Adil Najam
If this was not so horrific and heart wrenching as it is, one could go on and on about the pangs of love and all the poetry about how lovers have to be ready to bear the pain that society would inflict upon them. But because this is as sad a story as it is, all I can think of is “cheeti doRReiN way tabeeba…” (come fast, my doctor).
This is a painful story. So, if you are weak of stomach, stop reading. This is not a story about religion or about custom or about culture. It is a story about jahaalat… nirri jahalat. The roots of this are exactly the same as the roots of our earlier post about how Shagufta got killed.
According to the Daily Times (4 January, 2006):
Armed men cut off the ears and nose of a man who married a woman from their tribe against their will, after he and his family refused to hand her over, police said on Wednesday. The attackers also chopped off the ears of the man’s brother, while severing his mother’s hand in the latest reported “honourâà ƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚¬Ã‚? crime in the country’s conservative rural areas.
Mohammad Iqbal’s wife, Shehnaz, was not at home when about 15-armed members of her clan carried out the attack in Multan on Tuesday, demanding that she be returned to them. “The assailants, who were armed with
small arms, daggers and axes, tortured Iqbal and cut off his ears and nose when he refused to produce Shenhaz,� Naeem-ul-Hassan, a deputy superintendent of police, told Reuters, adding that five suspects had so far been arrested. “They dragged us on the floor and thrashed us before cutting our limbs,� Mohammad Yasin, Iqbal’s brother, told Reuters from Nishtar hospital, where he was being treated along with his brother and mother. Shehnaz married Iqbal out of choice last year and the couple left Multan along with Iqbal’s family apparently for fear of reprisals from Shehnaz’s relatives. The family returned to Multan recently to celebrate Eidul Azha.
This is not something that happens every day. But it is something that happens far more often than it should. It is a story that needs to be told and needs to be condemned. The untold part of this story is that all too often we just keep quiet about such stories. We tell ourselves: “well its just an aberration; this is not the norm,” or that “such things happen everywhere, its not just us,” or “if we repeat this story to others it will give all of us a bad name and our ‘enemies’ will make it look as if all of us are like this,” and, ultimately, the hope is that “if we just keep quiet, the story will just go away.”
Well, I have news for you. It does NOT go away. It keeps on happening. Our silence only fuels it, because the criminals confuse the silence for consent.
It is not without reason that Faiz Sahib said:
Bol, keh labb aazad haiN tairay
Bol, zabaan abb tak tairi hai
We also need a lover’s protection bill to save the young people from karo-kari and honour killing.
Insanity indeed! There should be slogans put up all over Pakistan such as ‘live and let live’, ‘time is a great healer’ etc. What must we do to change the perceptions and ideologies of our people, and societies in general?
It all boils down to education in my opinion. Our societies are more concerned about how their neighbors (mahalas) would perceive them after such an incident; therefore in their opinion action must be taken as it’s a question of honor. I fail to see how chopping of ears and nose will bring them any justice! Will they get their daughter back (who is married anyway – I don’t think so).
The sad part is that it never occurred to them that building bridges may be the only way forward.
[quote post=”506″]someone should propose a MPB[Men Protection Bill].[/quote]
This kind of activity will be covered under assault laws and Pakistan already has laws against it.
These kinds of cases are more common among rural societies where most of the property is the real cause of all troubles. It’s not in the interest of the family that their offspring marry outside the clan as it will eventually lead their property division and will be managed by “outsidersâ€
kissa mukhtasir yeh hai…two people married each other with consent. Relatives of one person are not happy with it. They have repeatedly physically attacked the gentleman in question for that reason. It’s a crime. Period. No less no more. Religion, shariat, etc can be invoked but IMHO will serve no purpose because they will only serve to invoke emotions and emotional debates.
Once the perpetrators are handed out exemplary punishments (has never happened in Pakistan yet), these type of crimes will cease to happen. Now the question arises, will this ever happen in Pakistan? The answer is, it will. Do not lose hope. Till then countless others like this poor couple will suffer but suffering in any society does not last forever.
We, as a nation (that we once were) have risen against tyranny before and will rise again. It takes time to gain momentum. Discussing problems like this brings people to the table. Like Dr Najam mentioned in another post, too many people desist from commenting on anything out of fear. Fear, that has been instilled in us by successive despots who have plundered not only our exchequer, unity, faith and discipline but also plundered our right to free speech, our liberties and our minds of creativity and humanity.
It is encouraging to see so many people speaking up today on various issues. I have personally seen this change in Pakistani society, whether its a taxi driver, a fruit vendor pushing a cart or any common man on the street. Change is inevitably coming from within the masses and more and more people have started questioning these injustices. So, for those who see these discussions as futile and everyone else, there is hope as long as we speak up. Our personal conduct, opinions & comments as Pakistanis, whether we are living abroad or in Pakistan must be exceptional and I can say without doubt from the comments I have read on ATP, we are moving in the right direction.
Thank you for posting this news item.
Yeah, may be we can start practicing shariat. Then we will be busy cutting each others’ heads and hands off instead of noses and ears.