Purity and prejudice

A heartbreaking incident has left many Pakistanis questioning their humanity in the holy month of Ramazan. On Thursday, Irfan Masih, a Christian sanitary worker, died in the Umerkot Civil Hospital when the doctor on duty refused to touch his body to treat him by saying it would break his fast. This tragedy is another reflection of how caste biases and misunderstanding of religion continue to haunt us. According to the complaint filed by the victim’s father, doctors at the hospital refused to treat him because he was ‘covered in filth’. Irfan had been cleaning a manhole when he smelt poisonous gas and cried out for help. There was no equipment available to assist him out, which led to another three workers going in to bring him out. All three of his fellow workers also fainted. Not only did the Umerkot hospital staff not treat him, the municipal authorities had also not provided the sanitary workers basic safety equipment to avoid such an incident altogether. Media interest in the story led to the arrest of three doctors from the Umerkot hospital and three municipal committee inspectors.

Irfan Masih lost his life to the worst kind of prejudice and negligence exhibited by someone who had taken an oath to save lives without discrimination. There is no doubt that a proper investigation is required, but it would be good for once for our society to take a long hard look at itself. There are reasons why no one found the refusal to treat a ‘low-caste’ patient during a fast to be out of the ordinary. The month of Ramazan is supposed to bring out the best in us. It often happens that it leads to the opposite. Our interpretation of faith and the hypocrisies which surround the very act of fasting have become more and more problematic. Regardless of any theological debate, there can be no doubt that Irfan Masih died due to sheer cruelty. How have we, as a nation, come to a point where a poor man will lose his life because he is not found pure enough to be treated? It is time to wake up and see the inhumanity within us. It is time to wake up and fix ourselves before we lose more people to the bigotry, superstition and prejudice we have allowed to fester in the garb of faith and ritual.