exhausted being a woman in karachi.

international women's day has already passed and it reminds me of how women in pakistan, especially in karachi, don't even have the privilege to freely walk outside without fear.

the second you leave the house, men try to undress you with their eyes. every public space is populated with such men that it feels unsafe to even walk past them to go to a grocery store, let alone engage in said public space.

the women of this country have wishes too, y'know? i want to go out in the mornings for a walk, but I can't do that because of the fear of being assaulted and murdered. the seldom spots safe for women are not accessible by all, not everyone has the time and money to go to malls and higher-end restaurants/cafés, and there's barely enough women's only parks (and even those are often surrounded by men peeking over walls to see god knows what.) it's ridiculous only THOSE spots exist!

why can we not have morning walks, drink chai at a chai khana, go to any place outside without lustful eyes watching our backs, let little girls play at the park whenever they want, go biking, and just have the privilege to exist outside of four concrete walls?

why does this country have the gall to call itself the islamic republic of pakistan when it turns a blind eye to the double digits of women that get SA'd everyday across the country, hundreds that get groped, thousands that get catcalled - when in islam, the men that commit such acts would get stoned to death?

you can hear the laughter of women even on the streets of tehran, so why is pakistan so cruel to womankind?

if people cannot educate their sons to respect a woman - then why do we not have stricter laws in place, more surveillance, cctv + car cams that can capture the faces of those that do such vile acts, and more awareness against all this? we as pakistanis are so quick to stand up against injustice that others face, but never say anything against the ones half the population has to face on a daily basis.