We vowed to never forget what happened on the fateful day of 16th December 2014. When we saw images of young children, all pale and drenched in blood, with an anguished soul we committed to never forgive the perpetrators behind this dreadful act. We saw mothers bellowing in agony over coffins of their young sons and we promised that we would stand against the terrorists who stole our future from us. We vowed, we committed, we promised to never forget and less than 2 months later, we have forgotten, we have moved on and we have gone back into our favorite mood, Denial.

We ignore what doesn’t affect us or rather we think it doesn’t. We remain oblivious to a calamity, switch the TV channel and pretend nothing has happened. We are suffering from a self-imposed short term memory loss as we are too stonehearted now and turning our faces away is easier than facing what this country is becoming.

Over 60 Shias lost their lives in a suicide attack on 30th January 2015 while they had gathered in Karbala Maula Imam Bargah in Shikarpur for Friday prayers. Fathers, brothers, sons, grandsons, grandfathers, so many relations wiped out of existence in a matter of seconds.

And how did the people of this land of pure react? By staying silent. A deafening aching silence has been observed by the citizens of this country. Why? Are the Shias not human enough? Is the loss of their lives not a loss? Are the shattered families not real enough? Is their blood less red than ours? Or are they not ‘Muslim’ enough?

This is exactly why Jundallah, who has conveniently claimed the barbarity, carried this attack. For them the people who believe in the Oneness of the Almighty, accept Quran as their sacred book, Prophet PBUH as the Creator’s messenger and Hazrat Ali as Ameer-ul-Momineen, Commander of the faithful, are not religious enough. How can loving Hazrat Ali be a sin? Remember how Prophet PBUH proclaimed loudly and proudly: “Mann Kunto Maula, Fa Haza Ali un-Maula: Whoever accepts me as a master, Ali is his master too.”

How can murdering the devotees of Ali be a religious act? How can murdering anyone be religious? Have we gone blind or have we closed our eyes to what Shias are going through in Pakistan? In fact, what all minorities are facing in this withering state? Why are we comfortable in sitting at home and not protesting on the roads for our fellow citizens?

Or are we still in a delusional state of mind that everything wrong that happens in our country is a conspiracy of the west or our neighbors to weaken us? How long are we going to keep pointing fingers and forgetting that the enemy is indeed one of us? And when we don’t condemn or raise our voices against the enemy, we are in fact supporting them.

How many Joseph colonies can we afford to see get burnt? How many Ahmadis will have to be massacred in their mosques? How many Shamas and Sajjads will have to be burnt alive in the kiln? How many dead bodies do we need to see on Alamdar Road to wake up this sleeping nation?

We came out in thousands whenever any political leader called out for a jalsa or a sit in. Even if half of those people had the audacity to come out to show solidarity for the lives lost in Shikarpur, our Shia brethren would’ve slept a little in peace. But we didn’t. We stayed at home. We stayed in our comfort zones. We moved on with our lives. Because why should we protest? Why should we be out on the roads? They were Shias after all; they were not one of our own!

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A country where a 25-year-old woman is stoned to death by her family outside the Lahore High Court, in a so-called “honour” killing for marrying the man she loved, or a 17 year old female cricketer who commits suicide because her accusation of being sexually harassed by the officials of the Multan Cricket Club, is left unnoticed by the authorities, where acid has been thrown on countless faces by coward spineless men who couldn’t get their ‘way’ with her, and at such a time comes a well renowned man like Junaid Jamshed and he displays his misogynistic mindset on national television without an ounce of guilt or shame, that too, to a woman hosting the show.

On one side, he claims that his personal religious intervention wasn’t forced on his wife or mother, yet he requests all men who are listening to him, to never teach a woman how to drive because if she goes out of the house once, she will get used to it and won’t like staying in the house again!

Does he have some screws loosened up there in his head? Or is he just being a plain hypocrite? The singer turned mullah and a former metrosexual symbol is forcing his misogynist mindset in the later guilt-ridden, born-again-Muslim stage of his life.

There are numerous women struggling in our country. Wives, daughters, mothers, sisters who have lost male figures in their lives, and they have no option other than to become the man of the house and deal with any pressure that comes their way. Hasn’t he seen any single mother raising her children on her own? Or should a woman bury herself along with her husband or even if any other male member of her house dies? How can Junaid Jamshed, who many believe is a very ‘moderate’ Muslim, claim this to be a hypothetical statement when such a question is thrown his way?

And even if this isn’t the case, even if no woman ‘has’ to fend for herself, why is it necessary that a man dictate her on how to live her life? Can’t she go out when she wants to for whatsoever reason? Why some men want to be controlling and dominating? Why such insecurity?

Coming back to religion, what sort of a religion does Junaid Jamshed follow? He talks excessively about the Prophet (PBUH) & his wives yet he forgets Hazrat Khadija (RA) who was a successful merchant and it is said that Hazrat Khadija (RA)‘s trade caravan equaled the caravans of all other traders of the Quraish put together. Our beloved Prophet (PBUH) loved her the most. Was he wrong in marrying and loving an independent & successful merchant?

Isn’t this example enough for Junaid to understand what stature women had for the Prophet (PBUH)? How can he ask men to keep their women inside their houses as it’s in a women’s nature to go outside more and exhibit herself!

Yes, that’s what the latter part of his interview on Nida Yasir’s morning show says. That a man wants to stay in the house more, whereas it’s natural for a woman to expose herself and venture outside!

This perhaps is the most abstruse statement I have ever come across.

If we put religion aside here, why does a man think he’s in charge of a woman? Why does pretentious men like Junaid Jamshed think that this is a man’s world only and a woman should be under his wing all the time? The world is rapidly changing. Women have become equal to men in all fields of life.

In our society unfortunately, when a daughter is born, from day one her mind is infused by thoughts of her being less than a man. She grows up with an exceedingly closeted mindset and as she’s told repeatedly the things she can’t do, because that’s a “man’s” job. Then she ends up having not enough confidence to handle calamities if they come her way.

Blessed are those daughters, whose parents, especially fathers made sure their daughter is able to handle everything, from paying bills, to changing a light bulb, to fixing a flat tyre.
Life is unpredictable. Not only a man, but also a woman should be well equipped to cope with all the tests and trials that come her way. Though it’s a very unrecognized term in Pakistan, but we all are born with equal ‘human rights’, be it a man or a woman, we are all entitled to live the way we wish to. This obsession with dictatorship and domination by men has to end.

I’ve come across a couple of angered responses by men over this particular video as well, which is a great solace to know that even men find Junaid Jamshed’s views about women rubbish. I also hope that men having some religious fervor don’t start locking up their wives, sisters, daughters & mothers at home considering the ‘self proclaimed’ religious scholar’s claim, as true and holy.

May sense prevail in this withering country of mine!

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