Category: Editorial

Official opinion on current social and cultural policy in Pakistan. The editorial states The Current’s official stance on Pakistan’s national issues.

  • Let the trans live: They’re already marginalised

    Let the trans live: They’re already marginalised

    Any marginalised community in a country goes through struggles and challenges of its own. From their right to live to their right to freedom, their existence revolves around many obstacles. Pakistan is no different. The transgender community in Pakistan is a marginalised community that on a daily basis is ridiculed, harassed, abused, and given life threats. And this has been a pattern for many years. The recent propaganda about the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights), Act (2018) is extremely dangerous and life-threatening.

    The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act of 2018 has come under intense criticism from some sections of society during the past few weeks with two petitions also having been filed in the Federal Shariah Court against the Act. The act was enacted in the year 2018 to guarantee transgenders’ equal rights to education, basic health facilities, issuance of CNICs and passports, and giving them a right to vote and contest elections. The Supreme Court’s decision on September 25, 2012, that said that eunuchs were entitled to all of the rights protected by the Constitution and enjoyed by other members of society led to the passing of the 2018 Act. However, now a few religious parties are seeking amendments to the act. The major amendment that is being considered is that a trans person should be allowed to change their gender identity after evaluation from the medical board instead of their self-perceived identity.

    A lot of misinformation is being propagated about the Act, including accusations: “The bill is merely a disguise for the LGBT community,” while others are saying that it is creating a pathway for same-sex marriages. There is a common misconception going on that as per the act, any person can change their ID card from M to F and F to M based on their own perception. However, that is simply not the case. The rules that were notified under this act clearly say that if you are a transgender man or a woman, you can change your identification card on the basis of your self-perception but only to X, not to Male or Female.

    A person having an X card cannot marry a person with an ID card with a male or female gender mentioned on it.

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Senator Mohsin Aziz on Monday said that the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act of 2018 is “disgusting”.

    “Why do we have to protect the rights of transgenders? How can we accept the rights of gays and lesbians?” he asked in the Senate.

    Siraj-ul- Haq, the Ameer of Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), has said that all religious groups will demonstrate at Lahore’s Shuhada Mosque if the government does not withdraw the Transgender Rights Act seriously. He further said that the Act is more dangerous than the atomic bomb dropped by the United States on Japan in 1945.

    The question remains: why are the rights of a marginalised community such a threat? Why can some sects of society not let them live? Did anyone actually read what the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act of 2018 stands for? More than 20 transgender people have lost their lives. We hope the people threatening the transgender community understands that they have a right to live and the right to dignity. Let the transgender community live: they’re already marginalised in Pakistan.

  • Pakistani qaum, yeh cricket hai bhei, racism check mein rakho

    Pakistani qaum, yeh cricket hai bhei, racism check mein rakho

    Sports brings pride and recognition to a country and for Pakistan, cricket is one of the most celebrated games. It brings both joy and heartache to millions of Pakistanis. With Pakistan and Sri Lanka playing the final of Asia Cup 2022, we wish both teams luck but we obviously want Pakistan to win! Pakistanis all around the world will be rooting for our boys in green. Cricket and our men in green are a source of continuous pride for the country but what we witnessed from the audience stands in the match between Pakistan and Afghanistan was nothing but disappointing at so many levels. The Afghanistan-Pakistan cricket rivalry is fast crossing the acceptable margins, even surpassing the age-old rivalry between India and Pakistan.

    Afghanistan and Pakistan faced each other in an important Asia Cup fixture in the Super Four round, where the stakes were too high. Afghanistan needed a win to keep their chances alive, while Pakistan needed to clinch this win to be in the final. Afghanistan was close to victory but the Pakistani team bounced back at the last minute, stealing the game away. The event witnessed some heated moments between Afghan and Pakistani players, charging up the spectators on both sides. Afghan fans purportedly indulged in verbal abuse and later ended up throwing seats at the Pakistani fans, prompting many observers to say the spirit of the game has been ‘tainted’. Sports fabs across the world sometimes show uncouth behaviour, be it cricket or football or any other game. It is always difficult to see one’s own side lose but it does not mean that fans of the winning team should be subjected to violence.

    While the cricketing rivalry between Afghanistan and Pakistan may be in its infancy, it has got all the ingredients for a heated contest courtesy the political history both countries share. After the disappointing scenes between the fans, there was an immense backlash against the Afghans. But the reaction of many Pakistanis was quite disappointing and downright racist. Pakistanis calling Afghans ‘namak haram’ — racist term often used to address Afghan refugees living in Pakistan — was not just uncalled for but also wrong. No one should have to bear verbal abuses and being called ungrateful or other names. Refugees deserve to be treated with dignity. This is what we also demand from western nations when it comes to Muslim refugees so why display racism against refugees in our own country? Also, to taunt an entire nation and another country because of the shenanigans of a few fans is just wrong. It is a game and one needs to accept both win and defeat with grace.

    We just hope that the teams and supporters watching the Asia Cup final today show resolve and grace. May the best team win.

  • Men need to know, it’s time to talk about the menstrual period

    Men need to know, it’s time to talk about the menstrual period

    Pakistan is in the throes of devastating floods that have wreaked havoc across all four provinces. The scale of devastation has been estimated to be more than $10 billion. And yet with thousands of lives lost, and millions homeless, we are still debating on whether sending sanitary napkins to the flood-affected areas is a good idea or not. As per an estimate, 8.2 million women in flood-affected areas are of reproductive age. Menstruating women in disaster-hit areas require access to safe and clean menstruation hygiene products. We need to understand that periods don’t pause during floods or rains. It’s a natural process that keeps happening every month to every woman of age. There are women who are pregnant. There might be a few girls who will get their periods for the time. Due to the present conditions when there is no clean water, the use of cloth can be dangerous as well. There are reports that women have had to resort to using leaves in the flood-affected areas during their periods.

    Read more: Floods in Pakistan: Should you donate sanitary pads?

    In times like these when every human matters, why does it happen that women are so conveniently put under the radar and a product that is a basic need for any woman of age, becomes a topic of debate in terms of whether it is a luxury or a necessity? When will people learn to accept that talking or educating about periods is not taboo? It’s about a woman’s hygiene and health. We all need to understand that men and women all need to be treated the same way, with dignity and equality. All of them need the same basic facilities.

    It will take a lot of effort and manpower to provide the rehabilitation and relief needed for millions of people. It’s time we hit pause on always putting women under the radar and for once act with reason and responsibility towards them. We need to learn to empathise with the flood victims without gender discrimination.

  • Does the Pakistani man understand that no means no?

    Does the Pakistani man understand that no means no?

    A young girl was subjected to torture in Faisalabad. A final-year student, the girl alleged that her friend’s father became interested in her and even wrote her a formal proposal, which she declined. After she rejected the proposal, the accused pressurised her to change her mind. She received death threats. The complainant was even threatened that she could be raped. In videos that have now gone viral, she was subjected to physical and verbal abuse. Her hair was cut off and she was asked to lick shoes in order to humiliate her. She went through this abuse and torture only because she refused to marry a man who was also her friend’s father. This horrific incident shows how fragile Pakistani male egos are because they will not let a woman exercise her free will and choose to say no.

    This isn’t the first incident of its kind. Back in 2018, a bus hostess was murdered in Faisalabad for rejecting a marriage proposal. We witnessed the same shock and horror that we are seeing today but did it change anything? No. Are women allowed to exercise their free will and choose the men of their choice? No.

    In Punjab, the largest province of Pakistan, a total of 77 cases of physical assault were recorded in the month of July alone — 93 women in Punjab were abducted, and 47 cases of sexual assault cases were recorded. As far as domestic violence cases are concerned, Punjab reported 58 cases.

    Women face the same problems across South Asia. In India, Bilkis Bano — an Indian Muslim woman who was gang-raped in the 2002 Gujarat riots — said that her peace has been taken away after the Gujarat government released her 11 rapists. Her rapists were released on August 15, i.e. Independence Day of India. They were convicted in 2008.“How can justice for any woman end like this? I trusted the highest courts in our land. I trusted the system, and I was learning slowly to live with my trauma. The release of these convicts has taken from me my peace and shaken my faith in justice,” said Bilkis in her statement.

    With all the abuse, harassment, sexual assault, domestic violence, and rapes being reported not just in our country, but around the region, where are we headed as a society? Where do we go from here? Where do we stand? Has humanity died? What about morality and protection in the name of rule and law? Will women ever be safe, anywhere? Women of Pakistan and across the world deserve better.

  • Pakistan needs unity more than ever

    Pakistan is celebrating its diamond jubilee, the 75th anniversary of its Independence Day today. A nation that was created in 1947 has come a long way — 75 years of resilience, hard work, commitment, struggle, dedication, and courage to keep fighting the odds. A country that is more than seven decades old sure deserves congratulations but it is high time we introspect because this 75-years-old Pakistan deserves better.

    Look around, what do you see? A nation that was built on unity, faith, and discipline lacks the core of these words. We were founded to have freedoms — the freedom to live, practice our religion, and be who we think and feel. Support whichever notion finds home within us. Have a creative and critical school of thought. Be protective of our fellow Pakistanis. Not judge them for their religious beliefs, political choices, and ethnicities.

    But what are we now? The present day’s 75-year-old Pakistan is far from the idea of its creation. How did we end up forgetting our reason for birth? How did we as a nation fail to stay in discipline and unity? This 75-year-old Pakistan is an amalgamation of extremism, fascism, political polarisation, and pluralistic ignorance. This country has been in the scientific laboratory for a long time now. It is time we find a litmus paper, unanimously to build this country. It is time we come out of this experimental phase and move toward a country that does not discriminate on the basis of gender. Where political leaders stay political and do not misuse religion as they please. Where the sole purpose and work of leaders is towards nation building. We can only hope that the 75-year-old Pakistan becomes strong for its girls and provides them an equal opportunity just like its boys. Where we provide an equal chance at life to the ones who have religious beliefs other than Islam. Where our minorities are not suppressed but rather treated as equals. Where rape, child marriages, abuse, and harassment ends.

    May we all give this country what it truly deserves because all it really takes is unity, faith, discipline, and introspection. Long live Pakistan. Pakistan Zindabad!

  • Hey Pak govt, aren’t we sporty enough for you?

    Hey Pak govt, aren’t we sporty enough for you?

    Sports in any country is a celebrated sector of society. It brings pride and recognition to a country. Sports are symbolic of life. Life demands discipline, resilience, respect, compassion, teamwork, and character. Sports help develop those skills to apply on the playing field and in life. In any country, the state invests in their sports and the individuals playing them. Pakistan does just the opposite of it.

    Pakistan chooses to forget its most talented and has a way of neglecting its sportsmen and sportswomen. Cricket and our men in green are a source of continuous pride for the country but there are other sports and players who too wear green with pride, and give it their all to bring us glory.

    Our teams have gone to the Commonwealth Games and the Olympics but the players participating tell the same stories of negligence and their individual hard work. So what is that the players say? One: They need the state to pay attention to them. Two: Recognise the talent and show confidence in them when they are trying to develop their skills and polish themselves for the better. Three: Give them better training so that they can perform well and bring gold, silver, and bronze medals back home. Four: Treat them as equal and as important as they would treat a person playing cricket. Five: Don’t take credit for our individual wins as you have not invested in us. They ask the state to actually invest in them so that they can stand tall amongst the best.

    What does the state do instead? The state has been in a habit of neglecting the raw and the talented, barring them from the opportunities which could have done wonders for the games, players, and the country. Yes, in recent times we see a prime minister congratulating a gold medalist but is congratulations enough? Don’t they deserve better training, better chances, and a better future? We can only hope that the state realises that mixed fortunes become the fate of many players in Pakistan because they were left out at some point. We can only hope that the state realises that every sport matters, every game matters, and every player is worth fighting for and that he and she deserves to get the best facilities. May our talented players keep making us proud.

  • Will women ever be safe in Pakistan?

    Will women ever be safe in Pakistan?

    The World Economic Forum recently released the Global Gender Gap Report, 2022. Out of the 146 countries ranked on the index, Pakistan is at 145, doing slightly better than Afghanistan. The report gauges how immense the gender gap is in areas including education, economic participation, health, and political empowerment. Pakistan’s second-last position comes as no surprise, at least not for the women in the country.

    Earlier this week, a 21-year-old American woman, who is also a vlogger, was allegedly raped by her tour guide and his two accomplices in Dera Ghazi Khan. The woman revealed she knew the man [one of the culprits] for a long time and is hurt by the fact that he could do something like this. “I am deeply hurt by the fact that a friend I have known for such a long time was trying to portray a positive image of this beautiful country to foreign travellers, who seemed so trustworthy, could commit such a vile and horrific act,” she said. Then there was news of a van driver in Dera Ghazi Khan who raped a woman at Rajanpur wagon. Every day, someone somewhere in Pakistan gets raped, either by someone they know or a complete stranger. The women in Pakistan have said it over and over again about how unsafe they feel in this country, including in their homes, offices, and streets. You name it and you will come to know about a story of a woman being raped or sexually harassed. With all that is going on, when will this stop for the women living in the country? Will sanity ever prevail? Will they ever be safe? Will they ever get equality? Will justice and the right care be provided to them? What are our policymakers doing to make the lives of women in Pakistan better?

    A new committee against rape has been announced by the Law Ministry in an effort to combat the worrying increase in sexual violence cases across the nation. The special committee’s primary responsibility will be to aid sexual assault victims in getting legal representation, in addition to attempting to stop cases of rape against children. But the question remains: will this be enough? Women in Pakistan are yearning for the day when our society will learn to provide the strength where it is required and stand with the survivors of sexual assaults when no one will be frightened to talk about their horrific experiences and when no woman will be blamed for being a victim and survivor. But until that day arrives, we can all try to bridge the gap and make it better for the women in our country. The leaders and decision-makers can really try and make an effort to make Pakistan safe for women. It is time to stand up for the ones suffering. Home needs to be a safe place, workplaces need to be safe, our streets need to be safe, and our trains and other transportation means need to be safe for women.

    It has been a year since Noor Mukadam was brutally murdered by Zahir Jaffer in Islamabad. We hope that Noor finds justice. We hope that women who are killed in the name of so-called ‘honour’ find justice. We hope that men who commit crimes against women are caught and punished. We hope that our justice system does not betray are women constantly. We hope that women are allowed to study, work, marry of their own choice, stay unmarried if they wish to, and are able to live in a society that does not treat them like second-class citizens. Because enough is enough!

  • In Pakistan, is abortion just a word or choice?

    ‘Woman of bad character’ is one of the phrases we often hear when the word ‘abortion’ is mentioned in our country. Abortion means the deliberate termination of a human pregnancy, most often performed during the first 28 weeks of pregnancy. Abortion sparked a debate after the United States (US) Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade, a landmark ruling that granted the right to abortion. The court determined that there is no constitutional right to an abortion, leaving it up to the states to decide whether or not to allow abortions.

    According to a 2020 article in ‘Soch writing’, Pakistan has an annual abortion rate of 50 per 1,000 women as per a 2012 survey, the highest in South Asia and one of the highest in the world. (A previous study estimated a rate of 27 per 1,000 women in 2002).

    So at present, we understand the meaning of abortion but what we don’t understand is why is it required. A woman conceives a child, but somehow her circumstances lead her to the “choice” of not having the child anymore, and “she ends up deciding of quitting the will to bring a child into this world”. What happens next? She decides to “abort” the baby. Will she be “allowed” to do so? What if the woman was raped and conceived the child as a result of sexual assault? What if she is in an abusive marriage and doesn’t want to risk another life at the hands of her partner? What if the child conceived is a serious threat to the mother’s health? What if both parents are drug addicts? What if they don’t have the financial means to nurture a child? What if both parents carry childhood traumas that they haven’t fully recovered from? What if they are simply not ready? The situations are plenty but they all lead to one word, “choice”. A choice that a woman and her partner must have. A choice to decide when to bring another life into this world and their lives.

    Women in Pakistan are no different. They are clearly seeking abortions, and medical practitioners often refuse to perform them or do so only in secret, which are very risky and at times, very expensive —in general, both seekers and providers of abortions tend to believe the procedure is against religion or Pakistani law, or both. So where does it lead us? Education on abortion must be taken up as a priority by the health practitioners and by the individuals involved. Yes, abortion is a big step and comes with its own weight and worries but one’s mind and body should be allowed to make a choice. A choice that doesn’t lead to a judgement about a woman’s character but will only be considered a choice which she freely made for herself. Her body, her choice.

  • Rape jokes are not a sign of masculinity

    Rape jokes are not a sign of masculinity

    Last week anchors Imran Riaz Khan and Sami Ibrahim were condemned for making homophobic and rape jokes just because the ‘boys club’ could not have a decent debate and in return thought it was okay to make fun of child abuse and rape. The anchors, in order to avoid being interviewed by journalist Matiullah Jan, insinuated that the interviewer was raped in the army barracks back when he was a cadet at the Pakistan Military Academy. Imran and the group of journalists around him, including anchorperson Sami Ibrahim, could be heard laughing and ridiculing Jan, who then challenged them all to invite him on their shows. This incident made us see so-called ‘civilised men’ making rape jokes, clearly reflecting how a sensitive subject like rape and abuse was nothing more than a joke for them. The men seen in the video laughing about someone being raped are not only disgusting, but triggering for those who have actually gone through sexual violence.

    Read more: ‘Such mean tactics can’t deter me from asking questions’: Matiullah reacts to rape comments by Journalists

    Recently, two advertisements of a perfume company in India glorifying rape culture were taken down by the Indian ad regulatory body, the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI). In one of the ads, four men can be seen entering a store. They are shown having a dispute over who will take a ‘shot’. There are four of them, but only one ‘shot’ is available. During this debate, instead of the bottle of body spray, a woman is shown and it looks like they are having an argument over who will first rape the woman. The woman even turns around in anger, believing the four men are talking about her. However, she is then shown relieved, when one of the men picks up the body spray called ‘Shot’.

    Read more: Promoting rape culture through ads, Indian perfume company faces backlash

    What is most appalling in the scenarios discussed is how normally it is being engrained in our society that promoting rape or making rape jokes is a trait of masculinity. We need to understand that women and men are afraid of sharing their ordeal when they are sexually assaulted because society ridicules them instead of showing empathy. The question remains, why? Why is society not accepting of the person who has been raped? Why do we find the need to ridicule and shame them? When will people understand that it is the rapist who needs to be rebuked, punished, and questioned, not the survivor. The day our society learns to provide the strength where it is required and stand with the survivors of sexual assaults, no one will be frightened to talk about their horrific experiences. It is time to stand up for all victims.

  • Being a police officer is a thankless job

    Being a police officer is a thankless job

    ‘Piece of shit’ is all it took a woman to demean and disrespect a Rawalpindi constable, Muhammad Shahbaz. During Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) ‘Azadi March’ in Islamabad, a woman wearing a black burqa repeatedly abused and shouted at a police officer for doing his job. The video went viral on social media. Though Shahbaz earned a lot of praise for showing restraint and resolve in the face of abuses hurled at him, the fact remains: why did he have to go through all this? What was the lady trying to prove? What entitled the woman to abuse the officer who was performing the very job he was assigned to do. Imagine if the police officer retaliated and did something in return. But instead of responding to the PTI supporter, the policeman in a rare display of decency and patience ignored the woman and continued walking silently along the road. Later it came to light that the enraged woman was reportedly setting fire to the trees with her companions and lost cool when she was stopped by the policeman and vented her anger on the constable in Islamabad at the time of Azadi March.

    What we witnessed on May 25 is condemnable, especially the brutal crackdown by the government on PTI leadership by using the police. The ruckus created by the government, police, and PTI supporters needs to be addressed. But why should we only blame the police for all of it? They were following orders. The government is responsible for ordering them to unleash police brutality on PTI leadership and supporters. Having said that, no one can deny that the police force is in dire need of reforms. It will take many Muhammad Shahbaz’s to show resolve in difficult and testing times. We can only hope that society learns for the better and gives credit to these officers who are out and about to protect their people. Indeed, being a police officer is a thankless job. I hope we learn to give the officers the respect and due credit they deserve.