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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