Noor Mukaddam - Another Victim of Social Division

 

Not long ago, a 10-year-old girl “Farishtey” was raped and murdered in the suburbs of Islamabad. People were deeply affected by the incident, and a major part of the society contributed to the protests supporting the cause. Similarly, a few years ago, people responded to the lynching incident in Sialkot, and the story goes on. Every time something brutal, or inhuman happened in Pakistan, the society came out, not together, in different groups. As a result, the majority of the protestors even today, would not know what happened in all those cases afterward.

Fighting for any issue is just like a war. Scattered warriors with different directions would never bring you good results. The social division in our country is so wide and deep-rooted, that it affects everything around us. Our narratives are usually not related to the cause itself; they are targeted at our agendas. During the course of the fight, we often forget the triggering point and take the struggle to a different battleground altogether. Hashtags on Twitter, and our placards often surpass the stance of the victim’s family.

Noor Mukaddam was a beautiful soul to be destroyed in such a brutal manner, and may her murderer rot in jail forever. However, we have to understand what we are demanding under the umbrella of the protest today. A group of people in our society disagrees with the beliefs of religious clerics in this country, so now they are blaming them for the murder. The recent delay in acceptance of the Domestic Violence bill is the basis of their argument. Another group believes that all men in our society are responsible as the gender is at fault here, not an individual. At Noor’s candlelight vigil, only our bodies stood together, our minds were targeting different things.

Blaming clerics for rejection of the bill is delusional, as the bill was delayed by the senate members, indirectly elected by us. The protest held against the bill was their right, just as we all have the right to do the same. Furthermore, without any disrespect to the victim’s lifestyle, the domestic violence bill had only covered relationships in a legitimate household as per law. The murderer in this case or any other case is never a gender, it is always an individual. Stop blaming gender, and caste, go after the criminal. Teach your daughters self-defense techniques, they must learn to deal with men and situations, and not hate them.

Sialkot lynching accused were all given relief by the Supreme Court of Pakistan, and dozens of other cases had the same fate. As long as a society will feed its agendas, the criminals will get away. In case you disagree with clerics or their way, you may present your argument, but involving them in crimes is hatred, which would beget hatred in the end. The domestic violence bill was not rejected, it is sent to the Council of Islamic Ideology for necessary deliberation. The fight #justicefornoor should stay targeted at the criminal, who may get away if we lose track. Let Noor not fade away behind smokescreens created by all of us, because it was her yesterday, it could be you tomorrow.