A dummy’s guide to morality in Pakistan

The men get the glory and women get all the shame - here is Pakistani morality in a nutshell.

Aruna Hussain January 30, 2011
Like everyone else, friends on my e-mail group became very active while discussing the recent media hype about Veena Malik.

While the opinions came from a diverse group of people, one irritated friend questioned why people can't seem to follow basic 'Pakistani moral standards'. Reproduced below are the top 10 rules on Pakistani moral values that came out as actually being followed in modern day Pakistan:
Pakistani moral values 101: Top 10 rules












































If a Pakistani man dates more than one woman, he is a Casanova. If a Pakistani woman dates more than one man, she is a “loose woman”.
If a Pakistani cricketer dances with Indian starlets on stage in India, he is entertaining. If a Pakistani actress dances on an Indian show, she is a cheapskate.
If a Pakistani man marries a foreigner, he is a hero. If a Pakistani woman marries a foreigner, she is “shameless”.
If a senior male at the office is divorced or single, he is an eligible bachelor. If a woman at the workplace is divorced or single she must be a corporate b****.
If a man shoots a dance video with scantily-clad women, he is being stylish. If a woman makes a similar dance video, she is promoting vulgarity.
If a male minister hugs a foreign official he is maintaining etiquette.

If a female minister hugs a foreign official, she deserves a fatwa and the boot.
If a man (especially if he is a cricketer) gets embroiled in a false marriage scandal, he is an innocent victim. If a woman gets embroiled in a similar scandal she deserves to be hounded and made fun of.
If a man chooses whom he will marry,  he is excising his right. If a woman chooses her husband, she is a characterless kari.
If a Pakistani man wears shorts on TV for a game, his religious beliefs will not be questioned. If a woman wears shorts on TV, it is equivalent to sacrilege.
If a male director makes sleazy movies casting his heroines as hip-thrusting prostitutes, it is considered “fantasy” - please sit back and enjoy the cheap thrills. If an actress on a TV show as much as sits next to man under a blanket in the freezing cold, she is abusing her culture and it becomes a izzat iman and ghairat issue.

The next time you are unsure of Pakistani moral values, please refer to the above generally-agreed-to guidelines.

If you have more interesting ones to add, feel free to share!
WRITTEN BY:
Aruna Hussain A former CEO of a Fortune 200 Denmark-based logistics company operating in Pakistan and Afghanistan. She blogs at http://arunahussain.com.
The views expressed by the writer and the reader comments do not necassarily reflect the views and policies of the Express Tribune.

COMMENTS (37)

Nobody | 12 years ago | Reply @Deen Sheikh: "Please enlighten me, where I made such a remark or such a suggestion!!!" In the line I copy/pasted onto my previous post, obviously. Yes, you put what you said into words, and I simply asked you a question as my interpretation of some of those words was a question mark. No need to be hypersensitive, Mr. Sheikh, as I also clearly implied in my post that I may be wrong in my interpretation of your words (that's usually what people mean by "correct me if I'm wrong"). Furthermore, I also acknowledged men often get treated unfairly but your statement "Men can not even raise their voices against women abusing them without being labeled as sexist abusive fiends." is an exaggeration. Atleast in my experience, I haven't seen men being labeled as 'sexist fiends' if they complain about unfair treatment, be it at work or home. Now before you fly off the handle, re-read where it says IN MY EXPERIENCE. Cheers.
Deen Sheikh | 12 years ago | Reply @Nobody: Please enlighten me, where I made such a remark or such a suggestion!!! Do not go around assuming what I am or not trying to say, what I was saying i have put it in words, I wanted to bring public attention to something people fail to acknowledge existence of, which is that even men at times are on the recieving end of mistreatment and abuse of women, yet a lot of people dismiss it as unconcievable. Though I wont deny women experience majority of unfair abuse that goes around, it does not change the reality that men are experiencing abuse and no one talks about it. Men can not even raise their voices against women abusing them without being labeled as sexist abusive fiends.
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