Thursday 1 November 2012

what if I told you....

What if I said to you that you're not allowed to watch a teacher, teach?
What if I said to you that you're not allowed to watch a chef, cook?
What if I said to you it was illegal to watch a person walk by?

What would you say to me?

I'm absurd and crazy, right?

Well, two parents in a small town in Pakistan would fail to disagree.

A father watched his 15-year-old daughter glance at two men riding on their motorcycle. A harmless act that ended up causing her life.

Why you may ask?

Well, this father thought to himself that by looking at other people, especially the opposite sex, should be punished. Or rather his younger daughter looking at other men is a sin.

What did he or rather they do to her?

Her mother and father took her to the side. The father beat her up and with the help of the mother poured acid on her.

They took her to the hospital the next day, but it was a day too late.

Sometimes I wonder if her life was better off not being in this world, where humans are no longer beings but rather monsters. Why would she want to live in hell? Maybe she is happier now. Free from disgust and hardship.

But then I wonder how can we change a father's mind from his thoughts that have been ingrained in him ever since he was born?

Yes, it can be through education, but there is more than that. I am still trying to figure it out and maybe if I was physically in Kotli, Pakistan, I could?

Or is it human nature to be drawn to information that support your own beliefs? I really believe it's the fact that people do not like being proven wrong. I think this little girl's father was trying to make a point that his beliefs were right and his daughter should follow or be punished.

This story is another incident of 'honour' killing. Where the reputation of a family is more important than the lives of the members in it.

I feel it's time these people cozy up to the idea that being wrong is not bad. It is rather the polar opposite. It's a learning experience and in the end you become a better person, rather than a murderer (in this case).

Rest in peace little girl.





Saira Liaqat had acid poured on her when she was nineteen-years- old. She is a survivor and continues to empower women.



Liaqat at the age of twenty-two. She's had 25 surgeries and is still smiling :)
 

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