“The greatest happiness is to transform one’s feelings into actions.” – Germaine De Stael

A captive of patriachy

Last week a disturbing story made rounds on social media, regarding a 25-year-old woman who had been held captive by her brothers for 20 years in Hafizabad. This heart-wrenching story of Naila bibi brings tears to my eyes. Socially and religiously, brothers are considered to be the protectors of their sisters but in this case Naila bibi’s own brothers kept her locked away in a room devoid of clean water, electricity with food being tossed inside the room. When the poor woman was discovered by authorities, her condition was pitiable, with her body infested with parasites and her mental condition declared extremely unstable. Sources say, this animalistic behaviour was projected on Naila due to property disputes. The woman was detained so she couldn’t ask for her rightful share in the property inherited by them. Property disputes have been breaking bonds since ages but I’ve never heard of a more stone-hearted story of property disputes among siblings. That being said, violence and abuses against women by spouse and male family members has grown in rampancy, proving that patriarchy is the worse curse of this nation.

Azhar Ali,
Lahore

Obsession with ‘gora rung’

A gesture which was appreciated by the masses, actress Iqra Aziz rejected the endorsement of a fairness cream. Our society preoccupation with fair, gori skin is a draconian trait which reeks of the colonial hangover. In both personal and professional capacities, a dark-skinned woman in this society is discriminated and ridiculed. On a positive note, a fresh wave of progressive minds have debunked the ‘fair is lovely’ myth, but clearly more work needs to be done on the subject. Sadly, fairness cream advertisements continue to appear on our screens, billboards and people continue to obsess over the “gora rang”. In such events, its commendable act by Aziz to reject a proposal like this and more celebrities should follow suit.

Shireen Asim,
Islamabad

Bug invasion in Karachi

It hasn’t been long since Karachi finally got rid of the flies’ infestation that invaded the city. And now other bugs have taken their place. Citizens have complained about the visible swell of bugs like locusts, white flies and dragonflies. Experts suggest the surge is caused by the weather and the changes in the direction of winds. The bugs continue to creep Karachiites but luckily they don’t carry any diseases so it is hoped no medical conditions won’t apprise. Meanwhile, over 10,000 dengue cases have been reported across the country. The government needs to start a fumigation campaign to get rid of these bugs, mosquitoes and flies promptly.

Laraib Khan,
Karachi

Another day, another case of domestic abuse

Pakistan is amongst the unfortunate countries where the count of domestic abuse cases keep on surging. The recent addition to the pool of heart-breaking cases was Amna Atiq, a 24-year-old freelance make-up artist and blogger who succumbed to suicide last week, after sustaining physical and verbal from her spouse for an extended length of time. The cause of death was not known at first, but after deciphering her desperate posts on social media, investigators concluded that her abusive husband drove her to committing suicide. Amna’s reasons for staying in an abusive marriage was not any different from the scores of stories we hear – because of her child. It is reported that even her parent didn’t take her in when she resorted for help. It baffles me how every other woman in our society is expected to ‘compromise’ and ‘tolerate’ abuse in order to keep their marriage intact. In my opinion, domestic violence is like being kidnapped and tortured for ransom but one will never have enough to pay off the kidnappers.

Rubina Wahab,
Karachi