women

To the Daughters of Pakistan

sprog_-_meeting

We the dolls of Pakistan;

Are born, but not welcome;

Are brought up; not pampered;

Are taught and trained; not educated;

Are made to serve and controlled often.

We the girls of Pakistan,

Learn to follow the rules quietly,

Beliefs that no more serve recently,

About honor, respect, and dignity,

About fate, responsibility, and duty.

We the women of Pakistan,

Fear of safety and security,

Even in our play lands,

Even in our homeland,

As if we’re in someone’s custody!

We the mothers of Pakistan,

Dream, dream, and dream,

Are not allowed to scream,

Though bear another life in between,

Being neither a princess nor a queen.

No worry, we ‘re the future of Pakistan,

No worry, for the flowers blossom,

After every traumatic autumn,

No worry, for the stars and moon,

Remain intact till the sun resumes.

To Crazy, Hardworking, Housewives​!

TAKE A BREAK!

WHEN YOU HAVE LESS TIME TO ENJOY; YOU WILL ENJOY MORE!

Enjoyment is basically very relative term. Our brains are designed to enjoy when we have certain limitations. They might be limitations of time, energy, or space. For example, when we take a short break after a long hard work; we enjoy our little break more than the full day off. Similarly, we enjoy the ‘day-off’ more than the weak holidays. Here, I am focusing on the housewives who totally devote their time to house affairs and kids. Obviously, they find time to take rest occasionally but at the same time their job is never ending and seems to continue forever! People would never regard their work as a real work – rather they would think these women are either enjoying or wasting their time. So much so, these women don’t themselves recognize their efforts towards the humanity and universe overall. Many of these working women go into depression and become patients of anxiety and stress disorders. They find no outlet for themselves unless they seek for it with passion and motivation. Moreover, they are never appreciated on their traits by their close family members for being a hard worker at home, for being a sacrificing human at home, for being gentle and caring at home or for being restless at home!

If you think you are fit in these women’s general criteria and you are one of them then take a break. You don’t need to go ahead in your blind passion for house chores. There is no stop line and you will get nothing out of it. It is not an advertisement about money matters, financial freedom or requirement of the job by the job market. My concern is related to your mental health, self-esteem, and self-enhancement living within your limits and opportunities. If and for most of the time, you are free to choose your destiny; then throw yourself into the sea of unknown – outside. There are plenty of opportunities for you to choose from, to excel and to get adapted to. You should never ever choose to live under someone’s influence and control with no gain at all. This sounds crazy! Isn’t it! Yes, it is. Even if you feel tired and exhausted while doing two jobs at the same time, you are traveling towards your goals and not stagnant at one place!

In short, for the women of patriarchal cultures, women should take a break from the house chores and do something else to bring a change into their mental and physical lives. Otherwise, nobody will force them to do that. The culture, beliefs, and customs would keep them from real life situations and stop their energies to flourish. Such women should not rely on their fathers, husbands, brothers, and sons to take care of them in old age; rather they should take a step ahead to take care of themselves. And that is worth taking care! Such breaks would make them happy, calm and energetic than being lethargic, stuck and confused while doing lots.

THANKS 

ABUSE IN DISGUISE

According to wikipedia, “Psychological abuse, also referred to as emotional abuse or mentalabuse, is a form of abuse characterized by a person subjecting or exposing another to behavior that may result in psychological trauma, including anxiety, chronic depression, or post-traumatic stress disorder” and Any act, including confinement, isolation, verbal assault, humiliation, intimidation, infantilization, or any other treatment which may diminish the sense of identity, dignity, and self-worth (for more info see http://www.vchreact.ca/read_psychological.htm)

Emotional and Psychological abuse includes:

  •      Telling someone they are worthless,
  • Telling them no one else wants them,
  • Forcing someone to do things at an exact time or in an exact way,
  • Undermining a persons actions, thought and beliefs,
  • Telling someone they are weak and could not manage to look after themselves on their own,
  • Making someone believe they are mad,
  • Telling someone that the domestic violence and abuse is their fault.
  • Not allowing someone to have visitors,
  • Controlling who a person is friends with,
  • Not allowing them to go out,
  • Not allowing someone to see their family and friends,
  • Not allowing someone to be left alone with other people,
  • Not allowing someone to use the phone, send letters or emails.
  • Locking someone in a room or house,
  • Not allowing someone to go out to work, not allowing someone to go to college or evening classes,
  • Accompanying someone everywhere that they go in order to keep control over what they do, who they see and what they say.
  • Telling someone they are a bad parent,
  • Getting children to say and do things to upset someone,
  • Encouraging children to get involved in the abuse.
  • Abusing someone’s children or pets,
  • Damaging possessions,
  • Accusing someone of lying when they are not,
  • Telling someone they are fat, ugly and useless,
  • Making someone believe that no one else likes them.
  • Threatening to harm someone, or to harm their children or pets.
  • Threatening to have someone locked up saying that they are mad,
  • Threatening to have someone deported or withholding care if someone is aged, ill or disabled,
  • Telling someone they will find and kill them if they leave,
  • Threatening to abuse someone in front of their children, family or friends.

Emotional abuse is often difficult to recognise. It can be very subtle, often being overlooked by a person’s friends and family. The person affected may not even think or feel that abuse is taking place.

Emotional abuse can affect women and children experiencing it in many ways. It can leave deep psychological scars and can seriously damage the self-confidence of the person experiencing the abuse. For more information see:

http://www.welshwomensaid.org.uk

In most of the cultures of this world, abuse is simply not even recognized as abuse, rather considered a moral and spiritual duty of the women towards their husbands. Usually husbands and in-laws use all kinds of abuses towards their daughter-in-laws. In most of the emotional and psychological abuses, women are exposed to, women are simply not aware of the fact that they are being abused on daily basis. one can easily recognize the forms of subtle and traumatic abuses from such examples:

  1. women are restricted towards visitors, visiting family and friends, and going out in general.
  1. women are required to perform a set of duties at a particular time, in a specific way, and according to someone’s special needs whether they like it or not.
  1. women are under estimated in their capability to earn, to stay alone, and to manage the finances alone. In all important matters of life, they are not listened even!
  1. women are expected  to follow the customs and rituals of society blindly, irrespective of the fact that many of them create severe depression, anxiety and stress in turn. For example: traditions designed to feel women less empowered like rukhsati, karo kari, and others.
  1. women are also expected to live according to their husbands sweet wishes. It would include any thing from having more than 12 children in less than 12 years, to being childless in 20 years of married life! It includes everything from having full cocktail hijab to bikini style beach dress! All depend upon a man- the husband.
  1. women are taken as sex objects in some of the culures – so they are no more free to move freely.
  1. Women are never given identity of their own name: at first they are identified with the name of their father and then after marriage they are recognized on behalf of their husbands good names!

In most of the areas of Pakistan, women are treated as if they are not human at all. Their identity, respect and worth are of no value when they are being brought up. So much so, they are not well protected, fed, and secured in their own parents’ kingdom. As a result, they become victims of trauma, anxiety, depression, stress, and many other psychological and emotional disorders. Well, they are not aware of this fact that they are being abused and it is a crime in the dictionary of Law. It is a blessing in disguise as if they knew it, their stress would be doubled!

Abused Women Of Pakistan

When I was learning to drive, on my wrong movement toward backward, my instructor screwed me and said,’ if there were your little son standing on behind your car, I would see how you move without watching him’. I was bluntly looking at him and stood still! I had no words except to confess that I was wrong. I never made that mistake again. It was such a shocking assumption for me that I could not even think of that. I was terribly taught how to move backward carefully and safely.

Today I was watching T.V., when there was a news for a girl who was gang raped a few months back that she had burnt herself for not getting justice and for being stigmatized in society for such a long time. She had no other way except to have suicide. I think she should be taught a better way on how to suicide less miserably! At least there should be some peace in death!

Many other girls who suffer a trauma in life (may it be gang rape, burned in the fire,  put in graves alive, been cut body parts),  have no choice except to suicide. Unfortunately who live long, never find a respectable way to live their life as they are stigmatized, ridiculed and harshly criticized even within the sweet close family members!

Why don’t people think that this girl could be one of their relatives- their sisters, daughters, or  cousins. I think they have no courage to think like that or they have no sympathy even for their own relatives!

For a society where justice is no where, one cannot think of having a punishment;  one cannot fear of the law, jail or any other punishment; one cannot think of being stigmatized as the society is full of the  criminals- like minded people. Unfortunately, there is all good for them. I, being a blogger, can only condemn such brutalities and feel sorry for that. I offer my free services of counseling to women who had been a victim of such traumas in their life, whether they belong to Pakistan or any other country. Please contact me on my email: mei3na4@gmail.com. I am in my humble capacity performing my duty, but what about other relevant societies?

I understand that there is no voice that could stand with the victim.  No law, no government, no relative, no friend, no one! Here I put it in another shoe.  To the girls who suffer from such miseries and bear any kind of abuse in life, I appeal to please do not kill yourself. Please do not do that harm to your precious soul. Let it go. I know it does not sound  easy to you, I know, but you can do it as it is going to get you somewhere else. You can use your energy to do something great in life. You are not an ordinary soul, God has chosen you to do what an ordinary person cannot. There must be some good news for you too from your creator in the near future. Just be patient and remain  calm until you get your final destiny of peace and happiness.

If you do so, this would be the best revenge indeed. This would uplift you from the sheer darkness and calamity and take you towards the eternal peace and bring you in spirit to live a happy wonderful life. My sympathy is always with you  so you are most welcome to contact me whenever you feel like.

Thanks