How else would we know about the monsters that live among us?




I remember how someone criticized a protester at a demonstration against the increase of prices. The protester had a smartphone with her. I can’t remember exactly what the protest was about. But I do remember this individual’s comment on how the activist, who can clearly afford a smartphone, was protesting against something that wouldn’t affect her or wasn’t something she would really understand.

Does this mean that people who have never been raped, abused or harassed can’t protest against rape, abuse or harassment? Does this mean that people can’t fight for the rights of the LGBTQIA community just because they don’t belong to any of the categories? Can we only protest against or fight for things that affect us directly?

We all have a voice and we can use this voice to focus the spotlight on important issues. Some would even say that we absolutely must, but it is up to the individual. It may seem selfish to not fight for the rights of other people, but not everyone has the time or energy to do so and not everyone wants to take the risk.

However, we need not use our voice and our ability or avenues of bringing focus to an issue only because it affects us. For instance, people who have never been raped were quick to stand up against rapists and people who defended rape.

When I read Muhammed Fazl’s first article on Colombo Telegraph, I was angry not because I am a victim or because I am female, but because I am human and I was offended as a human, rather than a female. A point raised by some was this; his articles did put the blame on females but they also shamed men. It was bad enough that Muhammed Fazl was saying a female’s attire is a reason to rape her but he also implied that men have no control over their emotions and are monsters.

There were also people who criticized Colombo Telegraph for publishing Muhammed Fazl’s articles. At first even I thought, ‘Who would even publish this?’ But then I realized the importance of such stories being published. Prior to reading Muhammed Fazl’s articles, I knew him only as someone who wrote. I know a lot of people who write, and if I had met Muhammed Fazl somewhere, I would have been friendly and extremely nice to him. Now I would avoid him because I know what sort of values he has.

And I wouldn’t know this man’s true nature if not for his article(s) on Colombo Telegraph. If I remember correctly, both of Muhammed Fazl’s posts appeared as opinion pieces and thus readers knew the writer’s opinion was his own. While it is important to think twice before you publish something, it is also important to publish stories that would make people aware about people, situations and society in general.

So what did the articles tell us? That Muhammed Fazl holds some very crazy beliefs? Well, that too, but mostly the articles told us that people who hold such beliefs live in the same society as we do.

Imagine you are in a bus, seated next to a stranger. You don’t know him at all. He could be a rapist, thief or murderer. However, what if enough awareness was raised on this person? Wouldn’t you recognize him and know the danger you and other people are in? So the next time you meet Muhammed Fazl wouldn’t you know what sort of beliefs this man has and wouldn’t you know how to deal with him?

Somewhere last year or the year before, a conversation between a journalist and a female who was popular (a singer or model, I can’t remember) was made public. He had sent her messages and harassed her. When the conversation was posted online, people knew what kind of a person he was. There were people who knew what kind of a person he was but there were people who didn’t and they wouldn’t have known if not for the lady who made public the messages he sent her.

Public humiliation has been in existence for a very long time. It is a way to humiliate criminals, reduce crime but also raise awareness about the crimes and criminals. If rape was not spoken about, victims was hushed up and rapists punished in secret, people wouldn’t know about rape and the dangers faced by people. If no one spoke about copyright infringement, for instance, people wouldn’t know they can take legal action when their creations or posts are used without their permission.

Let’s be honest. Not many of us read the terms and conditions carefully. Not many of us know the law of the country we live in. Thus it is through the stories we hear or see that we are made aware of what action is a crime and what isn’t.

Having read Muhammed Fazl’s posts, what if people thought, ‘Oh! This doesn’t directly affect me; I’ll just let it go’? What if no one commented on the article or spoke against it? What if we never got to know what kind of a man Muhammed Fazl was?

What if never knew the monsters that lived inside the people we associate with? What if their flaws were hidden from us?

A few weeks ago, someone I used to follow had retweeted a picture that said, ‘hide the sins of our brothers and sisters’ and ‘The prophet said, “Whosoever conceals the faults of a Muslim, Allah will conceal his faults in this world and the hereafter.”’ I haven’t read any Islamic texts so I don’t know if this is something the prophet ever said. However, I do know that this post encourages us to hide the flaws of people and thus lie and deceive others.

I don’t mean to insult Islam (if the prophet did in fact say this), but I feel that it is important to reveal a person’s true nature. Wouldn’t we be trusting of people if we are told only of their good points? If the sins and crimes of other people are hidden from us, would we know what crimes can be committed against us?

During our A/L law class, we learned of assault, battery, ABH and GBH. The definitions of these made us realize that even a silent phone call could amount to an offense. If not for this class, I wouldn’t have known I can take legal action against someone who keeps calling me and then says nothing. There are plenty of offenses we don’t know of and since not all of us study law, we would only know about them if the media and people speak about them.

So yes, may be Colombo Telegraph should have been more careful when publishing the articles. However, I’m glad the articles were published, because if not, I would never have known people with such disgusting beliefs lived among us.

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