By Mursal Qaisari
There are a lot of slogans about gender equality and human rights in today’s world, but the reality is that being a girl means living with fear and limitations in any corner of this world. It does not matter whether you walk on the streets of Kabul or Tehran. It does not matter whether you live in India or Pakistan. When you are a girl, it means you are never safe and secure. You will always feel the fear. It can be the fear of sexual harassment or even death.
Sana Yousaf, a Pakistani influencer, whose death is the breaking news of these recent days. A seventeen-year-old young girl was killed on 2nd June in her own home just because of refused and saying no to a man. The murderer was arrested by police after her death, but does it really matter? Will it bring Sana back? The death of Sana, not only hurt her own family, but it also made millions of people feel this pain, not only in Pakistan but in many other countries. I am not a Pakistani but I live in Pakistan. I left my home (Afghanistan) to find a safer and more secure place for myself. But now I think, I will not be safe in anywhere because I am a girl. Sana’s death is not the first case. I have experienced it many times in my own country. When I think about Farkhunda Malikzada, I still feel that pain and fear. Does the world really remember her and the way she was killed by men in public? She was a young girl who was accused for burning the Quran, a crime which she had never committed. Hundreds of men came and killed her with stones, sticks, and punches in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan. They even burned her dead body in public.
The only crime of Farkhunda was that she said NO to peddling superstitions. On that day. Neither police nor the people stopped them. It felt like the justice is only for men, and her blood was not worthy. When farkhunda was killed in 2015, I was just in 4th grade of my school. Her death had a very negative impact on me. I was seeing her photos and videos in social media and in television. I saw her requesting help with a bloody face while men were just hitting her. I was really shocked and scared. I remember the nights when I was not able to sleep because her innocent face was coming in front of my eyes every time. Yes, I experienced it while I was a child, and it made me hate being a girl, because a similar case could happen to me any time.
I was always thinking to myself why these horrible things happen to girls in my country? Is being a girl itself a crime? It was not just about farkhunda then I heard and saw the videos of Rukshana, a young Afghan girl who was stoned to death because of accusations that even had real proof. She was killed because she was accused to running away from an abusive marriage or seeking a divorce. Maybe she was only seeking freedom but because she was a girl, she did not have the right. All these made me think that I am never safe and I will never have the freedom that I really deserve because I am a girl. I was a child, but I grew up seeing all these happen to my same gender. All these had a very strong impact on my mind, which I still feel. I am not living in Afghanistan anymore but Pakistan is making me feel the same.
Sana was killed here in the city where I live, and once again, I felt the pain as I did for Farkhunda and Rukhshana, the girls of my own country. But the violence is not just limited to Afghanistan and Pakistan. Let’s remember Mahsa Amine, a young lady who was arrested by the police of Iran (morality police) due to not having scarf (properHijab), and then her dead body was found after some days. What they did to that innocent girl, no one knows. The death of Mahsa caused big protests in Iran. Women burned their scarfs on the streets, cut their hair, and shouted: WOMEN, LIFE, and FREEDOM. But the answer was shooting. Many people were arrested, and many girls were sentenced to execution just because they wanted their rights and freedom.
Girls in India and Nepal are also experiencing similar situations. In India, the gang rape still continues. A Horrible case happened with Jyoti singh, a medical student who was gang raped in a bus. She died a few days later in the hospital. In Nepal, girls are kept in dark and separate rooms during their period. It is an old belief of theirs that menstruation is unclean and sinful. During their period, girls are not allowed to go to school, touch the food or visit male members of their families. Although the Nepali government banned it and called it a crime but it still continues in some areas. This shows us that girls have always been the victims of traditions.
The world has never been safe for girls. Because the rules are written and made by men. Many still think girls are weak, and often the power, politics, traditions, and societies all come together to make girls silent. The history of each country shows us that those girls who wanted to raise their voice were either arrested or killed.
Western countries like America, Canada, and other European countries seem to have more gender equality and developed rules. Women can vote, study, and work in these countries, but with all these modern appearances, there is still violence and hidden gender inequality in these countries. Many women are the victims of family violence, especially by their husbands. According to women’s rights organizations, one woman is victimized in every moment in America. Most of the women cannot get out of their relationships because of their children and economic dependency. Girls and women are not safe in their universities and workplaces as well even in these countries. They often experience sexual harassment. In Western countries, women are still paid less than men. It is called the Gender Pay Gap. There is also no equal treatment with migrant women, Muslim women, and those with black skin. All these show us that girls and women suffer in silence in these modern countries.
Writing all these things was not easy for me; the example of each victim girl makes me feel the pain of their families. Writing about the death of Sana, Farkhunda, or any other victim girl is not easy. Each word feels like reopening a wound. Each of them reminds me that I am also never safe. What happened with them can happen to any other girl at any time again; it can even happen to me. I will continue writing and raising my voice for the girls, not only for the girls of my own country but for all. Because the pain feels the same. What the family of Farkhunda felt in Afghanistan is the same as what the family of Sana and Mahsa went through in Pakistan and Iran. They all lost their loved ones. What I want as a girl is so simple. I just want to come back home alive when I go out. I want to have the right to share my opinions freely. I want to live as I want. It is not just my wish. All girls want to live freely and peacefully. We all deserve the same rights as men. I hope one day all girls will feel free and secure in any corner of this world.
The author is human rights activist and can be reached at mursalqaisari11@gmail.com
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