Fighting misogyny

I recently saw a very powerful play Jan Se Mann Ki Jai Ho on the plight of women in India and around the world It dealt with various aspects of gender inequality but the most compelling part was the one on female foeticide The monologue of an unborn baby girl was sensitive emotional overpowering and tragic at the same time I dont think there was anyone in the audience male or female who did not cry at the end of that monologue It reminded me of my own country Pakistan as wellAfter the Indian cricket teamrsquos defeat against Australia in the World Cup semifinal yesterday misogyny was on display on social media when actor Anushka Sharma was trolled because of Virat Kohlirsquos performance on the field Angry cricket fans even burned posters of Anushka and Virat in Ahmedabad PicPTIWhen a girl child is born we often see family and friends with sad faces saying things like lsquoChallo koi nahi agli baar insharsquoAllah beta hogarsquo Itrsquos okay God willing you will give birth to a son next time In many local hospitals the hospital staff do not ask for bakshish tip when a girl child is born out of lsquopityrsquo for the family Girls are seen as a lsquoburdenrsquo on the family Even though we now see more working women in urban areas in Pakistan many of them face sexual harassment at the workplace Malala Yousafzai a young girl was shot by the Taliban because she raised her voice for womenrsquos educationFrom late Benazir Bhutto to Asma Jahangir from late Tahira Mazhar Ali to late Madam Noor Jehan Pakistan has no dearth of powerful and influential women who made a mark in history and continue to do so We in the Indian Subcontinent are still dealing with gender discrimination despite the fact that independent India Pakistan and Bangladesh have all had female prime ministers and women have held other powerful positions in leading industries including the media Unfortunately our women still have to face sexism in all forms day in and day outThe way news packages are made focusing on what women parliamentarians are wearing to their objectification in TV serials and advertisements shows how we in South Asia treat most women with utmost disrespect In the electronic media in Pakistan we sometimes see how female cohosts are made to sit in a television programme as mere showpieces they are asked to look pretty nod at their male counterparts and not say much during the show It is a sad reflection on our society and the patriarchal mindset that dominates our regionAfter the Indian cricket teamrsquos defeat against Australia in the World Cup semifinal yesterday we saw misogyny on social media when actor Anushka Sharma was trolled because of Virat Kohlirsquos performance on the field It was disgusting to see the attack on Ms Sharma because of her gender Sexist jokes and sexist attacks are not funny Period Phrases like lsquohum ne chooriyaan nahin pehni hui hainrsquo we are not wearing bangles are commonly used in this part of the world to show your machismo It is this attitude and mindset that we need to fight to end gender inequality So the next time a girl child is born in your family please ensure that she is treated with love respect and dignity Education and awareness is equally important to fight such regressive attitudes Empowerment of women will lead to unimagined progress of our nations Letrsquos do itThe writer is a Pakistani journalist Reach her at mehmalsgmailcom