Women in Paradise

JUNE 2002 - The Begum Governor of the NWFP – I assume she is addressed as such since her counterpart in Lahore certainly goes by this royal title, paid a royal visit to the luckless Zafaran Bibi languishing in the Peshawar Jail after her conviction that set off something akin to a medium-scale uproar in Pakistan and abroad over this barbaric law that is directed at the lowly-placed women of Pakistan. Her visit produced no result other than a photo opportunity for Her Grace – why she went there one cannot understand but is Zafaran Bibi free yet? If she is, I missed it. The punishment of stoning her to death awarded by some black-robed, black-hearted judge is a continuation of the horrible state of affairs where women are victimized at will and in a manner that escapes all norms of civilized behaviour. Worse, this law has no origin in the Holy Koran. What irony!

There are hundreds of women in shackles in the jails of Pakistan – ‘Pak sar zameen shad bad’ – placed there because a draconian law plays havoc with the lives of women who are victims of the bestiality that men continue to demonstrate in this land. Perhaps the best thing would have been to exterminate all women so that we could finally end this problem and in the course of it, put an end to the sorry state that we have reduced this fine country to. But such things are not possible even in Grimm’s Fairy Tales and so women suffer, some in silence, some in death and most in hell-holes where policemen and any one else around, rape them at will and in so doing, dishonour their very mothers and sisters without remorse. Are the men of this country - top to bottom obsessed with sex? The answer has always been yes. Women are targeted all the time, kidnapped, raped at will, tortured, beaten, humiliated thanks to men’s sordid nature.

The Hadd punishment under this twisted law that no one has the power or the courage to repeal, lays down death by stoning for adult married people and a hundred stripes in public for others. It is a law that is more Jewish (Zionist?) than anything else we have and is laughable – were it not so cruel, for the ridiculous interpretation it receives from those who apply it to society and without fail, to victimize women on one pretext or another. Women who are regularly raped and conceive then have to ‘explain’ their pregnancy in a manner that satisfies the court and the wise men that preside over such hearings. The onus of pinpointing the cause of the pregnancy falls on the women since men, as we all understand, are unable to get pregnant even if they tried. Therefore, if four men rollicking about town spot a woman they fancy, all they have to do is abduct and rape her and then dump her in the nearest field or garbage heap. If she conceives, she has to prove with witnesses – that’s another saga, the identities of her rapists and should she fail to do this, then she gets thrown into jail and various sentences are heaped on her head. The men are free to find their next rape victim and a nearby field.

Almost 50% of all women rotting in jails are accused of Zina – they are in hundreds if not more and they don’t have a hope in hell – unless India nukes us, in which case they will be free having died already. Every day across this fair land – this paradise on earth, hundreds of women are thrown into overflowing jails and become the next victims for the unbridled lust of their captors. By the time – if that ever happens, their case comes up for trial, they have been raped and raped and raped, conceived, aborted, delivered children or died in childbirth – those that are lucky. The effect of such trauma afflicts the victims in many ways – some lose their mind apart from their dignity which is the first thing that they are robbed off – others go mute or stay permanently in shock. Their lives are snuffed out because uncle dear lusted for them or husband dear married again or father dear had designs on them or brother dear had ideas about them or anyone walking with two legs and raging hormones thought it would be a good idea to have it off without too much problems attached. Whichever you see it, the dice is loaded against all those who are unfortunate to be the wrong sex in a country which should have been populated only by males – and Dr. Israr the loony bin wants us to believe that our creation was a ‘celestial’ wonder as was our nuclear explosion, which was a miracle ordained by God for us, his chosen and most beautiful race since Adam spotted Eve polishing off an apple. More poppycock one has not heard.

There is nothing celestial about a country which treats its women, particularly those who are powerless to strike back, with contempt and indignity- the holy sermons notwithstanding, the Islam-gives-maximum-rights-to-women theorists moaning into the heavens notwithstanding. If such rights are conferred, why are women in such a dismal state in the Muslim world? And leave that world alone – they haven’t even issued a token statement of support for us in this hour of our splendid isolation – what are our emissaries scurrying about in the Middle East for, armed with letters from the President? Can’t these be sent by DHL instead? These medieval and anarchic laws once drawn up have become a blot on our landscape of national morality and like all such laws, are now cast in stone. No one has the courage to strike them down and while understandably the country runs on rhetoric and dung gas – having nothing much else to run on, feeble moans and groans are heard from time to time by the great leaders who strut on the stage till their time is up and they are sent packing like sheep – if sheep can be packed thus. Talk of reversing these laws is drowned in the growls of the bearded wonders and sends our strongest generals, paratroopers, SSGs, daredevils – what have you, run for cover with their tails between their legs. Women are half of this country – and that is precisely where each government places them – half – in every way.

Those who have stood up to fight the system, have been branded agents, traitors, miscreants, westernized demons, etc, etc. People like Asma Jehangir have fought the battle against hopeless odds, rescuing a few from fates worse than death. The names run like a list from the Nazi camps – Jehan Mina only 15 but good enough to be raped – she is now mute with terror – thank you Pakistan; Shahida Parveen whose errant husband remembered to divorce her and forgot to register it, so she got clobbered for Zina since she had remarried; Gul Nisa awarded death by stoning since she conceived while ‘separated’ from her husband and therefore guilty; Safia Bibi, blind but good enough to be raped and then sentenced because she couldn’t explain how she became pregnant – the list is long and sickens the soul. When will this night of terror for these poor women end and what about the hundreds who are yet to be arrested, yet to be raped, yet to be impregnated? Who will rescue them? Who will avert their terrible destiny? Not this government, which has less spine than my toothbrush. Perhaps the four Begum Governors should drop their morning coffee parties and Meena Bazar dos and set about rescuing their sisters. And dear God, how about a dozen more Asmas?