Pakistani diaspora women bear brunt of brutal face of masculinity
May 26, 2022
Islamabad [Pakistan], May 26 : Horrifying stories and tragic deaths of abused Pakistani women living in US, Spain or any other western country expose the masculinity crisis that confronts Pakistani men as they suddenly discover that they can no longer exert complete control over the women in their families.
This becomes highly evident in the story of a Pakistani-American woman, Sadia. She worked as a teacher and was slain along with her mother, Inayat Bibi, and her four-year-old daughter Khadija by Sadia's estranged husband in Texas.
Sadia's husband, also a Pakistani-American, barged into her Texas apartment and opened fire, killing his ex-wife, young daughter, and ex-mother-in-law. Then he turned the gun on himself, reported Dawn.
This cruel depredation came after Sadia filed for divorce from her husband because he was abusive towards her and their daughter.
The divorce had gone through, and Sadia was trying to build a new life for herself, her mother and her daughter. However, she did not know that it was the most dangerous moment in her life.
In another story, two Pakistan-origin sisters from Spain -- Aneesa and Arooj Abbas - were brutally murdered in cold blood in Gujarat in the Punjab province of Pakistan.
As per the reports, the sisters had been forcibly married to cousins in Pakistan a couple of years ago and were trying to get a divorce.
When their in-laws and their own family learned of their intentions, they were tricked into returning to Pakistan. Here, they faced torture and abuse.
Violence against women in Pakistan is normalized and no one is bothered even when they know a woman is being abused.
However, relationship dynamics change when the wives of these Pakistani men discover that it is not very difficult to obtain a divorce.
In the US state of Texas, as in other American states, a divorce is granted if either party wants it. Legally, at least, no one can force a woman to continue to stay married to a man, as per media portal.
This is a complete departure from what transpires in Pakistan. Some men, like Sadia Manzoor's killer, cannot believe that they no longer command their families in the way they used to.
