Being a Feminist in Pakistan

Being a Feminist in Pakistan

What do people have to say?

Being a feminist in Pakistan is no easy feat, we are faced with heaps and heaps of misinterpretations. The funniest part of the story is that women here too prefer men over themselves which is mind-boggling. There is no problem if you prefer your husband over you, but that does not mean you bring down your spirits down just because he is the main bread-winner for your household. You make a house a home, you raise your children to give them a better lifestyle and you love your family above all. You make time for them no matter what, do not say that you are less than men just because society wants them to work. 

The Aurat March which took place in Pakistan on 8th March, 2020 was a complete disaster, men like Khalil ur Rehman Qamar completely destroyed the meaning of feminism. Can't a women work and raise children, together at the same time? The next thing that comes to mind is the wage gap, for every 1 dollar that a man makes, a woman only makes around 0.90 dollars at its best in Iceland. Benazir Bhutto, was a true feminist but we all know the terrible fate she had to face, death- above all being bombed. A microscopic minority of men still believe in patriarchy, even if its the 21st century. Even some women are of the opinion that sexual harassment and rape cases are because women wear rather flimsy costumes; however, even a Burqa does not stop a woman from being cat-called in public, how is this even true? I above all want to applaud countries like Saudi Arabia for giving women some independence, for example, driving without a male guardian. The Western world is utterly shocked at this revelation because it seems far from realistic to them but even countries like Pakistan still see women facing men saying that "we gave you permission to drive the car"  which reiterates the fact that male dominance prevails and the fate of a woman depends on the man.

Reality is a social construct- so if someone tells you that women are only meant to sit in the house if we think practically, if we change ourselves today then can only we, without any fear walk on the streets, without being catcalled. Social inequality, is also a major factor in educational deprivation of women, in MBBS colleges you may see majority women but only half of them make out doing house jobs or give the USMLE exam. Then men come into play as they complain of women taking their seats; however, it is either them or their mothers who want women to stay at home. Hypocrisy is in the veins of each and everyone in this country. 

Lets start with small steps to an equal Pakistan because the journalists here are going to be in a frenzy after we directly ask for bodily autonomy which is pretty messed up since it is mentioned in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by United Nations. This world would be a better place if we all played our part and supported women-there's no harm if a woman is your boss and is on a higher position than you. Cultural relativism- this is the biggest factor that limits women from achieving greater goals, culturally, we are expected to be the primary care-takers for our children; but what about single dads who want to project a positive picture to their children that its not always women who can be better care-takers. The growth of nuclear families is also a major reason for women to be staying at home. 

An odd and rather dull-witted stereotype exists in our society that women are not as astute as men in subjects like Science and Mathematics, and even if they are, the entirety of the credit is given to their husbands or a male in the family for helping them. If Marie Curie won the Nobel Prize because of her husband then why not dig deeper into Albert Einstein's past? So men, this is not your cup of tea, all we want is equal educational rights even in low-income government schools and in the workplace as well. Is this too much to ask for?