In “A Closer look at sexual harassment laws” published in
the Express Tribune blogs on May 29, Fouzia Saeed pointed out that much has
been accomplished since the President signed the sexual harassment laws in
2010. According to the author lauded the speed with which the laws were drafted
and passed and pointed out that over 1000 cases have been dealt with so far. Anyways,
going through the comments section, I was alarmed to see that instead of
recognizing the problem and the work being done to overcome it, some people
actually seemed to be trying to justify harassment in the name of Islam!
The very first was a gentleman who began by claiming that
Western societies had more crime than Eastern (read Islamic) ones and then
moved on to say that he wanted an Islamic state and not a secular one. He was
seconded by another gentleman who declared that women had no business outside
the house. Another user proclaimed that most women are pathetic and dress
“exotically” (whatever that means); therefore, men are automatically attracted
to them. And then he went on a rant about women wanting to control men etc.
So in their version of a so called Islamic society, these
gentlemen’s answer to sexual harassment would be to ban women from leaving
their homes? That’s like banning people from defending their property against
robbers! Would a truly Islamic society turn a blind eye to the harassment of
women just because they are unaccompanied by a mehram instead of punishing those responsible? Because now we are
talking about a very basic human right: the right to security. Islam recognizes
this right and I really can’t really get my head around the idea that Muhammad
(PBUH) would have let someone get away with assaulting a woman just because she
was uncovered or unaccompanied!
No Pakistan is rife with such problems because before there
can be any cure, you must admit the existence of the disease. And in our country, some people are so blinded
by prejudice and so accustomed to thinking of women as disposable objects that
they either deny the existence of the problem outright or worse, attempt to
transfer the blame to women! But let’s get this straight, women are NOT
objects, they are human beings and deserve to be respected as such.
Finally, to the men who are “automatically attracted” to
skimpy clothing, Islam commands you to lower your gaze! Its funny really, how in
our male-dominated society, only Islamic laws are twisted to maintain
male-dominance while all parts of Islam dealing with the rights of women are conveniently
ignored. And even if Islam had nothing
so ay about it, get a grip on yourself guys! Are you perpetually drunk? Or
under the influence of other drugs? If the answer is No, then get hold of yourself!
Summing it up, women getting harassed just because some
perverts cannot control their feelings is unacceptable; it must stop and if
these animals (for creatures with minds so weak can hardly be called men) cannot
control themselves, they must be punished. The argument that women themselves
are responsible for all violence or harassment is outdated and has no basis at
all in Islam. Simply put, it’s not women’s fault!
So let’s get this straight: women are harassed just because
some perverts can’t control their “feelings”? Somebody please explain this to
me because I just can’t see what kind of reasoning is behind this argument.
P.S. Here's the link to the article I mentioned.
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