| Diary of a Neurotic | ||||||
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February 26, 2004 Our culture breeds dependency, conformity and conventionality. I know it’s no earth shattering discovery but more like an unpleasant evening spent swallowing an unsavory meal as a polite and civil guest. We are a nation obsessed with orthodoxy, traditionalism and compliance afraid of doing or even thinking about anything out of the ordinary….trying not to stand out from the crowd. Living contradictions…attracting as much attention as we can to our extravagant weddings, excessive celebrations of every event, believing in status symbols and yet scared to question and exhibit our individuality. We are constantly molding ourselves into what the society deems ‘appropriate’ and ‘normal’. Success is only achieved by pulling the victorious by their legs…rolling them around in dirt and dismissing their accomplishments because of different religious beliefs, backgrounds and family structure. The franchise of Mercedes Benz in Pakistan was given to a mechanic who fixed car punctures in a small shop. Why this event is never highlighted or studied as a case study in class is because he was an Ahmedi…declared NON-Muslim by the STATE. Sadly, the first step towards globalization and opening the door for other franchises in a third world country like ours was quickly squashed, rejected and degraded just because of religious disparity. The unwanted vine of narrow mindedness is clutching to the uneducated and so called cultured class. I admire my 60 year old teacher who is the ultimate representation of a modern, independent and open minded woman. A free, unbounded, liberated bird who soars in the sky and reaches new heights each and everyday….truly at the highest level of self-actualization. She’s everything I aspire to be one day. When I expressed my awe to my class mates…their noses scrunched up high, the forehead divided into ten shapes of wrinkles and they all clucked their tongues in union to a secret annoying song. Apparently being an unmarried, childless, independent, and openly discussing forbidden issues kind of a feminist is not the RIGHT criteria of choosing a mentor. And I seriously question that if women in this culture by some miracle do turn out to be aggressive, freedom demanding, free thinkers…are they doomed to live a life style that HAS to be different from the traditional, submissive, passive woman? I am not saying that being unmarried was not a personal choice or she isn’t happy but isn’t our culture and the current value system deliberately churning out a gender that should only be ruled, dictated, dominated and manipulated? Where do these invisible limitations stem from? Who decides what is acceptable? Why are women seen only as objects to be decorated in homes? How and when will this scenario change? I hate this culture where individualism is seen as a threat and insurgent behavior. Living in a box…doing what everybody else is doing just because we don’t have the balls to stare at the fingers pointing at us. (3:20 AM) ~`~
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