends easily intrude into children`s bedrooms without knocking.

This kind of behavior makes it easier to harrass females by gazing, staring, touching, groping or worse. When there is no respect for an individual`s rights then there is only fear of retribution. So, by repressing sexual expression and release, we are encouraging young males to have a motive for ``wasting their time`` in staring at women. Then by not emphasizing individual rights, we are telling them that it`s permitted to infringe upon the females` space as long as they are not accompanied by a male.

You get the society that you plan for. :)

paindupastry #28: ``i agree with romairs post. #19 women have the power, they just have to find it.``

There is a simple first step in this. And in any other endeveour, which involves freedom from any kind of oppression. And that is to become the boss.

Women need to rise up in the corporate world, political world etc. and gain positions of leadership, where they are the decision makers, in Pakistan. And that can only be done by the women who are empowered already, i.e the Chowk Crowd type women.

There are some women in Pakistan who have done this. Not enough though. But if they can do it, then others can do it also, if they put in the same amount of effort. Ever hear of someone named Musharraf - a very powerful individual in Pakistan. No not Pervez Musharraf. But Musharraf Hai. She was voted one of the 400 most powerful businesswomen in the world by Forbes (or Fortune). She is the head of one of the largest, if not the largest, multinational company in Pakistan.......................

Complaining is ok, but it never solves the problem...............

reply to#43
Urstruly,

``If rape is inevitable then why not relax and enjoy.`` you must be kidding right?
please tell that to every woman you know.
Rape is not about sex janaab it is about showing who has power and there are lot more avenues to enjoy sex than rape.

``No one can match the revenge of a wronged woman``. yes you are right, please tell that to the thousands of women in Pakistani jails...and now I know why they are not being released because you men fear their revenge!! how funny!!

``Ask yourself this question everyday while looking into the mirror ``What did you do to change the society today?`` You might be spared, from what is about to engulf us all.``
If you acknowledge there is a problem and think about solutions you already are doing something. Acknowledgement , undertanding and empathy lead to changed behavior and that in turn leads to change in actions and events.

urstruly:

after the bengali story you say...So a common man when gets back home after losing his dignity at his place of work...

and then build it up for a thinly disguised justification for rapes

i disagree completley and utterly with your reasoning...and for that reason the query in the end sounds like crocodile`s tears..

sadly

t

It was sometime in late 80s when the civil war in Karachi and other cities in Sindh was at its peak - Punjabis and Pathans were killing mohajirs; mohajirs were killing sindhis; and sindhis were killing just about everyone and Baluchis, police and gun runners were supplying weapons to anyone who could pay. It was the second day of shoot-at-sight curfew in Karachi. After about 36 hours of curfew the miltary announced over the speakers that there was a break in curfew for 3 hours and anyone who wanted to buy supplies could do it with in those hours and after that there would be another curfew for indefinite period of time. After this announcement people just rushed to buy food and other supplies.

Close to the house, where I used to live along with couple of other students, at the street corner, there was a wooden kiosk where a Bengali used to sell paan, cigarettes, tea, matches and such other stuff. His kiosk was hardly 3x3 ft in size and along with his merchandize it`d become so tiny that the skinny bengali could hardly fit in. He usually stood outside to sell his stuff. The guy was a poor immigrant who paid human smugglers to get him and his family all the way across India to this ``promised land`` to make his living. He was father of 8 or 9 kids of all shape and sizes, some of them usually accompanied him.

So as the break in the curfew was announced he rushed to his kiosk and opened it for business. I was standing at the street corner observing him. He was definitely not having a good day because everybody was rushing towards bigger shops so that they could buy and hoard as much as possible. Kids of the neighborhood also came out and started playing. One of them shot a fire-cracker nearby which sounded almost like a fire from Klashnikov. That sound had a magical effect on the people on the street; some of them froze with terror where they were; some ducked; and some just stopped and craned their necks to see what was going on with their frighetend eyes. That spell broke when a kid chuckeled and screemed ``Firing shuroo ho gai, Firing shuroo ho gai``. Almost everyone smiled ashamedly but this bengali just shot out of his kiosk and started beating this kid mercilessly. He himself was crying and screaming ```why the hell did you say that you son of a bitch, why....`` the kid was screaming with fright too but it was the bengali whose tears were trickling down his eyes. Some people from the neighborhood jumped in and saved that kid. Upon asking, the bengali bawled and said that it has been two days that his kids had eaten anything, and he couldn`t control himself when he heard that little twerp screaming that firing had started again.

That little incident was a great eye-opener for me. The lesson learned thru that incident could not be learned from any book written on sociology, psychology, or individual and group behavior.

In 55 years we have created a society in Pakistan that is based only on one priciple: Exploit and oppress the helpless the one below you. So a common man when gets back home after losing his dignity at his place of work; at the checkpoints at the hand of police; at the bank while paying the bills; at the grocery store where vegetable vendor would not let him pick and choose while asking for full price; at the hospital; he does not feel so charitable towards his dependents, his children, wife or others. The young man who cannot find job; the man who doesn`t have anything to attract a woman when sees that those above him are having all the fun then takes his frustrations upon the one weaker than him. And it is not necessary that this frustrated individual belongs to the very down trodden he can belong to any rung of the society but he wants his revenge, his frustration taken out to one below him. In the bigger scheme of things woman is more dependent, weaker, and vulnerable. Gang raping her is the revenge of the rapist from those who raped him first. Harassing her makes on feel powerful; disgracing her makes on more exhalted. It all goes upto the very top. At the very top, currently in Pakistan, there is a group of 4000 to 5000 very evil people who are causing this effect. They are sitting on all the resources; they are corrupt; they are mean; and they are above the law. They constitute our ruling class. Since they are corrupt themselves it has become their second nature to corrupt everyone in their field of gravity; since they lack self-respect they have to deny self respect to one below him so that no one could point their fingers at them. I don`t think that any marathon races, any number of woman seats in the parliament; and any number of women related measures will ease the misery of women. Today if women are being gang raped (astronomical figures that almost correspond with Western societies now), being thrown acid at, being confined to their houses for fear of harassment and assault; tomorrow they will be selling themselves to avenge all the wrongs done to them. If rape is inevitable then why not relax and enjoy. No one can match the revenge of a wronged woman.

Ask yourself this question everyday while looking into the mirror ``What did you do to change the society today?`` You might be spared, from what is about to engulf us all.

paindu

For all behaviors, every culture creates its own context of faciliatating and restraining forces. Islam is not unique in doing so. In other cultures the mix of factors may be just different, but it is never absent.

but the abdul-hates are winning :

``Retreating before the extremists

After the April 3 attack by religious extremists on a mini-marathon in Gujranwala, for women being permitted to participate in it, other districts in the Punjab have either shelved or cancelled similar races or excluded the women from them. The Bahawalpur district administration has postponed the mini-marathon for an indefinite period, while the Multan district administration has postponed it from April 8 to April 10. It has also decided that if the race takes place on the new date, women would not be allowed to participate. Sargodha has asked women not to take part in the ‘marathon’ scheduled in the city on April 8. ``

........... first it was the hadood laws, then honor killings, then the passport fiasco and now marathons ........... at this rate women, ahmedis and pigs will soon be banished from the streets of pakistan ............

Re: # 39

despite ur attempts vivek. i see this thread turning into a maligning islam thread and then some muslims getting angry and saying shyt about hinduism.....every interaction gets worse and worse. avoid interactring after the top 30-50. theres no constructive discussion after that. i think this one has reached that stage or is about to

satyamvada,
I never said that India, Pakistan and USA are in the same boat. I am not one of those neo-liberals that we see in India, who think India and Pakistan have everything in common and should live happily ever after. But what I was trying to say is that freedom for a woman to do what she likes is not yet deeply entrenched in our country.

kaalchakra,
One cannot seperate religion from personal behavior, after all religion influences our behavior.

re: vivek # 36

Religious beliefs do not create ``eve-teasers.`` They merely alter the real context within which the ``eve`` and the ``teaser`` meet.

Vivek,

tch tch tch.....

``eve teasing`` is in India, it is in the US as well, violence exists too, but how does
society evaluate it ? So Pakiland, India and US are all in the same boat ?

In pakiland, a woman`s word does not have the same effect of evidence as that
of a man`s word. So what does that mean ? It is a clear signal to a man to be
more aggressive towards women and exercise his superiority.

Laws are a product of values and in turn Laws influence behvior and attitude.
Laws of a land are what helps to creates the social environment and reflects the
institutional character of a country.

satyamvada,
Pal, in India there are people who indulge in eve-teasing and some of them are not muslims. I am not defending Islamic law and I think it interferes too much into personal life, but it also has to do with personal attitude.

Fizza:
``...nothing can give her [mukhtar mai] back the sense of personal dignity she had prior to the case. ``

She`s a hero.

The `concept of honor` itself is the problem. In trying to sustain it, murders have to be commited. Honor is the culprit in crime. It sets the boundaries, limitations, reasons, and justifications. So the question arises, what sense is there in perpetuating this code? Her rapists wanted to break her down by `taking away her honor`. That she has risen against them has denied them that pyschological perversion they cherished. And whatsmore, there is nothing more they can do. In a painful twist, she is free from the clutches of their honor code.

Honor. It is the supra-constitutional code that defies the law of the land.

Things and entities (like the Faujiz) who defy the law are impure.

The current laws are retarded. But to change them we`d need a system. And Faujiz have denied the emergance of that system. Thus they are the solely responsible for the sad current state of affairs.

Dr. Shazia`s words should be posted in every corner: `There is no law and order in Pakistan`.

Fizza,

Women are basically property under sharia law. Atleast the status of a muslim
woman is better than that of a non-muslim man or woman. So you should be grateful
for that.
Laws are a reflection of what society believes in.
So if one is considered propety and merely needing protection, then it also implies
that other persons can try to harass and abuse someone else`s property.

It is very hard, but it is important that the truth be recognized told and told.
There in lies liberation.