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This tradition of 'honour revenge' is utter cruelty disguised in the garb of justice. How long will it ruin the lives of women?
This tradition of ‘honour revenge’ is utter cruelty disguised in the garb of justice. How long will it ruin the lives of women?
“I am not surprised. It is a norm for panchaiyats and jirgas to penalize a woman for a man’s crime. They call it ‘justice.’ Men in Pakistan, guilty men, go unpunished. Women, innocent women, get punished.” – Mukhtar Mai writes for Geo Tv.
In certain areas of Pakistan, Jirgas or tribal councils practice the concept of ‘honour revenge’, as Wikipedia puts it. That is, when a man is accused of rape, his sister or any other woman in the family is allowed to be raped by the family of the victim. This absolutely awful practice has ruined the lives of many women and apparently, the official authorities refuse to take any solid action.
Mukhtar Mai, a Pakistani woman and activist for women’s rights, was gang-raped in 2002 on a similar basis. Her brother was accused of having an affair with a woman of another, more influential clan and hence, she was in turn raped by the men of that clan. What astounds me is the fact that, when does this objectification of women as a token of honour stop? Is it not high time, already? This incident was in 2002.
An article in Geo Tv by Mukhtar Mai (linked to above), reports on another case from a few days ago where a council ordered the revenge-rape of two teenage girls due to this utterly sick mentality. Mukhtar Mai writes, heartbreakingly about how this could have been stopped had proper action been taken all those years ago when she refused to keep quiet and not commit suicide as per the ‘custom’. Mukhtar Mai herself, in spite of getting international attention, did not get justice from the judiciary of Pakistan.
Both these incidents, are one of the million other reasons as to why we need feminism, women’s rights and empowerment. This is why it is not ‘okay’ to stay in one’s bubble of privilege and chant about ‘feminazis’ and tell them to shut up. The only thing that needs to shut up, down, left and right is the bullshit going on under the veil of patriarchal ‘traditions and customs’.
And if you don’t see the extreme problem in this way of life, then I suggest you get your eyes checked.
Image used courtesy Wikimedia under a Creative Commons license 3.0
New Delhi, India I like to read, write, and talk. A feminist through and through, with a soft spot for chocolate. read more...
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The plight of Indian women's mental health often goes unnoticed. Co-founders Vivek Satya Mitram and Pooja Priyamvada conceived the idea of the Bharat Dialogues Women & Mental Health Summit to address this.
Trigger Warning: This contains descriptions of mental health trauma and suicide, and may be triggering for survivors.
Author’s note: The language and phraseology used are not the author’s words but the terms and narrative popularly used for people living with mental illnesses, and may feel non-inclusive. It is merely for putting our point across better.
I have seen how horrifying was the treatment given to those with mental illness.
14 years after her last feature film Dhobi Ghat, storyteller extraordinaire comes up with her new film, Laapataa Ladies, a must watch.
*Some spoilers alert*
Every religion around the world dictates terms to women. The onus is always on women to be ‘modest’ and cover their faces and bodies so men can’t be “tempted”, rather than on men to keep their eyes where they belong and behave like civilized beings. So much so that even rape has been excused on the grounds of women eating chowmein or ‘men will be men’. I think the best Hindi movie retort to this unwanted advice on ‘akeli ladki khuli tijori ki tarah hoti hai’ (an alone woman is like an open jewellery box) came from Geet in Jab We Met – Kya aap gyan dene ke paise lete hain kyonki chillar nahin hain mere paas.
The premise of Laapataa Ladies is beautifully simple – two brides clad in the ghunghat that covers their identity get mixed up on a train. Within this Russian Doll, you get a comedy of errors, a story of getting lost, a commentary on patriarchy’s attitude towards women, a mystery, and a tale of finding oneself, all in one. Done with a mostly light touch that has you laughing and nodding along.
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