Karachi is no doubt a full fledge patriarchal society. It is a society organized and run by men. Men make the rules and dominate in business and government and in all forums outside the home. A woman's main value is to support a man, bear children and housekeeping duties. In Karachi or in Pakistan (on the whole) we observe men are the decision-makers and hold positions of power and prestige, and have the power to define reality and common situations.
Moreover we notice that in Karachi men are dominant not in numbers or in force but in their access to status-related power and decision-making power.
Another element that prevails in Karachi society is ‘intolerance’. We neither have the patience nor the courage to listen to each other. You don’t need more Fridays the 28ths to prove it. Pick up the paper and it’ll scream `Honor killing takes life of another woman` and `Friend kills another over petty issues.
The problem runs deep within the veins of this society and has the potential to tear down the entire social fabric of this nation. If this continues, we’ll end up destroying our own country. We must not, we cannot let that happen.
I think that Karachi society in general is an extremely confused society, which according to me is a major reason for rising violence levels. Not withstanding the major changes occurring across the globe, our people are becoming more violent. Our people are not only unable to understand this situation, but they also find it hard to adjust to the rest of the world. As a result, frustration is plaguing the people, who forget their moral and ethical values, and become violent to vent their feelings.
Pakistanis as a nation are very “emotional”, instead of being “rational. When a society functions on ‘emotionality’, it tends to fall to deviations more than the one which prefers rationality.
Sidra Qureshi
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