Letters To The Editor


"To reach a port, we must sail – sail, not tie at anchor – sail, not drift." –Franklin Roosevelt



Moral policing in the name of ethics

It is an unfortunate testament of the times that despite all the modernisation and awareness, our educational institutions are still plaguing with the evil of moral policing. Recently, Hazara University issues a new dress code stating that female students won’t be allowed to wear tight jeans, and too much makeup. Even our schools are still practicing moral policing in the name of ethics. Girls as young as eight to 10 years old are being taught that their clothes define their character. At that age, young children look up to authority figures with a lot of respect. If your educators are teaching you to correlate modesty with the type of clothes you wear or how much makeup you put on, young minds at an impressionable age are being conditioned to believe that. In times like today where child sexual abuse is rampant, if some untoward incident happens to that young girl, she will be internalised to believe it was her fault. Along with physical pain, the emotional trauma of victim-blaming and social stigmatisation will ruin her life. Six to seven year-old girls are being told to put their legs together and sit “like a lady”. Instead, they should be given gender sensitisation classes and be educated about ‘good touch’ and ‘bad touch’. Everyone in our society spends all their resources, time and efforts to teach girls not to be assaulted rather than teach boys to not assault women. It’s such an irony. Gender-based moral policing, especially in educational institutions, may appear to be normalised as casual social stereotypes but they have far-reaching and horrific consequences. It is often overlooked as a part of the autonomous rule code of the institution. But when such a practice affects people at large in far-reaching negative consequences, it’s high time it should be addressed. No young girl deserves to be told that her clothes define her character.

Ramsha Nawab,
Lahore.

Oversharing on social media and mental health

We all know ‘those’ people. They may be in our family. They may be in our circle of friends. I’m talking about the ones who overshare on social media. You know, give you the minute-by-minute detail of their lives and those who post endless selfies. Social media is a place to engage with each other and have fun – share memories, share good times and bad, share experiences. Not share everything short of when you use the restroom. Oversharing on social media has become a problem. People are using platforms as their online diaries, broadcasting their personal grievances and details of their children’s lives for the entire world to see. This oversharing has negative effects on our mental health. FOMO (fear of missing out) has a big effect on oversharing and often a bigger detrimental effect on mental health, it can often lead to extreme dissatisfaction. If you don’t receive the ‘appropriate’ amount of likes and comments users may internalise the belief that they are unpopular or unliked by their peers. The need for validation by others can cause you to share unfavourable or ‘attention-seeking’ posts to gain the attention you aren’t receiving otherwise. Many mental health conditions such as bipolar, depression, or anxiety can also cause oversharing. It can be a way to self gratify when you get attention from like-minded people who encourage you to relish in unhealthy behaviours. If you aren’t receiving validation from those around you about your mental health, you can often turn to the internet to supplement this. But how can one stop oversharing? Figuring out the time and place to overshare, and understanding its effects on your mental health can be a useful activity, but the first step is learning when you overshare and how you can reel it in.

Javeria Zia,
Karachi.


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