Thursday 27 October 2016

Some thoughts on treatment of PTI women

Sadly most folks who were very vocal about the reporter slap incident the other day have not spoken a word about Sharifs attacking PTI women

Politics has a dehumanizing effect here. There's those who were vocal about that incident but apolitical-ish so won't speak for women attacked today. I don’t understand that lot at all, so can’t fathom their reasons. Then there are those who abhor PTI & lie somewhere between the "acha hua" to "ignore because speaking for them is against the greater good" range.

Have had conversations with a few politically active women about this the last few days, they feel a little abandoned, but more attacked.

Remember they have been characterized for years now because of their politics. A "liberal" journo and Sharif pet Kamran Shafi, now rewarded with Cuba ambassadorship, remained a big hit with his avowedly liberal, pro womens rights, anti mulla etc etc crowd here even after he said PTI women go do "Mujra" at rallies and lower class men go to watch them. His is an extreme example, but as Gul Bukhari betrayed the other day, another columnist, sigh, people who don't like PTI constantly characterize these women as "bait". Often other women. Often ones that wear the social worker garb & only break it to take these “dance shance”, “poondi party” pot shots.  

That has such shit effect, not just on the women, their families, loved ones. One told me yesterday it's harder to go to these rallies because people have heard the "nach gaana" characterization so much it feels like now some men attend them expecting that, expecting easy girls.

But it doesn't stop here. These greater good, sensible types haven't just made life harder for PTI women. Contrary to what they profess, the issue between PTI supporters and these people isn't that they don't like PTI methods, rhetoric, tameez. It's that these people have accepted murder, rape, theft etc in return for politics of their liking. That's the lowest quality I can think of in a person. To support someone who commits murder because you like their politics.

Anyway, this shows in how they behave regarding other women too, not just PTI. The constant rape cases involving PMLN go unnoticed. That the Sharif family is involved in wife beating doesn't bother them. At best a couple of hollow condemnations, a little fake surprise of how the party is really *any form of vague badness* and then back to accepting/supporting the thugs in question. At worst, which is increasingly the case because of so many journos entering formal employment of Sharifs, and it's a massively over-represented but small, incestous circle, an attack on the women in question a la Najam Sethi with the underage rape victim.

Basically, they stand for the rights of women, in this case but minorities, workers, anyone oppressed, as long as their oppressors aren't politicians they support. Or "accept" as part of their vision for the greater good.


What a sad way to be.