Articles and letters may be edited for the purposes of clarity and space. They are published in good faith with a view to enlightening all the stakeholders. However, the contents of these writings may not necessarily match the views of the newspaper.
Women rights
As a little child, I had never accompanied my father to a mechanic. I was always told it wasn’t ladylike. As a result, I now need to learn how to explain my problem to mechanic in case my car breaks down. Our Pakistani culture supports a segregated system to prevent mixing sexes in common places. Males usually dominate public places. Women are considered synonymous with domesticity.
It is rare for women to go out without a male chaperone. However, it might have been a normal in upper classes. However, middle and lower middle classes still do not permit women to travel or even commute daily. This makes us dependent on male family members for everything. This is explained by fear of crime or an idea that it is customary for a woman to be accompanied by male counterpart. This may be good from a security point of view, but it makes us question our progress toward a society that does not welcome presence of women to make them feel safe in public palaces.
The lack of socialisation creates a problem of freedom in our spaces. Many girls face anxiety talking to boys and cannot perform confidently in their presence. On the other hand, boys lack etiquettes of talking to women. We can improve this by giving women equal access to public places and strengthening their independence for daily tasks by creating safe surroundings.
SAFIYA PISHORI
Karachi
Cricket attitude
The number of TV smashed in Pakistan after the T20 world Cup finals were equal to number of wickets India took in semi finals against England — a humorous tweet going viral on social media. It was amazing to see Indian and Pakistan’s steamy remarks and tension among their fans throughout the tournaments. But it was nice to see our spirit as a nation that has immense love and respect for cricketers despite not getting trophy yet we know they played well and gave their best and took us to Final and made us a runner up team in both T20 and Asia Cup. They also showed mature behaviour and did not lose sportsmanship by commenting arrogant remarks on other teams.
Indian cricket team was not just showing hostility but also showed no sense of sportsmen’s behaviour by losing deliberately to South Africa just to see Pakistan out of the knockouts and we can’t forget arrogant remarks of Irfan Pathan but it was India who got eliminated in the semis and Indian fans left cursing and derogatory remarks under the comments of their players and broke many TVs and causing havoc. Cricket is a game of heart for both the nations yet fans should understand the pressure players face and must respect them. Pakistani players would always have our love for being so unpredictable!
AISHA USMAN
Karachi
Caring for animals
These days people are very vocal about rising issues in our society which also includes human and women rights yet major part of it is completely skipped or neglected, which is ‘animal rights’. Many across the world are raising their voices to stop this cruel act practiced by humans because at the end animals are also living beings and deserve to live a better life. Western countries are laying great emphasis on this particular issue and trying to develop a ‘cruelty-free environment ‘ but this goes unnoticed in Pakistan. Even though human and women rights are also not protected in our country but still there are people who talk about them and create a buzz but there are very few concerned about animal rights.
The condition of stray animals is worst. On daily basis we come across many cases where street dogs and cats get hit by cars and die on the spot but people pay zero attention to them and move on. According to experts shrinking natural habitats, water dispersion, deforestation and illegal hunting and trade have taken a toll on Pakistan’s struggling wildlife over the past decade, posing serious threat to several rare species.
ASMA AFZAL
Lahore
Beauty standards
Pakistan has made significant advancements in terms of beauty standards. Our mindset has evolved to be more accepting of differences in people’s appearances. However, despite much progress, why do Pakistanis still seem incapable of moving on from glorifying the complexion of their former masters? Why does this slave mentality still persist even today? How have we fallen so low as to define a person’s worth by mere skin colour?
Fair skin has always been regarded as epitome of beauty in Pakistan. Little girls are brainwashed into believing that their beautiful brown complexion is ugly and should be scrubbed white through chemicals, bleaching products and skin-lightening treatments. Will this sickening beauty standard not ultimately result in creating victims of low self-esteem, and a lack of self-confidence among Pakistani girls? It’s time we free ourselves from bonds of mental slavery and proudly embrace the complexion that makes us who we are.
YUSRA FARHAN
Karachi
