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negotiation Clutter
in the cabinet Yeh
Woh Madrassa voices The society at large misunderstands the students of the madaris and vice versa. Pakistan Ulema Council under Tahir Ashrafi initiates a series of interactions between the Deobandi madrassa students and other stakeholders including the media By Aoun Sahi Twenty-two year old Naseebullah, the eldest of nine orphaned siblings, hails from district Sheerani of Balochistan. He is a student of Dars-e-Nizami in Jamia Qasmia Faisalabad, set up by Maulana Zia-ul-Haq Qasmi. Qasmi was appointed chairman of Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP) Supreme Council in the late 1990s in Ghulam Muhammadabad, one of the most populous lower-middle-class neighbourhoods in Faisalabad city. Western
phrases local ideologues Sceptic’s
Diary
negotiation The proposed peace
talks between the government and the Pakistani Taliban have faltered even
before these could formally begin. By killing a general of the
Pakistan Army in the roadside bombing in Upper Dir district bordering
Afghanistan, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has destroyed whatever
little trust-building had been accomplished between the two sides through the
painstaking efforts of the intermediaries. It would require a lot of patience
and time to rebuild confidence and kick-start the increasingly fragile and
controversial peacemaking process. The death of Major General
Sanaullah Khan Niazi, the general officer commanding Swat since March this
year, Lt Col Tauseef Ahmad and Lance Naik Irfan Sattar in the bomb explosion
at Shahikot in the picturesque Binshahi mountainous area shocked the military
and the nation, and caused a visible drop in public support for holding talks
with the militants. The resentment in the
military following this incident was understandable as difficult questions
are now being asked whether it was a sound strategy and morally right to talk
to those involved in acts of terrorism targeting everyone, including top army
officers. The incident took place a
day after Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Pervez Khattak announced the
phased withdrawal of army troops from Malakand division, beginning with
largely peaceful districts such as Shangla and Buner and moving on to the
more difficult Swat, Upper Dir and Lower districts. His announcement gave the
impression as if the situation had considerably improved and the army could
now pull out troops and hand over security to the civilian administration. The Upper Dir incident
would obviously lead to a review of the decision to withdraw the troops.
Also, the troops won’t be withdrawn from dangerous places like the areas
bordering Afghanistan due to the threat posed by the several hundred
Pakistani Taliban fighters from Malakand division and Bajaur and Mohmand
tribal agencies now entrenched in the neighbouring Kunar and Nuristan
provinces in Afghanistan. The army too would be
investigating the Upper Dir incident to find out if complacency and failure
to follow standard operating procedures enabled the Swat Taliban to plant the
improvised explosive device that caused the explosion and killed Maj Gen
Sanaullah Niazi. A day before the Upper Dir
incident, the TTP through its spokesman Shahidullah Shahid had argued that
the government should take certain confidence-building measures before the
peace talks could begin because the Taliban doubted the rulers’ intentions
and sincerity. He had specifically mentioned the release of Taliban prisoners
and pulling out army troops from some of the Federally Administered Tribal
Areas (Fata) to build confidence and assure the TTP of the government’s
sincerity in offering peace talks to the militants. The TTP spokesman didn’t
refer to the proposed measures as conditions for talks, but there was no
doubt that these were major demands that the government couldn’t accept
before the talks without getting anything in return. This was obviously a
toughening of the TTP stand after having earlier responded positively to the
government’s talks offer and welcomed the decisions of the All Parties
Conference (APC) convened by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. Before the government could
respond to the TTP’s demands, the Maulana Fazlullah-led Swat Taliban struck
from their bases across the Pak-Afghan border to carry out the roadside
bombing that took the life of Maj Gen Sanaullah Niazi and the two soldiers
accompanying him. The Taliban conditions were
unexpected as the PML-N government had earlier given a major concession to
the militants by foregoing the oft-repeated demand made in the past by the
PPP-led coalition government and the military that the TTP must disarm its
fighters before any peace talks could be held. Prime Minister Nawaz
Sharif’s government was also criticised for making a conscious effort not
to antagonise the militants by getting the APC to adopt a declaration that
failed to criticise the TTP or other armed groups and their actions. It was clear that the
government was going an extra mile to bring the Pakistani Taliban to the
negotiating table as it wanted the peace talks to succeed after having made
the offer. As the militants, unlike
the past, had not made the talks offer, they took it as a weakening of the
government resolve and started coming up with tough demands. Despite the provocative TTP
attack that killed Maj Gen Sanaullah Niazi and certain other assaults in
recent weeks on the security forces in North Waziristan and South Waziristan,
the Nawaz Sharif government has not yet given up its efforts to find a
negotiated solution to the decade-old conflict that originated in Fata and
has now spread to not only Khyber Pakhtunkhwa but also other provinces. It has now decided to
formally invite the Hakimullah Mahsud-led TTP to talks even though there were
credible reports that the militant organisation’s late deputy head Waliur
Rahman’s faction under the leadership of his successor, Khan Said alias
Sajna alias Khalid Masood, has drifted further apart from Hakimullah
Mahsud’s mainstream group and may even want to negotiate separately with
the government. There is no doubt that the
militant groups have splintered and civil and military officials now come up
with figures of the existence of a staggering number of armed factions
ranging from more than 30 to almost 70. However, the TTP holds the
key to the success or failure of any peace talks as it is the umbrella and
most powerful militant organisation having linkages with almost all other
local factions and also with al-Qaeda and Afghan Taliban. Aware of the newly-elected
Nawaz Sharif government’s resolve to hold talks with the militants and the
support for this policy by a major political party like Imran Khan’s
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), the military despite its apparent reluctance
has gone along with this decision and give it a try. Army Chief General
Ashfaq Pervez Kayani’s statement after the death of his general was an
attempt not only to raise the morale of his troops by reiterating the
army’s commitment to fight terrorism, but also reassure the elected
government that it supported the political process for peace. However, he did warn that
the terrorists won’t be allowed to take advantage of this process and
coerce the government and its institutions to accept their terms. Privately
though, senior army officers continue to caution about the risks posed in
negotiating with the militants from a position of weakness by reminding that
as many as 19 attempts were made in the past to hold talks with the Pakistani
Taliban and several peace agreements were signed and violated. However, it is no secret
that the army and the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) spearheaded those
peace talks and accords and all were made from a position of weakness and,
therefore, went largely in favour of the militants. All such shortcomings
would have to be avoided if the talks finally take place and strict
monitoring mechanisms would have to be put in place in the unlikely event of
a peace accord being concluded between the two sides with widely divergent
views and agendas.
The tribal
chieftains rule over their tribesmen in the arid region of Balochistan. They
contest elections and get elected by using their sway over electorates,
strike deals in the assembly to form a coalition and in the process secure
for themselves a slice from the government’s pie. At least this is how the
election process and government formation is understood to be like in
Balochistan No wonder, the coalition partners are unable to form a cabinet,
even four months after the May 2013 general election — and fulfill the
basic constitutional requirement of governance. The fact remains that the
credibility of Chief Minister Dr Abdul Malik Baloch, who took oath of his
office on June 9, has badly suffered in the absence of a cabinet. He has
stayed in Islamabad for most part of his early months in the government
instead of addressing the plethora of problems facing the province — such
as, terrorism, sectarian violence, target killings, development activities
and many more. Dr Abdul Malik Baloch’s
inability to form his cabinet has begun to worry all people, bureaucrats and
powerful political allies. On June 19, he inducted three provincial ministers
— PML-N’s provincial chief Sardar Sanaullah Zehri, Nawab Muhammad Khan
Shahwani of his own National Party and Abdul Rahim Ziaratwal of the
Pashtoonkhawa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP). But even they have not been allotted
portfolios. The reason for the delay is
stated to be the demand of every coalition partner to get a sufficient share
in the cabinet. But the 18th Amendment passed during the previous PPP-led
government restricted the number of ministers in a cabinet to 11 per cent of
the legislature — which means in a house of 65 in Balochistan there could
only be 15 ministers and 5 advisers. According to the 18th
Amendment, “The total strength of the cabinet shall not exceed fifteen
members or eleven percent of the total membership of a provincial assembly;
whichever is higher.” In fact, this very
amendment appears to be the main impediment in the formation of the
provincial cabinet. The bone of contention
among the coalition partners — PML-N, NP and PkMAP — is not just about
the maximum share in the cabinet but also allotment of lucrative portfolios.
After the general elections of May 11, 2013, the PML-N Balochistan members
were in a position to form the government but they could not due to the
decision of the party’s high command that the top slot should be given to
the Baloch nationalists in an attempt to redress the grievances of the
nationalist forces. Now, the provincial leaders
of the PML-N believe that the key posts of Governor and CM are with PkMAP and
National Party, respectively. So they propose that important ministries like
planning and development, education, health, irrigation, public health
engineering, Balochistan development authority, revenue, fisheries, food,
mines and minerals, excise and taxation and finance should go to PML-N. But other coalition
partners do not agree to the proposal. The high command of the
National Party (NP) claims that the cabinet would be formed in the next few
days — “All the three coalition partners agree to the power sharing
formula in the cabinet and it may be finalised in the next couple of days,”
says Central Vice President of the ruling NP Senator Mir Hasil Khan Bizenjo
while talking to TNS. Contrary to the claims of
the ruling coalition, the Leader of the Opposition in the provincial assembly
Maulana Abdul Wasay questions the government’s competence to run the
affairs of the government when it cannot even form a cabinet. The central and the
parliamentary leaders of coalition parties met in Islamabad on Tuesday last
and once again “revisited” the power sharing formula in the Balochistan
cabinet. “The cabinet would be formed in the next couple of days”,
spokesman of the Balochistan government and leader of NP Jan Muhammad Buledi
tells TNS. Sources in the coalition
partners confided to TNS that six ministers and two advisers in the cabinet
will be taken from the PML-N, being the largest parliamentary party in the
Balochistan Assembly while four ministers and two advisers will be made part
of the cabinet from the PkMAP and the remaining four ministers and an adviser
will be from the National Party. Chief Minister Dr Abdul
Malik Baloch is on the horns of a dilemma. He has to decide whether to grant
maximum representation and lucrative portfolios to his coalition partners or
continue to face the deadlock.
The language of abuse By Masud Alam Pakistanis are a
nation in search of a narrative that explains them, that distinguishes them
from other nations, that gives them a peg to hold on to, and others to hang
Pakistanis on. A narrative is a system of
stories. The ‘Jinnah ka Pakistan’ narrative is built on the perception of
a secular state and ‘Pakistan ka matlab kia, la ilaha ilAllah’ is based
on theocratic notions. The stories weave the narrative over time, and the
narrative influences others related to the subject, to create more stories to
reinforce the narrative. There is no dearth of
narratives about Pakistan and Pakistanis. But there is none that a majority
of us identifies with. They are either epithets given to us by outsiders, or
wishful pronouncements and vicious threats articulated by small partisan
groups, or initiatives by state-funded intellectuals to create a soft image
abroad. We don’t see ‘me’ in any of the popular narratives attributed
to us. When it comes to sexual
crimes however, we have strong narratives that are accepted by majority. Take
for instance child sexual abuse (CSA), one of the few issues that concerns
each and every one of us, and one that is universally condemned and abhorred
in a country where even a woman’s rape or a man’s murder is not. Children
are the most vulnerable human beings and therefore need maximum protection
from the society as well as governments. Forget governments for the moment
and let’s talk about yours and mine role in creating a collective narrative
of child sexual abuse in Pakistan. The dominant strain is
‘shame’. This is supposed to be a pious Muslim society that the media and
NGOs try to pollute with talk of sexual crimes. To decry rape, sodomy and
sexual assault or molestation is to inject filth into the veins of the
society. Too bad it happened to you or one of your loved ones, now live with
the shame and don’t compound it by demanding justice against the
perpetrators. This is the narrative sold to the common citizen. The one
packaged for the enlightened social media user is: ‘CSA is an issue with
the poor and the dispossessed’ and not with people like you and me’. It is this narrative and
its wholesale acceptance that is responsible for making this country a haven
for child abusers and molesters. The fact is we are not concerned enough with
the protection of our own children, neither do we demand with enough
conviction, punishment for the perpetrators, nor campaign for legislation in
this regard. If anything we as a society encourage abusers and condemn
survivors with our silence. And then every once in a
while a little child makes it to the front page with his or her story of
abuse, and we pretend to be horrified. We make noise on Facebook, we spend
precious TV talk-show time to discuss the issue, we write letters to editor,
we even get a few dozen people to gather for a protest … Hear us
collectively on the five year old girl’s rape in Lahore and you may find
nothing but meaningless noise, blabbering of idiots that incites vigilante
violence on social media on one extreme and poetically transforms rape into
‘nannhi kali masal di’ in a proper news bulletin, on the other. You’ll
also see a bearded man and a ‘liberal’ woman eyeing each other with
suspicion as they both condemn the incident unreservedly. You’ll come
across those who shout curses and bay for blood. Mind your language.
Trampling of a flower bud is not what just happened. A girl child is sexually
abused. A very young human being has been subjected to sexual violence that
has caused her internal injuries and may result in lifelong disabilities or
medical complications. There is nothing poetic about it. You can’t treat
the incident as entertainingly as you treat politics. This is a very real
physical act of abuse. Learn to see it for what it is, learn to see it for
what it means to you and your children, and then learn to speak out for all
children because unless you do this, your own child is not safe, even if you
live in a 2, 000 yards kothi in DHA. Even birds with tiny brains
make a lot of noise when they sense a storm approaching. If pretending to be
horrified and making noise could sort out CSA in Pakistan, we would have done
that when we found out about Javed Iqbal and the 100 kids he had raped,
killed and dissolved their bodies in a drum of chemicals. How horrific the
CSA incident has to be before we speak two words and speak as one: ‘no
more’. What we need is for us to
tell our stories of abuse with a view to challenge the existing narrative
that seems tailor-made for abusers and replace it with the one authored by
us. masudalam@yahoo.com
Madrassa voices The society at large misunderstands the students of the madaris and vice versa. Pakistan Ulema Council under Tahir Ashrafi initiates a series of interactions between the Deobandi madrassa students and other stakeholders including the media By Aoun Sahi Twenty-two year old
Naseebullah, the eldest of nine orphaned siblings, hails from district
Sheerani of Balochistan. He is a student of Dars-e-Nizami in Jamia Qasmia
Faisalabad, set up by Maulana Zia-ul-Haq Qasmi. Qasmi was appointed chairman
of Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP) Supreme Council in the late 1990s in Ghulam
Muhammadabad, one of the most populous lower-middle-class neighbourhoods in
Faisalabad city. Like several others of his
age mates, Naseebullah was sent to a local religious seminary for education
at a very early age. Why a madrassa, I ask. “You see, people in our area
are poor and they also like religious education more. Then there are not many
public schools,” says Naseebullah, clad in typical Deobandi madrassa’s
student outfit, a half-collar brown kurta shalwar, a black prayer cap and
plastic chappals. We are sitting in the
office of the principal. “I cannot say anything about Hakimullah Mehsud or
Taliban,” he looks into the eyes of his teachers for a few seconds before
answering my question. Naseebullah hardly ever
gets a chance to step out of his madrassa. He does not even have a single
friend besides his madrassa fellows in Faisalabad. Leave alone a woman who
was a stranger, he claims he has never interacted with a Shia in his life,
“I don’t know much about them. I would treat a Shia as a human being if I
meet one.” He wants to serve the cause
of religion after graduating from the seminary. “According to my knowledge,
it’s the government agents who have been committing suicide attacks in the
country.” He thinks women should stay at home and people should not watch
TV. “Implementation of Sharia in a true sense can solve the problems of
Pakistan,” he says in a certain tone. Naseebullah says his
brothers, sisters and mother are waiting for when he would start earning for
them. “I hope I would land a job after completing my education to earn
enough for my family. I don’t know what would I do if I can’t find a
job?” Omar Khatab, 20, who comes
from Wana, South Waziristan and is a student of Jamia Qasmia, has also never
interacted with the local people in Faisalabad. He had to move to the jamia
because “drones used to fly over my madrassa in Wana. It was very
frightening, so my family sent me here in 2011.” Khatab wants to become a
maulvi and believes that jihad with infidels is obligatory for Muslims. “I
do not know much about Hakimullah. Mullah Nazir group is active in our
area.” He wants to get out of the madrassa and interact with people at
large but the people are “not friendly. Most of them fear I may be a
terrorist. I also want to live a normal life but the government and society
do not provide us with equal opportunities. We have a few options available
in the tribal areas,” he says. Naseebullah and Omar Khatab
are among around the 1.5 million students of over 17,000 Deobandi madaris in
Pakistan. The liberal elements think of them as “the most radical group of
society” with a tendency to end up with the extremists or even militants.
On the other hand, they consider most liberals as agents of anti-Islamic
forces and countries. Both sides suspect each other. In general there is a
sense that the society at large misunderstands the students of the madaris
and vice versa, with hardly a platform where both can interact with each
other. Such an interaction has
recently started, since June this year, in the form of a series of media- and
training-workshops of Deobandi madaris students initiated by Maulana Tahir
Ashrafi heading the Pakistan Ulema Council. The aim is to provide a platform
to students and different segments of society to directly talk to each other
about the misunderstandings and ground realities. This particular interaction
was arranged by Maulana Tahir Ashrafi in early September in Jamia Qasmia
Faisalabad. It was the fourth workshop
of this nature. Maulana Zahid Qasmi, who was made the principal of the jamia
in 2001, says that when Ashrafi contacted him and explained the concept, he
took no time in allowing him to do the activity. “For the first time ever,
invitations have been sent to some speakers belonging to the Shia sect.
Activists of a Deobandi organisation have raised objections but I strongly
believe that students of my institutions need to interact with all segments
of society,” he says. The jamia has a total of
500 students out of which 200 are hostelites. “We have students from all
parts of country except the Sindh province. Every year, around 60 students of
my institution graduate. Most of them end as prayer leaders in mosques or as
Islamic Studies teachers in small-time private schools,” he says. He admits
that some students of Deobandi madaris end up on the terrorists’ side but
“it is mainly because of poverty”. Qasmi holds that the
Musharraf government ate up funds worth millions of dollars in the name of
madrassa reforms. “Thousands of madaris were set up during Ziaul Haq’s
regime to produce footsoldiers for the Afghan jihad. That crop now has
ripened and it is being harvested by Pakistan,” he says, adding that a
serious effort is needed to change the jihadi narrative of Deobandi students.
“This programme is a first step in the right direction. We need plenty of
such efforts.” A step in the right
direction because it is initiated from within the Deobandi madaris. It is
being led by Maulana Tahir Ashrafi under the aegis of Pakistan Ulema Council
which controls more than 500 Deobandi madaris. The purpose of this activity
is not only to narrow the distance between the madrassa students and society
but also to gauge the educational and social skills of these students. “In some cases, we have
been shocked to know that the students of Deobandi madaris do not even know
the elders of Deobandi movement. They think those ulema as their role models
who have been involved in sectarian hatred but are nowhere close to our
elders in terms of knowledge. It is true that most students of Deobandi
madaris have become more radical but they can be mainstreamed with an honest
effort. Both government and society would have to play a role,” Ashrafi
tells TNS, adding that every year around 50,000 students graduate from
Deobandi madaris. The training workshops
don’t just focus on students but also the teachers. “There is no
criterion to induct teachers in madrassas. It is up to the principal of a
madrassa to hire a teacher of his choice. They mostly hire those who approve
of their agenda. There is no problem in the syllabus per se but these
teachers teach only those parts which suit the agenda of the high-ups in that
madrsssa,” Ashrafi says. The problem with the
Deobani ulema, according to Ashrafi, is that they have not tried to rescue
the youth from the dark alleys or influence their thinking. “Ours is a
small effort in this regard.”
The genesis of the unique phrase ‘liberal fascist’ which has gained acceptance and currency in the Pakistani Urdu media By Tahir Kamran Jonah Jacob
Goldberg, an American Jew and conservative syndicated columnist and author,
wields influence on some Pakistani pen-pushers to an extent that is
mind-boggling. That influence is epitomised through a unique phrase
‘liberal fascist’, which has gained acceptance and currency in the
Pakistani Urdu media in a big way. Generally perceived as an
oxymoronic formulation, the term ‘liberal fascist’ was lifted by
rightwing ideologues from Jonah Goldberg’s controversial book, “Liberal
Fascism: the Secret History of the American Left from Mussolini to the
Politics of Meaning”, published in 2008. While tracing the genesis
of that phrase, one is led to a lecture by H.G. Wells at Oxford University in
1932, where such a confused relationship between liberalism and fascism first
originated. When H.G. Wells coined that phrase, contends Philip Coupland from
University of Warwick, he was under Nazi influence. However, that discussion
is irrelevant for present purposes. The content of the Goldberg book, whose
mesmerising title held a profound sway over some of Pakistani literati,
failed to make any substantial impact. The author has berated the
liberal-left as ‘liberal fascists’ when comparing their policies to those
of American conservatives like George Bush and his cronies. Anyone calling for reform
in order to alleviate the lot of the common man or woman is cudgelled by
Goldberg. The book reached number one on the New York Times best-seller list,
but the preposterous central premise of the book incurred scathing reviews
from acclaimed scholars who variously described it as ‘poor scholarship’,
‘propaganda’ and ‘not scholarly’. The point worth pondering
here is: why have Pakistani writers espousing militancy gratefully embraced
this flawed and fallacious notion from someone who lends unequivocal support
to the neo-cons in the US, and deploys all means available to him as a
media-man to demean Islam unabashedly. Generally, the root-cause of all the
ills that beset our society is traced from the conspiratorial duo of the
Hindu-Jewish lobby. America is the latest entrant into that ‘Satanic’
clique, which lately is being designated as the source of all evil. Thus, a paranoia is found
sitting at the centre of the whole paradigm that these commentators never
tire of re-imagining. They never suggest a need for introspection in order to
address our socio-cultural ailments. With such a simplistic discourse,
undoubtedly pervasive and deeply entrenched among rightwing intelligentsia,
the appropriation of this example of Jewish-American vocabulary seems quite
perplexing. While exhorting others to
be on the guard against Western influences, representatives of the anti-West
faction have no qualms accepting Western influences themselves. The irony is
hard to miss. Picking up some (epistemic) formulation like ‘liberal
fascist’, used in the peculiar perspective of American political history,
and using it in an entirely different context is an exercise in utter
audacity if nothing else. This also points to the fact that the religious
right in Pakistan faces an acute dearth of original ideas. Despite not letting go of
any opportunity to castigate the ‘West’, representing the evils of a
‘Judeo-Christian socio-cultural ethos’ with America at its spearhead, the
acquiescence of this band of intelligentsia to the notions conceived and
articulated in a Judeo-Christian ambiance seems akin to their being caught up
in ‘Stockholm syndrome or capture-bonding’ — a psychological phenomenon
in which hostages (rightwing ideologues) express empathy and sympathy and
have positive feelings toward their captor (the West). Those in antipathy
towards any imperial power, notwithstanding the subject nationalities and
their zealots’ representatives, have come to imagine themselves in the
image of the former. Similarly, the political
groups espousing the cause of political Islam like Jamaat-i-Islami don’t
have operational autonomy from the political norms formulated by an
essentially secular West. That is what makes Humeira Iqtidar contend, in her
book Secularising Islamists? Jamaat-e-Islami and Jamaat-ud-Dawa in Pakistan,
that Jamaat-i-Islami is an instrument to secularise Islam. Howsoever
contentious that assertion may seem, it is not devoid of logic. The advisable course is to
engage with the Western concepts and then try to synthesise them with
indigenous tradition and experience. Any attempt to shun the project of
modernity altogether or the instances of selective usage of some notions
while ignoring the rest is bound to lead us nowhere. The influences of
(Western) modernity have permeated deep into our collective self, and we
cannot rid ourselves of these influences even if we want to. It is the ideological
unilateralism that is being professed by the religious right, and not liberal
values, that will drive us into the cobweb of fascism. Ideological and cultural
multiplicity, if fostered and allowed to persist, will bring about a social
harmony and peace which are constantly eluding us. In a state of religious
coercion, even religious scholarship cannot flourish, as is being witnessed
in Pakistan, where the Ulema fraternity is always there to act as an
impediment and not as facilitator of any advancement. This state of affairs
has an adverse bearing on the thinking of the general populace. The acerbic
response from the Introduction of Comparative Religions as a subject in
Lahore Grammar School elucidates quite succinctly the tunnel-vision gripping
the minds of even the best-educated sections of our society. The writer is a noted
Pakistani historian, currently the Iqbal Fellow at the University of
Cambridge as professor in the Centre of South Asian Studies
Punishments don’t
save lives and neither does suo motu action. Electronic media cannot come to
the rescue of vulnerable groups — it can only project stories of
individuals in a particular case. Nothing can explain the
horror of the rape of a 5-year-old girl in Lahore recently. The circumstances
in which she was found have shocked whatever is left of our collective
conscience. But will the discourse that is merited by the deeper issues go
far enough? There is little hope of
that happening. At one end of the spectrum
we have people justifying the death penalty because of this incident. “The
strictest punishment” is the answer according to them. But this is deeply
flawed since the answer of “the strictest punishment” does not even begin
to address the real question. It is no secret that
reporting rape and/or sexual assault against women or young girls is viewed
as something that carries a stigma in this society. For a second, imagine
being a historian looking back at this patriarchal land: you might notice
that the men of Pakistan felt crimes against property merited complaint and
legal action but crimes against a disenfranchised gender merited silence. We
will have a lot to answer for. It is easy to be shocked by
crimes such as the recent one while also conveniently ignoring that we
deliberately keep a blind eye towards most of these crimes that go
unreported. And why do they go unreported? We as a society have never made a
concerted effort to tell our daughters, wives, mothers, sisters, lovers or
women in general that we will support them in challenging patriarchy and its
structures. The contempt for women runs
through societal and legal structures. If you have ever watched a complainant
in a rape case being cross-examined you will notice how everything from the
use of language to the procedure adopted make a woman vulnerable. The law and
those framing or adjudicating it have been silent for decades when it comes
to protecting women. The victim ends up being the target — her inherent
vulnerability becomes a liability and she is often told to deal with it.
Notion of consent is often interpreted in ways that respect a man’s
animalistic actions. What was she doing with a man in the first place? How
loudly did she scream? Did she scream at all and if not then why not? How
many bruises did she have? How many marks on her body
are enough to prove that she is innocent and he guilty? Our politicians, our media
moguls and our judges have all asked these questions. You will find court
judgments analysing or asking why didn’t anyone hear the woman scream if
she was being raped? The burden is on the woman to prove that she is pious.
The man just can’t help himself. Last
year, the courageous activist Tahira Abdullah and the breathtakingly
brilliant Salman Raja persuaded the Honourable Supreme Court to issue a
judgement that could go a long way towards breaking new ground in rape
trials. The judgement related to the Government of Punjab (as one of the
Respondents) and if the provincial government implements it in letter and
spirit (including but not limited to guarantees of witness protection,
ensuring dignity of victim, use of DNA evidence etc.) we might see a
marginally better tomorrow. But court judgments are never the real answer
since societies change from within — not because of courts. Religion, as usual, is a
central element in this debate. For decades, a highly contentious
interpretation of relevant Islamic injunctions relating to zina made it
impossible for women victims to even hope for a conviction of the
perpetrator. Improvements were made to the law in 2006 but standards of
‘admissible’ evidence and the general reluctance to punish the crime of
violence against women complicate matters. It is the 21st century and we
still need scholars of religion to answer the question whether the state can
use DNA evidence. As I write this, the sages
are deliberating. One lives in hope. Punishing the odd
perpetrator with a once-in-a-while highly-publicised case should not and
cannot be our focus. Preventing such crimes and enabling women to report
these while ensuring state and societal support to women has got to be the
answer. This is of course a long process but what on earth are we waiting
for? A hotline or even easy access to a police station is not the answer
unless we make a concerted effort to change attitudes. Speaking of attitudes, the
Pakistani media seems to have learned little from the recently-concluded
highly-publicised rape/murder trial in India. Even in the case of the
5-year-old child who was raped in Lahore, sections of the media carried
graphic images and showed little respect for the dignity of the victim. The way we disenfranchise
women also reflects the way we try and stay silent on the issue of sexual
abuse of children. Sexual abuse of children occurs across different segments
of society. It happens in silence. And then most of us either look away or
worry about every other aspect — except the victim. So, what is the message
here? Is it that every once in a while we will hear of some horrific rape or
sexual abuse claim and will act in collective self-righteousness? Is it that
once isolated horrific crimes run past their ‘expiry’ date we will
continue looking away? This land of pure
patriarchs then watches on silently. It still seems to be asking, “Did you
scream? If so, how loudly?” And here is the irony: for a land that judges a
woman’s innocence by her screams, we are remarkably deaf. The writer is a practicing
lawyer. He can be reached at wmir.rma@gmail.com or on Twitter@wordoflaw |
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