Pakistan wants to control everything about women, claims report

If there is one admission that Pakistanis collectively have to make it is that the country has a major problem, it wants to control everything of and about women.

The Express Tribune, in an opinion piece, said that whether that is about what they wear, who they meet, what they can do - wherever they may be - or who they choose to spend their lives with, or not.

In a week when the nation has been horrified by videos of the Minar-e-Pakistan incident where a woman was assaulted by hordes of men on August 14 in Lahore, the day Pakistan celebrates its Independence Day, is a grim reminder of the worsening situation where women fear for their safety in the face of rising incidents of assault.

For anyone looking in from the outside, they may very well see two Pakistans. One, there is a country that is highly conservative which, while placing restrictions on their women, takes their modesty very seriously, mixing it with respect and reverence as long as they operate within narrow norms defined by some segments of society and varying from community to community.

The other is a Pakistan that sees women break out of those confines, move and dress relatively freely and push the envelope of society, breaking glass ceilings and offer calm and measured paths out of chaos, said the opinion piece.

Pakistan's irony of bipolarity is shown by the attribution of overbearing, conservative nature towards women.

Pakistan without unity or discipline, selectively implement it, substituting it with traditional values which treat women as mere objects to be controlled and used - or abused - by the more powerful men, said The Express Tribune.

As per the opinion piece, this is why Pakistan has so many incidents of men sexually assaulting women walking around in a public park, abusing them in offices, throwing acid at them for refusing their advances, and killing them for failing to make perfectly round flatbread or choosing a life partner.

( With inputs from ANI )