The acid was thrown in a few seconds. The thinking behind it took years. Years of teaching boys that their feelings matter more than a girl’s choices. Years of excusing aggression, control and obsession. Years of asking girls to be careful while failing to teach boys how to behave. When a woman is attacked, people rush to condemn the attacker. Few stop to ask what helped shape him. What did he learn as a child? What did he hear when women were mocked, threatened, controlled or blamed? What did he see when men crossed boundaries and faced no consequences?
Every such attack leaves a disturbing question behind. Why do girls and women keep carrying the cost of male anger? A doctor went to work to save lives and ended up fighting for her own. Parents, teachers, schools, media and society all shape how children see power, respect and women. The attack happened in moments. The lessons behind it were taught for years.
Tania Shahjahan
Qambar Shahdadkot
*****
The recent acid attack on a female doctor at Civil Hospital, Quetta has shocked and frightened everyone. It is deeply painful that women are not safe even at their workplaces. This terrible crime has created a lot of fear among all female doctors and nurses in Balochistan. If a hospital cannot protect the people who save lives, it means our security system is failing. I request the authorities to provide proper security for all doctors, especially female healthcare workers.
The government must take strict actions to make hospitals safe so that women can work without fear. We must prove through real actions that women are the strength of our nation and deserve full protection.
Haleema Abdul Rauf Ahmed
Turbat
