Maryam Tiwana
Should the birth of a girl in our society really even be celebrated? No matter how progressive we call ourselves, our society’s thinking is so deeply rooted in the woman hating ideology that plagues us even today. Why is a daughter seen as a burden or liability? Why are our daughters seen to be less of our blood than our sons? Why are people so desperate to have sons that somewhere along the way they disregard the five daughters they produced?
Being objectified by peoples’ stares is one thing but living in our society as a female is a challenge all together. Everyday women are discriminated against and atrocities are carried out towards them. The Lahore institute for mental health services more commonly known as the “fountain house” houses many individuals suffering from various mental illnesses. However, it is true that in some cases the women admitted are not even suffering from any mental illness, but are admitted by their own family members based on false claims of mental illness for selfish reasons such as acquiring their property. Who stands up for these women and saves them from a lifetime of battling diseases they don’t even have? Who gives these women justice?
Recently, there was a case of a 30 year old woman at a psychiatric hospital. The woman was a mother of five and a recent divorcee. She came to the clinic to seek cure for her severe depression where she could hardly speak without howling. The woman’s husband had given her a divorce accusing her of things she had never even dreamed of and slandering her character. As a result he also took full custody of their children. This woman does not even have a mental issue, her reaction is completely normal after what has happened to her. She is uneducated and thus does not even have the means to support herself and her children even if she did have their custody. Who will give her justice? Who is to say when she will be able to see her children again? Those children whom she produced and kept in her womb for 9 months. In Islam we are taught that we owe our mothers five times the respect we owe our fathers however our supposed “Islamic” society hardly reflects any of the principles of Islam.
Our daughters should be our pride; every girl of our society should be seen as an individual in her own right and should be given due respect but our society fails to do so. Why are we suppressed and silenced? Why our voices are never heard? Women are raped, abused, beaten, discriminated against, denied their rights, wronged and then silenced. The injustice builds up everyday. We should raise our sons in such a way that no parent fears their daughter will be the cause of dishonor for their families. Our sons should be taught to respect all females and that real masculinity and manhood is not in their physical strength but in their character and their thinking and in the courage to defend and protect those who are helpless and in the intrepidity of standing up for what is right and taking a stand. A real man is one with character and the courage to do what is right even if the whole world stands against it. Taking the right path is never easy and many times we don’t take it because it requires a lot of courage and bravery to tread that path but if we build in ourselves that courage then surely we will achieve the righteousness that lacks in our society.
We need to learn to respect ALL women. If it weren’t for women the entire world population would not exist. Change your sons and respect your daughters. Being a girl is not a sin or a punishment so stop making it one. Be the change our society needs and for our society to progress we need to change ourselves and our thinking.