Do Farzana’s killers qualify as honourable? Not according to the above definition, they do not. Do the onlookers qualify as honourable? Not according to the above definition, they do not.
Source/Credit: The News | Pakistan
By Talat Farooq | June 2, 2014
Farzana Parveen, 25, was beaten to death in front of a large crowd of witnesses –including policemen – outside the Lahore High Court. Her murderers were her own family, including brothers who were kind enough for wanting to shoot her initially but then decided she deserved to be beaten to death instead.
Her proud father watched silently, congratulating himself for being the greatest ghairatmand that ever walked the face of the earth. The spectators watched and enjoyed the spectacle as they enjoy Urdu TV dramas and the policemen decided to take it in their stride as one more crime on the streets of Lahore, the great cultural capital of Pakistan.
Parveen, according to news reports, was three months pregnant but neither the would-be grandfather nor the would-be uncles had any concern for such minor details when they committed the double-murder. They were much too honourable for that. Farzana married against the will of her male family members, which must have got tongues wagging in their neighbourhood and extended family. And as many sisters in this country know: hell hath no fury like a brother dishonoured.
What does honour (or ghairat) really entail? Is not honour one of the most valuable codes, ensuring and restoring the dignity of human beings within a social setup? Is it not meant to enhance our self-esteem as an individual? Does not honour strengthen our integrity as members of a society?
Above all it is honour that motivates us to stand up for the weak and offer protection even when it will not bring any material advantage. An honourable person will guard his/her beliefs and values – which includes the value of protecting the weak – even at the cost of his/her life.
Do Farzana’s killers qualify as honourable? Not according to the above definition, they do not. Do the onlookers qualify as honourable? Not according to the above definition, they do not.
As it happens, Farzana was honourable enough to exercise her legal and religious right to marry the person of her choice. She had the courage to be honest with herself instead of sacrificing herself on the altar of false rituals and inflated egos. Farzana is the only ghairatmand in this sordid tale.
So if Farzana died for her beliefs that were in keeping with her legal and religious rights then where are all those ghairatmand people prompt in judging others? Where are the stalwarts of the Council of Islamic Ideology who have no qualms in legitimising under-age marriage? Are they going to argue for the protection of women who exercise their legal and religious right to marry the person of their choice? Are they going to prescribe stoning of those who failed to do their duty to protect a citizen of Pakistan?
Where are the politicians whose rallies and dharnas are the latest show in town? When are they going to take out a rally against the killing of Farzana Parveen and hundreds of others like her?
The death of Parveen is another slap in the face of the powerful. Her death is far more important than issues of rigging or metro buses or trips to India. Why? Because her death has to do with the fundamental dignity of a human being – something that our constitution guarantees.
Will not one of our parliamentary members have the guts to call this a violation of the constitution? And are the men of Pakistan not brave enough to uphold their honour by ensuring justice is provided to a poor woman? Is there a silent male majority out there? Will you please speak up? What about the umpteen chattering TV anchors? Are they going to give as wide and consistent a coverage to this incident as they are to other issues?
Thank you Mr Prime Minister for having the moral courage to take notice of the incident; can you please make sure that this case – like so many others – is not pushed under the carpet? Can you also order an inquiry as to why most crimes against women take place in Punjab?
Farzana and so many others before her symbolise the protest of the weak against the tyranny of the powerful. They also show us that as a society we are okay with tolerating violence and that the TTP is less hypocritical than us. It was only in keeping with the main plot of this tragic story that the event took place outside the Lahore High Court.
Can you – readers – please spare a few seconds for Farzana? Shed a few tears on the death of a woman who died because she had the courage to want to live in keeping with the dictates of her conscience.
The writer is a post-doctoral researcher at Birmingham University.
Email: talatfarooq11@gmail.com
Read original post here: Perspective: The only ‘ghairatmand’
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