Islamabad: Heraclitus Herac
As March 8 approaches, a peculiar fever grips certain individuals. Those who spend the entire year indulging in their “permissible pleasures” suddenly transform into guardians of morality. Mosque loudspeakers go on high alert, social media’s self-proclaimed pious voices awaken, and from every corner, a singular cry echoes: “This is immorality!”
This year, the uproar is expected to reach new heights—March 8 coincides with the fifth day of Ramadan. The already heightened sensitivities of these moral gatekeepers will be further amplified by the sanctity of fasting. Normally, their sense of ghayrat (honor) operates in “battery saver mode,” but the moment women’s rights are mentioned, it inexplicably becomes fully charged. And with the added influence of fasting, their rage will not only be more sacred but also more intense—manifesting in louder outbursts and an increased number of religious edicts being “revealed.”
One cannot help but wonder: Why does this moral consciousness remain dormant when faced with political corruption, land mafia exploits, or the sugar industry’s monopolistic looting? Why is it that ghayrat (honor) awakens only on the day of the Aurat March? If a woman speaks up for her rights, it is deemed a “Western agenda,” yet if a cleric, landlord, or tycoon grants these rights on their terms, it is considered legitimate under Shariah? In other words, if freedom is bestowed, it is permissible, but if a woman demands it for herself, it is rebellion?
The phrase “My body, my choice” elicits reactions as if someone has declared war against the Ottoman Caliphate. But tell me—if a woman does not have autonomy over her own body, then whose will prevails? This is the most unsettling question for the critics, because answering it requires logic—something conspicuously absent from their arguments.
Every year, there are calls to suppress the “sedition” of the Aurat March. Yet, no one explains why, if Islam has already granted women all their rights, thousands of women in Pakistan are still murdered annually, why so many are deprived of education, and why countless women are burned alive for choosing their own partners.
To those who object to the fundamental rights of women: perhaps take a cold shower, log out of YouTube sermons, and pause for a moment of introspection. If the mere notion of women’s equality unsettles you, the problem does not lie with women—it lies in your ghayrat’s outdated “software,” which, instead of updating, crashes every year on March 8.
Note: The “Qalam Club” does not necessarily agree with the personal views of the authors
