Empower Women: Give Them Bullets not Ballaots
Irfan's heart is in the right place. He talks of empowering women. But can the women wait for such times as the empowerment will take hold? Give them guns - one woman one gun. Then let us see what happens to the talk of "culture" and "tradition" and "sharia."
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Clearly, to talk of democracy when half the population is locked up and marginalised is to delude ourselves. When we survey the world, we find that most Muslim countries continue to be largely backward, irrespective of the petro-dollars some of them are raking in. In terms of our contribution to global progress, we are at the very bottom. Could it be that a major factor in our backwardness is our attitude towards women? Muslim countries that have done relatively well (Turkey, Indonesia, Malaysia) have a better record on gender equality than many Arab states, as well as tribal and feudal societies like Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Unfortunately, we have been unable to translate our democratic aspirations into a social transformation. In fact, instead of moving forward, we have seen archaic tribal practices being justified by educated people. In spite of all the lofty talk of social progress from our leaders, we have seen a steady regression.
Other countries have had to cope with savage medieval customs as well. But most of them enacted progressive legislation, and enforced it vigorously. While Pakistan has laws in place, they are seldom used to prosecute criminals. Unless there is a public outcry, the administration remains a silent spectator, and even progressive politicians prefer to sit on the fence.
Clearly, nothing will change until the government acquires the spine to enforce the law. But it takes more than an election to gather the resolve and the political will to fight social injustice and brutality. In much of Pakistan, women are not even allowed to vote, and until they do, their voices will not be heard by the powerful. But until they are, we cannot claim to be a democracy.
****
Clearly, to talk of democracy when half the population is locked up and marginalised is to delude ourselves. When we survey the world, we find that most Muslim countries continue to be largely backward, irrespective of the petro-dollars some of them are raking in. In terms of our contribution to global progress, we are at the very bottom. Could it be that a major factor in our backwardness is our attitude towards women? Muslim countries that have done relatively well (Turkey, Indonesia, Malaysia) have a better record on gender equality than many Arab states, as well as tribal and feudal societies like Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Unfortunately, we have been unable to translate our democratic aspirations into a social transformation. In fact, instead of moving forward, we have seen archaic tribal practices being justified by educated people. In spite of all the lofty talk of social progress from our leaders, we have seen a steady regression.
Other countries have had to cope with savage medieval customs as well. But most of them enacted progressive legislation, and enforced it vigorously. While Pakistan has laws in place, they are seldom used to prosecute criminals. Unless there is a public outcry, the administration remains a silent spectator, and even progressive politicians prefer to sit on the fence.
Clearly, nothing will change until the government acquires the spine to enforce the law. But it takes more than an election to gather the resolve and the political will to fight social injustice and brutality. In much of Pakistan, women are not even allowed to vote, and until they do, their voices will not be heard by the powerful. But until they are, we cannot claim to be a democracy.
posted by temporal at 9/08/2008
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