One rather disturbing trend on Twitter seems to be jingoism by
harassing female liberals. This seems in particular to apply to our female
journalists. As I type these words, I can see disturbing comments on my Twitter
timeline about a female media person’s appearance on ARY. These comments range
from her sari to her lack of duppata, all while telling her she is wrong to be
questioning Pakistan’s military and religious norms.
Why does anyone remotely female who questions Military Inc
have to be subjected to threats of sexual violence? How does her appearance
affect the debate at hand? Wearing a sari or not will not change the fact that
Military Inc has indulged in unfair and illicit business deals. For some
reason, many people who favour Military Inc also seem to find it wrong to
question the economic success of Mr. Aleem Khan of PTI fame. Point out any flaw
in the PTI and/or the Generals running Pakistan and most people tend to be
trolled. However, if the person doing the pointing out happens to be female,
threats of sexual violence, comments on her promiscuity, way of dressing etc
always come up. Because, jingoism today isn’t just about worshipping the ground
the military walks on, it’s also about worshipping the group Imran Khan and his
Insafians walk on. A “good Pakistani” isn’t allowed to have dissenting
political opinions, and calling out the corruption of amongst the rankers of
the PTI, calling out the ineptness of the KP government, being concerned about
the Jamaat e Islami running the education ministry of the KP government are all
things only RAW, Mussad and CIA agents do. If the person doing the calling out
is female, she is quickly labeled promiscuous along with being a foreign agent.
I have a question to ask these scions of purity. If you are
as pure as you say, if you value religious sentiments, if you believe in a safe
and economically prosperous Pakistan, shouldn’t you perhaps get all the rapey
and sexually violent thoughts out of your own head to make your country a
better and safer place?
