WHAT a questionable title for an even more questionable election” some might say. Some may even ask what I was on while penning this particular article as what silver lining would an election so skewed have. Bear with me and I will tell you, what i as a young voter think has been a break, in the otherwise dark casty democratic clouds of Pakistan. On the eve of Feburary 8th, when the screens both small and large i.e. phones and televisions, went dark, a sense of familiarity engulfed the country. A sense of nostalgia took over.
A sight I had not witnessed in real time but read about countless times in history books. It seemed online and offline that my fellow citizens had been down this road before and as they say old habits die hard, dont they? What seemed like tricks of the past and almost irrelevant today made a comeback… or perhaps only become visible again as they never left in the first place.
While piece after piece has been written in the last few weeks and months about the level-playing field or lack thereof and the absurdity of policies and decisions, worry not, I will not bore you with another one. Because remember, I am here to talk about the silver lining. While my focus will shift to that, my mind can’t comprehend and justify the shroud of darkness that otherwise exists in the society at large.
Beyond the elections, the recent case of a woman being surrounded by a large group of men accusing her of blasphemy simply for wearing Arabic scripture is a case in point and your answer to why when next week people, men and women alike, question the need for Aurat March in our society. And now , back to elections. It seems as if the societal misogyny and patriarchy seeps deep into politics too. While the country now has the first ever female Chief Minister of its largest province, punjab, I cannot understand and justify that out of 6500 candidates competing, barely 5% were women. In 2024, a country where 50% of the population is female, how do the above stated figures make sense?
Anyway, back to the silver lining: the real story of the elections is about nothing else but the lining that emerged in the early hours of February 9th. A lining that defied all odds. A lining that was brought forth by both urban and rural communities that came to the polls and took their constitutional right seriously. A lining that did not limit itself to the youth and/or first time voters but even those that are older than the Islamic Republic itself. A lining that emerged as a result of those born in ultimate privilege and those with barely enough to eat. A lining that I call the silver lining!
As the screens went dark, there was noise. Some arguments that were raised had substance, others were invalid and lacked evidence. As data flowed in from unofficial sources, the line between authenticity and official results and what were projections became blurred. Early trends were viewed with a sense of finality. This noise added to the chaos and confusion of an election already so complicated. Whatever the case may have been, I want to celebrate the silver lining that emerged in the form of young and older voters and I i hope it shines the path forward where the people actually get to choose their elected representative. In short, may the silver lining that emerged continue to shine for the people of this troubled country and its democracy.
—The writer is Assistant Editor, daily Pakistan Observer, Islamabad.
Email: [email protected]
views expressed are writer’s own.
