Since its inception in 2018, the civil movement has braved through an overwhelm of forces trying to tear it down from its roots....
feminism
Being a woman in Pakistan is hard enough, let alone being a woman with a voice. The inherent distaste for woman kicks off as soon as words form in her mouth and threatens release under the label of an opinion. Hence, when ‘Aurat March’ first emerged on the streets of the state with a roar over five years ago, masculine anxiety among those in power as well as locals touched an all-time high.
Since its inception in 2018, the civil movement has braved through an overwhelm of forces trying to tear it down from its roots. What has kept it flourishing is its unfaltering belief in its own ideology, which advocates for the emancipation of women and other minorities from systemic oppression that gets more prevalent each passing day.
From being accused as a foreign funded organisation to being booked on false charges of blasphemy, the organisers of the socio-political fraternity have endured it all. Yet, the accusatory fingers of naysayers somehow always end up finding the feminists, whom they denounce for being un-Islamic and uncultured, at the other end of it.
My salutations for the women who can bravely proclaim to be feminists in their social media bios. Because up front, it is an outspoken woman challenging oppression on the internet as well as her surrounding in real-time. However, should one get a glimpse of behind the scenes, the harrowing reality of being seen in an unsympathetic light on a day-to-day basis will prompt in hanging heads with shame.
Terms like ‘Performative feminism’ and ‘selective activism’ are some of the favourite phrases to throw around when it comes to summoning women to the dock every time a social or political issue arises in the state that has done nothing to protect the rights of the movement or the gender it protects.
Hence, when calls for Aurat March and left-wing feminists across Pakistan to condemn the latest Iddat verdict in the case of Bushra Bibi and former prime minister Imran Khan ensued, it was somehow au fait yet equally frustrating.
As soon as their marriage was ruled ‘un-Islamic’ under the state’s skewed legislation, all eyes landed on official Aurat March profiles on social media platforms and other prominent feminists’ accounts. Before they even had the chance to comprehend the unprecedented violation of a woman’s autonomy, partisans ganged up to accuse them of, yes, you guessed it, performative feminism and selective activism.
Because who better to direct your accusatory gaze at than a notorious movement led by the historically marginalised gender, already known for its devilry? Though, at what expense? The woman, whose sanctity was attempted to be tarnished by her former spouse and the legislation, became a mere instrument to hurl abuses at blameless women.
It was jarring to the point of sardonic to watch people demanding condemnation from the same civil rights movement that has consistently been poured scorn on for its indulgent views and opinions. So much that the decry against Bushra Bibi’s ex-husband Khawar Maneka, who essentially brought the matter to public court, and the judiciary, which deemed it sufficiently meritorious to go to trial was conveniently drowned out.
Interestingly, there was not a whisper from flagbearers of our religion, the clerics, on the unlawful verdict; yet no one jolted them awake from their sleep of blissful ignorance. Particularly the ones who blamed a global pandemic to the vulgarity of qoum ki betiyan. The ones who were exalted and protected by the government of the same prime minister, whose devotees unleashed their misplaced rage on women of the state earlier.
It has been a long practice among social media mongers to skimp on original perpetrators of incitement to target feminist groups and women, whose stance is the affirmation of their resistance. It might feel like a ‘gotcha’ moment to some; however, it succinctly highlights the internalised misogyny that itches to seep through at every lapse of judgement from women. For these people, feminists are infallible anomalies, and their wrongs – should there be any – forever mar the history of the women rights’ movement.
The plight of being a feminist is being one in Pakistan, where women are subjected to unwarranted character assassination for their delayed response to a verdict about a woman’s agency inflicted by an all-men state court with no repercussions. The ruling upholds the long-standing practice of the incumbents to settle scores with opponents at the expense of women in their lives.
Being a feminist in Pakistan is an uphill battle not only against entrenched patriarchy in every system of the state, but also those who actively seek out opportunities to discredit them.
