Tuesday, January 24, 2006
PAKISTANI MINORITY WOMEN WORK UNDER A SHADOW OF FEAR
By Sheraz Khurram Khan
Special to ASSIST News Service
ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN (ANS) -- The degree of unease
confronted by women from minorities’ communities at their places of work in
Pakistan is far greater as compared to their male counterparts. In a
conservative Islamic Pakistani society most of them find it extremely hard to
bring their household round on embarking upon a professional career.
Those who succeed soon appreciate the odds stacked against them due to following
faith other than Islam. Most of minority women are
discriminated against during interviews both in government and private sectors.
The lucky few pass the interviews because the employers either have no choice of
hiring a Muslim employee or the minority women outshine their competitors by a
considerable margin.
One wishes if the prejudice and discriminatory attitude against minority women
had not stretched further but, sadly, they have to experience the worst of it in
their later days at work. Making mockery of their English names is not even
deemed as an offence. A handsome number of their Muslim colleagues effortlessly
acquire a ‘license’ to mispronounce, distort and disfigure the names of
minority women on purpose.
The victims who try to protest against it have only to face enhanced
discrimination by the incorrigible lot of their Muslim colleagues. This
high-handedness stems from the very knowledge of the warped-minded coworkers
that minority women come from weaker and marginalized sections of the society.
What they gloss over is the fact that minority women also deserve the same
measure of respect as their Muslim counterparts.
The suffering of minority women at work places does not stop here rather this is
only the agonizing start of their career. I can bet my bottom dollar that most
of them would quit their jobs for once and all if they were not faced with
compelling socio-economic situation. Their enormous financial worries make them
go on pocketing insult. They feel highly insecure while going to their places of
work and vice-versa. At work sex-starved males make devilish attempts to seduce
them. Ironically, this harassing goes uninterrupted under the very nose of those
who are supposed to ensure semblance of discipline in the organization.
To their book perhaps this is no offence so by not taking any action against the
offenders they also become a party to this condemnable act. Won’t it be good
if the evil is nipped in the bud? Emboldened, the troublemakers devise more
ghastly strategies aimed at satiating their unbridled lust.
The miseries of minority women at work places are compounded by yet another
category of staffers, who have the one-point agenda of converting their
non-Muslim colleagues to Islam. The representatives of
this category of people can be found in every institution/organization be it a
private or government sector. Motivated by their irrational quest to slap Islam
on minority women this group of colleagues does its best to ensure bringing
minority women into the folds of Islam. For starters, they start posing
questions to their prospective victims about
Christianity and evince fake
interest in seeking more about their religion.
Most of non-Muslims in Pakistan (either gender) avoid debate on religion for
they know they may have to pay heftily for the ‘sin’ they never committed.
The probing questions on faith, however, see no end and since it is humanly
impossible for one to keep ones lips sealed in the face of unceasing deluge of
questions, so the persons in question give answers to the best of their
knowledge. Given the mindsets of such category of co-workers it is not hard for
one to understand that these answers would not satisfy them. After nodding their
dissatisfaction, the said elements start imposing their faith on their
non-Muslim colleagues. The mulish elements keep on irking their colleagues and
virtually snatch their peace of mind. I wonder, if they are so keen on serving
Islam, why they don’t quit their jobs and start evangelizing for Islam? To my
humble opinion it would be a better choice. But taking up issues that have to do
with ones faith is an abhorrent practice that must end the sooner the better.
If common sense prevails with the so-called champions of Islam they would better
remain restricted to doing their bit of work in the organization rather than
becoming pain in the neck of their non-Muslim colleagues.
A couple of years ago, seven Christian girls were raped after they were forced
to alight from the vehicle which was carrying them to their homes from their
place of work. What highlights discrimination against minority women in this
shameful incident is the fact that none of the Muslim girl boarding on the same
vehicle was dishonored. The trend of abduction of Christian girls and forced
marriages is also on the rise in Pakistan. After kidnapping the victims are
forced to convert to Islam. The perpetrators invoke the “Hudood”
ordinance according to which Christian marriage stands annulled.
If things stay same integration of minority women into the mainstream would only
remain a distant dream. Well-intentioned efforts aimed at allaying sense of
deprivation, feeling of insecurity and ensuring fundamental rights to minority
women should be made for only this would bring them at par with their Muslim
counterparts.
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