By Bismah Shahab
This article was originally submitted by Bismah Shahab
Dear women,
Do you want your daughters to suffer as you did?
In a male dominant society, where a girl being born is considered to be a mere liability for the whole family; this is a question we all need to ponder over. Unfortunately, even in the 21st century, Pakistan is one of the countries where the birth of a son is celebrated while a girl is buried alive. Those who luckily escape this menace are killed every day.
From restrictions on their mobility to their morals being judged for eating in front of their husbands; from their education being looked down upon to them being murdered for not brewing the perfect tea; they face hundreds of hurdles to be certified with the title of being the perfect wife and daughter.
Even in the contemporary world, where we think that we are well educated and we are growing as a nation; our daughters suffer.
A daughter gets physically abused when she demands her rights when she wants to go out to acquire an education; when she wants to explore the world outside her home. 24% of women in the country were married before the age of 18 years in the country between 2000 and 2010 with 7% married before they reached the age of 15 years, but WHY WHY?
Just because they are considered a threat to the family’s reputation, an added expenditure which should be gotten rid of as soon as possible or a mere commodity which can be traded in exchange for money. Do we deserve this?
Women’s are burned WHY?
Women are often attacked and murdered if their in-laws deem their dowry to be low brow. Women are being burned mostly women’s face are burned with acid for rejecting a marriage proposal. A study has found that as high as 92% of all honour killings are committed by the spouse. The highest occurring reason in spousal honour killings was alleged extramarital affairs.
The male head of the society thinks that if he is earning then it’s his right to degrade his wife, to beat her , to insult her if she forgets to put salt in food or if she is not cooked food tastey and if she is unable to find his socks in the morning and forget to add salt in morning .
So women, speak up for yourself, and for your daughters.
Women’s are burden?
We are not a burden. It’s we who give birth, nourish and raise the future generations. It’s we who transform the house into a HOME. It’s we who 24/7; from serving piping hot breakfasts to the whole household to ironing everyone’s clothes and washing everyone’s clothes at night without expecting a penny in return. Therefore, we are central part of family, home and in world. So we deserve a respect and equal right.
All we demand is respect and appreciation so never allow anyone to snatch this right from you. We are equal beings and wouldn’t succumb to physical abuse anymore. Like all human being we are also human being. So We women DON’T deserve this. We are NOT slaves. We are NOT born in prisons. We are not burden.
Most important message, teach your sons to be better counterparts in future life. Teach your son respect to the all women’s. Instead of reiterating that they can get away with any vile behaviour just because they possess a Y chromosome, teach them to be more respectful, a bit more grateful for all the errands, women in their life do.
From,
A daughter, a sister, a woman.
