Several friends from Karachi have commented on my Post of yesterday regarding modern day slavery and have pointed out that internationally accepted definition does not cover all cases. With a population above 24 Million, Karachi is competing with Shanghai right now to be the worlds largest city. It is a city full of contrasts and contradictions where women and children are suffering from persecution even if technically they would not be covered under modern day slavery definition. The problem is that people are so conditioned and accustomed to this reality at hand that they accept it as normal and are not willing to do anything about it. I have picked two stories from yesterdays Karachi newspaper (see the attached photos) to share with you. Karachi held its Lux Best Dressed Awards 2014 show this week and recognized Sana Safinaz and Shehla Chatoor for their outstanding designs as modeled by Babar and Sheikh. This world of high fashion and affluence turns a blind eye to the other world of suffering and persecution that was also highlighted the same day by the narratives of two young women, Ruqayya and Shabana. Both these women have been victims of acid attacks by the members of their own family. Shabana is only fifteen years old and is at the Edhi Orphanage where she helps out younger children who have no parents alive. Ruqayya, shown in the lead photo and also at her home was attacked by her husband who fled. Neither Ruqayya nor Shabana are slaves but their lives are no better than being in slavery. There are millions of such cases all over South Asia. In this age of world wide web and abundant information, you would think that there would be better understanding of these two parallel worlds we live in. But the Karachi situation is getting worse, not better. The city has become a dumping ground for refugees and displaced persons from all over the country and there is no recognition of the ticking time bomb by the Karachi society or the political leadership of the country. DrMuhammad M Awan 12/7/2014
Posted on: Sun, 07 Dec 2014 05:02:15 +0000
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