Letters To The Editor

The horrors behind the Jirga system in Pakistan

Pakistan is considered the sixth most dangerous country for women in the world. One of the biggest reasons behind this is the Jirga system prevalent in most parts of the country. The Jirga is essentially a tribal council, one that incorporates local customary laws and rituals in order to settle conflicts that take place within the members of that village. On November 22, Gul Sama, a 10-year-old resident of a village in Sindh, Shahi Makan was killed in the pretext of honour. Gul Sama was stoned to death by her own family members after the Jirga decided that the girl had been planning to elope. While these tribal councils started out as an institution that promotes justice and morals within the tribe, or village, they have increasingly become the hub of misogynist practices that encroach upon the human and civic rights of the individuals. Because of the fact that jirgas are an all-male institution, their practices have slowly taken a turn towards anti-women practices. Hundreds of cases have been reported to local and international media about the atrocities of these councils, and thousands that have not. While there are laws that supposedly oppose the jirga system in the country, the fact is, given the prevalence of these horrific incidents they are poorly enforced.

Haleema Sadia,
Islamabad.

Harassment and victim blaming

Recently, a 22-year-old girl Dua Mangi was abducted in Karachi while walking down the street with her friend. Dua’s sister, Laila Mangi, posted a picture of her sister on Facebook with the news she had been kidnapped. Laila asked her followers to keep an eye out and inform the family if they see her anywhere. This post attracted responses from several activists, but the debate soon evolved into one that was less focused on Dua's recovery and more on the way she was dressed, suggesting that with a sleeveless top, she was asking to be abducted. Victim blaming has become a common practice around the world. No matter how provocatively they were dressed, how much they had to drink or whether they had a prior consensual relationship with the perpetrator, victims of harassment and assault should never be blamed.

Zara Hussain,
Karachi.

Depression in youth

Adolescence, or better known as the teenage years, are considered as one of the hardest and toughest periods of the human life. This is the period of emotional, physical and cognitive development of the person in question. The major problem in our society is that depression is not paid attention to. The question here is why young people are so troubled in Pakistan? Psychologists says there are several factors, depression is the foremost and severe of all. Most of the times it goes undiagnosed because it’s not even considered an illness in our country. It might be due to lack of opportunities, bullying at school or lack of social skills. Secondly, academic pressure or not being able to fulfill the family expectations leads to emotional distress. Lastly, lack of communication or support can make a person feel isolated and helpless. It’s not hard to tell if someone is going through trauma, the least we can do is to treat everyone with kindness because people need it.

Amjad Ali,
Lahore.

Traffic issues in Karachi

Karachi is the biggest city in Pakistan and also one of the most populated cities in the world. Traffic is the most serious problem prevailing in Karachi today. This is mainly because of the population growth in the city. The ever-increasing rush of heavy traffic on the roads often results in the loss of human life. All government departments related to the transport sector must be under one window for better coordination and management of the traffic situation in the city. General awareness must be developed in the public. To reduce the fastest ever traffic growth, the use of private cars should be discouraged through the introduction of decent public transport, including circular rail and transit transport in the city.

Narmeen Hussain,
Karachi.