Issue 527th carries a vitriolic against cartoons. Titled ‘cartoons ka zeher’[The cartoon poison], this story narrates the case of school teacher horrified at her students passion for Indian and English cartoons. There is no attempt to deconstruct the content. The Hinduness and Englishness of cartoons is a logic sufficient and convenient enough
Where any action or statement that does not bode well with Sheikh-al-Mashaikh-Mufti-e-Azam-Hazrat uqdas can lead your way to eternal damnation, ladies and gentlemen please brace yourselves (if you haven’t already) for the most viral and stringent variety of what we believe is genuine and directly imported from Saudi Arabia ka Islam.
Self professed Alima Bajis giving lectures twice a week in every neighbourhood, madrassas sprouting in urban areas and what I call ‘the Laal-Masjid or Faraht Hasmi factor’ that has gained momentum is no news. However, a lesser known or perhaps less reported aspect of these intellectual terrorists is that of their ability to brainwash their followers through print media.
Their subscribers maybe fewer as compared to those who read regular news papers which by the way are fairly conservatives and fundamentalists in their own right. The aim, however, is to highlight the source from where milder versions of fundamentalism emanates. As I write this I have with me several issues of weekly Khawateen ka Islam edited by several Maulanas and Mufti Sahibs.
No sugar coating or political correctness here, the kind of content that usually gets published in this magazine is a disgusting and pathetic display of what goes on in the Pakistani maddrassa culture, revered by the majority.
Issue 524 features, as top story, a heroic French women donning burqa against all odds [and in my view : notions of common sense]. The writer of story ends with adding two cents of her own piousness in the epic story of heroism, where she lashes out on a sales woman for wearing short shirt and pants.
Issue 524 of khawateen ka Islam opens with an editorial written by one of its male editors claiming that sports are not meant for women. He argues that until a few decades back even women in the West were not allowed to play any sort of sports in public view, equating it with ‘fuhasshi aur eurryaani’ (shamelessness and nudity).
The editor further argues that the menace of ‘sports’ has tempted modern (read sultry) women to claim equality with men in sports. This, in his view is, illogical. His logic: women by their nature are not equal to men.
A story in the 526th issue narrates the tragedy of a girl who befriends a man on her mobile phone, earns a bad reputation in her extended family, ends up in a mental asylum and finally kills herself.
Issue 527th carries a vitriolic against cartoons. Titled ‘cartoons ka zeher’[The cartoon poison], this story narrates the case of school teacher horrified at her students passion for Indian and English cartoons. There is no attempt to deconstruct the content. The Hinduness and Englishness of cartoons is a logic sufficient and convenient enough.
These epic tales of idiosyncrasies are proudly quoted, re-quoted on regular basis in religious sermons and lectures. The problem is not solely with harboring such disturbing beliefs but the outcome of it all. Their self assumed higher moral grounds nudges them to do more, to pass uncalled for opinions to complete strangers and asking them to cover up. I have been told at least thrice by a total stranger, clad in black parachute from top to bottom, to cover up ‘properly’ when I was wearing something as ‘provocative’ as a regular South Asian-style kameeze and dupatta.
What we are seeing as a result is a toxic mix of religion and patriarchal norms that deems women as a sexual toffee which must be kept covered at all times, unfit for anything else other then popping out babies and making her husband happy (no conditions applied).
While various aspects of madrassas as a source of terrorism and fundamentalism are discussed in media on regular basis, the impact of religious activism on women is rather ignored. Making women feel as objects, full of ‘fitnah’, making them believe that they are supposed to live a life devoid of equal social opportunities (except for attending lectures, of course), arming them with a notion that they are inferior to men amounts to an abuse against women by any standards. The sadness of it all is that in this case abuse is perpetuated with total support and rather proudly with the help of women that are already living a life of disturbed and sorry ideals.
