The hell called harassment

Muazam Ali

Harassment cases are becoming rampant in Gilgit Baltistan. Although harassment is not a new phenomenon, but it is new to the people of GB. Harassment is the kind of disasters that destroy people mentally and physically. Also, it becomes an obstacle in the way of prosperity. Harassment is a multi-faceted i.e. unwelcome sexual advance, request for sexual favors or other verbal or written communication or physical conduct of a sexual nature etc.

We are living in 21 century where freedom of expression, gender equality, and women empowerment are considered necessary for the development of societies. Specifically, the role of women in the development of societies is considered vital. Here, I am going to mention the names of some women who are known for his work not only in Pakistan but internationally. These women are Fatima Jinnah, Benazir Bhutto, Nusrat Bhutto, Asma Jahangir. These women worked very hard in their particular times and field and proved that they are not less than men. The people of the world recognize the importance of women from the 18th century, women are given the right to vote, they are promoted to top positions etc. But the people of Gilgit-Baltistan came to know about the women importance much before than the so-called largest democracies in the world today i.e. in the 16th century. The name Dadi Jawari is familiar to every Gilgit-Baltistani, who ruled Gilgit for a decade in the 16th century. The people of Gilgit accepted a female ruler in the era of ignorance. This shows that how much respect the people of GB has for women. Another worth telling story is when the GB is given the Autonomy Package in 2009 the first Governor of GB was women (Dr. Shama Khalid) in the history of the country.

But, unfortunately, today the people of Gilgit-Baltistan are ruled and represented by some rotten eggs. They are distorting the image and history of GB. Our ministers, in spite of serving the people they seem to harass female students. After every tow month, we heard of any harassment case in Gilgit-Baltistan. The ministers misuse their authority. In the name of granting scholarship and stuff like that the minister’s are constantly harassing the female students. These are some cases which are surfaced mistakenly. Hundreds of other such cases are not surfaced.

The harassment cases hampering women to get an education as such cases when heard by parents then, they do not allow their daughters to get an education. As I firmly believe that the harassment is something serious and it should be dealt with some seriousness. The young generation of Gilgit-Baltistan should have a platform to discuss such issues and to expose ministers and other misogynist’s who are involved in such cases.