On Article 62 and 63 of the Pakistan Constitution

My post from PTI’s Silicon Valley Chapter’s blog – http://ptisv.wordpress.com/2007/07/03/much-ado-about-the-article-62-63/

 

The manner of execution or the execution itself?

I received several responses to the honor killing video that I had posted a few days ago. Everybody who saw that video was disgusted, enraged, extremely disturbed, that’s of course expected, after all most of us are not talibanistic mullahs.

I was, however, more interested in what lied beyond the first reaction. That’s where things become interesting and way more controversial. I asked myself, was the act justified, am I merely protesting the manner in which it was performed? Had it been ordained by a Shariah court and performed by a state employed executioner, would it then be justified? After all, Iranian courts have done it and so have Arab ones, Pakistanis came very close to copying their Muslim brethren too. Shia-Sunni bhai bhai.

Isn’t it a ghuna-i-kabeera (major sin) to have sexual relations outside of wedlock, isn’t it punishable by death and that too death by stoning (it is under the shariah laws, note that Allah himself may forgive the fornicator, his believers won’t)? The faithfuls among us passionately spit and throw stones at the Iblis (satin) during Haj, didn’t Dua through her (alleged) act personify devil? Then why the shocked look, the red face, the teary eyes, the bullshit. There are few among us Muslim expatriates who would give you straight answers to these questions – fear of being stereotyped, labeled jahil (backward, ignorant, illiterate) in one’s own community or being reported to the overeager FBI are just a few factors among a myriad of reasons.

Why stop at this, let’s go a step further. This is going to offend a lot of people, that’s certainly not my intention but well. Let’s say you are a conservative Muslim (no, not a Mullah, just one among a conservative majority) living in one of the conservative Muslim states (pick your favorite from Middle Eastern states, Sudan, Iran, Afghanistan or Pakistan). Let’s say one day you are tired and take off early from work. Your servant had fixed the front door so it doesn’t make the creaking sound when opened. As you open the door and enter you house, you hear a sound coming from inside the servant quarter. You think to yourself, isn’t the bugger off today, I thought I let him go to see his dying mother. Now you are really suspicious, you rush to the servant quarter, stop right outside it and then with one swift kick blow open the door. There on the bed is your daughter with a boy in a compromising position.

What happens then? Well, it really depends. Depends first on who the boy is. If he belongs to a social class lower than yours, your rage will be uncontrollable, you’ve just been a victim of a double whamy, the bastard is likely to get killed or at least beaten up beyond recognition. If, however, he belongs to the rich and the privileged, it’s not him but you who is in trouble, you better control your rage, show some superficial anger and let the guy run away before you bring some real sense to your daughter. Society wants you to exact a severe revenge but interestingly your anger is expected to be directed more towards your daughter than the guy with her, after all she has to be the pure one, boys will be boys. Isn’t that why we put burqas on our women so that their curves don’t entice us to sin. Isn’t it a woman’s responsibility to protect herself from our prying eyes and overcharged imaginations. We know our lust hath no end but that it’s not our fault, that’s what makes us men (head high with pride) and here is your daughter willingly engaged in a sexual intercourse with a boy.

What do to? Hide it under the carpet as if it never happened, get the two married, kill your daughter or kill yourself. If you let them go easy, everyone will know about this, you know the boy will talk, you will no longer be known by your name but as that ghashti’s (whore) father, you will be shunned from the society, you will eventually have to move to a place where no one knows your name. For the same reason, you cannot report it to the police. However, if you kill your daughter out of izat (honor) right there on the spot, you will be lauded as the real man, the father among fathers, people will tell stories of your courage for years. You will probably be caught, damn the so-called modern laws. But when in jail, you will get VIP (Very Important Person) treatment, you were a nobody before and now you are an example for a generation of fathers and brothers. Mullahs will probably seize the opportunity and hold massive rallies in your support. Depending on how religious the reigning government is and how much international attention your case gets, you would probably be in jail anywhere from 2-10 years. Most likely, the human rights organizations will lose interest in a year or so, the pesky amnesty guys will probably hang around for a little longer but they too will eventually be pursuaded away by the hot off the press human rights violation (what would these fucking goras know about honor anyway, they sleep with each other’s wives, jahanumee), the once emotional petitioners will graduate from their respective schools and you’ll probably get out unharmed, why would you not, after all you did the honorable thing… Stop thinking now, be a man, just do it!

So no more shit face please. Go back, play the movie and this time enjoy it, that’s the honorable thing to do.