‘My body, my choice’ was a slogan that gained popularity – or notoriety, as believed by many – in Pakistan four years ago for a number of reasons, especially the visual depiction of the explicit side-slogans inscribed on the placards and banners carried by ‘liberated’ women/girls. While bodily integrity was being demanded, it was limited to topics such as physical/sexual abuse, harassment, forced marriages, forced conversions, pregnancy/abortion, rape and most importantly, equality. But to spice things up, some ‘champions’ of women’s rights gave a whole new meaning to the feminist slogan, sparking controversies and uproar across Pakistani society with their own interpretation of it.
But despite all that, the slogans of ‘liberals’ failed to liberate women, both Pakistanis and those coming from neighboring Afghanistan – up for grabs in the women markets of Peshawar and areas around Torkham border – who are still being treated as commodities, if not less, with the word “choice” removed from their very existence by their “dear ones”.
One such victim of this cruelty is Ameena (not her real name), who was born in a lower class family in the outskirts of Lahore. Still, her parents ensured that she gets at least school-level education before she is married off. When she came of age, she was betrothed to a man with the help of an area matchmaker. Soon after her marriage, she came to know about her husband’s gambling addiction, and after skirmishes every now and then, she tried to put up with the ‘unavoidable’ situation to save her marriage, like most wives do in our society.
Years passed, and the couple had a son. But as her husband was a habitual gambler, he had lost most of the family belongings in card games. In one of the hands, he had put everything he had on the line, and when the other person made a raise, he ‘threw’ his Ameena in the pot. She was now at stake, or should I say, the stake herself. It was a weak hand, and in minutes he lost ‘his claim’ to his better half. Ameena’s life turned upside down when she came to know that her husband had lost her in a game of cards. One thing the gambler husband didn’t realize was that he not only gambled with his wife’s life but also with that of their son, 4 at that time. She was eventually divorced and given to her new ‘owner’. The only thing that came good out of this ‘game’ was that the man, instead of treating her as his keep, gave her the status of a wife after marrying her. Ameena never saw her ex-husband again, and narrated her past ordeal to the principal of a school who had first refused admission to her child because presence of both parents or submission of divorce papers was mandatory for the purpose.
This is just one of such unreported stories, among only God knows how many, in which the women were stripped of their “choice”; over their bodies, relationships, voice, and their very lives.
