THE first Intifada occurred when there was no internet or electronic social media available for people to connect, witness and express their feelings. Although started by a controversial visit by Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon to the holy site of Temple Mount, the initial fuel for the second Intifada came from the picture of a 12-year-old boy, Muhammad al-Dura, who was shot dead by Israeli soldiers while he sat on his father’s lap as they tried to hide in a corner.

The picture went viral and caught the sympathy of many, and many actively joined and participated in whichever way they could. Swarms of Palestinians took to the streets in defiance of the oppressive Israeli regime.

Yet another striking example of how much a sentiment provoking video or picture can awaken people’s awareness was the video clip of a desperate individual, Mohamed Bouazizi in Tunisia, who was in extreme poverty and distress, and set himself on fire when his fruit and vegetable cart was seized.

Filming of this incident and its going viral on social media was regarded as the trigger point for the Arab Spring, a series of protests and agitation against many Arab tyrants, which resulted in some of them having to quit and leave their long-term oppressive rule.

What impact do you think the incident of Muskan Khan being harassed on the street by a group of Hindu miscreants in India will have? It may be the beginning of a revolution.

It is not that Muslim women are not harassed in other parts of the world. Muslim women are easily recognisable due to the attire many of them wear in the form of hijab, niqab, abaya or burqa. As such, they are targeted in racial and hate crimes in many Western countries; more so in the United States after 9/11.

What is special then in the incident of Muskan that may revolutionise the Muslims and human rights activists all around the world, with its focus on the subcontinent? First, it is not a picture or video clip that shows helplessness of a human being that would draw the sentiments of sympathy. Instead, it is different, as it shows the courage of a young Muslim girl facing many threatening men who were bent on snatching her right to cover herself — a human and a religious right guaranteed in the Indian Constitution, a similar right that is available to the Sikhs to wear their turbans or to Christians and even Hindu women, who also use the headscarf, dupatta or aanchal.

It is different than the other incidents mentioned above, in the sense that it is an act of defiance to protect one’s rights. A symbolic manifestation that shows the world, and the Muslim world in particular, that they must stand up and resist against any government, group or individual attempting to curb their human and religious rights.

Muskan had to go through all this and valiantly kept her composure to enter the college premises to show her defiance and to safeguard yet another right of women, that to obtain education, which has been much in the news since the Taliban regime assumed power in Afghanistan.

Muskan’s video clip speaks louder than any word or sermon delivered to instill courage and the feeling of honour in standing up for human rights, an awakening call for many who otherwise may not be motivated to stand up. It is a big blow to the fascist trends of the current Indian government, a country that used to take pride in its secular values.

One wonders and appreciates the vision of Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah who could see far and beyond, who sensed how things would be in an India after the British would leave, and how the Muslims would be at the mercy of a Hindu majority and be exploited by someone like Narendra Modi, who is targeting the minorities to follow the Hindutva doctrine.

Syed Firasat Shah
Karachi

Published in Dawn, February 23rd, 2022