Being an animal lover reminds me of the causes that I support & believe in. Quite frankly, I don’t expect people to understand why I passionately support these causes. Animals take most of my time & I only write on the other causes whenever I can. And in this society, I don’t think a person like me can make much of a difference. Almost everyone has issues about what I do, what I believe in & what I write. I do hope that at some point in my life I stop bothering myself with such nuisance.
A couple of times I have written on how infants in our country are being murdered & everyone prefers to keep mum about it. Although few people are working on it, but we all know it’s not enough. I have never seen a single Pakistani leaving a comment on that. However, if you write something on incest, rajm or suicide, Muslims have all the time in the world to tell you that they are Muslims & you are kafir.
I have been raised in a family where both my parents have been avid readers. My father was a very knowledgeable & impressive man. I never saw him trying to outdo anyone; more importantly, there was no need as he used to study for himself, not to make an impression on others. My mother is also not a very young person, but whenever I tell her about some scientific break through, she never has any problem in digesting it. I’m the daughter of 2 such individuals & they have taught me one thing that the only way to enlighten your mind is education (acquiring knowledge).
What I’ve learnt myself is that if you want to find a solution, then you must try to understand the problem rather than sticking to the rotten views. I think that illegitimate babies have the right to live. I think laws such as Hudood ordinances & Blasphemy law should be blotted out from the statute altogether as they are being used to settle scores. I think patients suffering from bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, chronic depression, OI, HIV/AIDS need a bit of empathy rather than being judged by ignorant fools.
For instance, if someone has bipolar disorder right from the day he was born…life would be hell on earth for him which many won’t understand as they are busy judging. Treatment is there, but if that patient commits suicide at the age of 17 or 18 which he could, I don’t think the right words for him are weak, selfish & coward. Incest & rape are things that happen everywhere. Those who deny it can go on denying it. Many people even blame the victim who is being raped. That just shows how unsympathetic we are. We are also aware of the fact that rape victims & sexually abused people plunge into depression & if that kind of victim ends his/her life, what kind of word will be used? Similarly people infected with HIV/AIDS also tend to suffer from depression. If they take some drastic step, what then?
“In a world where everyone struggles to survive whatever the cost, how could one judge those people who decide to die?
No one can judge. Each person knows the extent of their own suffering, or the total absence of meaning in their lives.”
Paulo Coelho
And what are the charges against me – that I support these people…that I understand they might be suffering in some way or the other…that I speak on my blog about them? All of it doesn’t give anyone the right to lynch me or try to outdo me.
I will give another example that may not seem to be a problem at all. People will always tell you there are far bigger problems than yours. Now the question I have is: What if nobody ever wants to have sex with you? I think this too is a problem & those who face it may know that. But the word that would be used for such a person is ‘desperate.’
My last example is definitely not at all a problem as such, but I want to give it to elaborate my point as to how things are being taken in our part of the world. I have this problem of low BP ever since I was 14 & I know people who have this problem. When they talk about it, there’s nothing more painful than it on this planet. If you ask me, I don’t even think it’s a problem. It’s easier to form an opinion about others from a distance. You have to have a very broad vision to understand that there are things you may not have experienced, but they can be terribly devastating.
I truly believe that compassion is the key that could make a difference. And in this post, I have been talking about humans & how they suffer. How can you judge anyone? You don’t know the entire story of any human. You know how you live & you know your problems & limitations, but you can’t judge anyone on that basis. That person may have had a totally different background & he may have experienced different things that you have no idea of whatsoever. It also reminds me of our book ‘If Immortals Had Been Immortal.’ You can imagine the scenario yourself, if you use your brain cells. And what’s my fault…I just went a step ahead & thought that we could help out some people in trouble? When I’m busy with my cats & other animals, then people have issues. When I talk about understanding the problems of people, then people have issues. I’m just left with one question: Are you even fucking human? And yeah there’s one more thing that I must say, Oh Lord, forgive them, for they know not.
And Sartre was so right when he said, ‘Hell is other people.’ Beyond any reasonable doubt, humans are the ones who have created hell on earth.
All I know is that before my religious beliefs, I am human & I am not ashamed to be one, cause the God I trust can never have problem with this. And my God is, by all means, not standing with a rod in His hand, cause He is all love.