FarQuest Fariha's Quest: Finding an answer to the question "Why can’t Utopia be a reality?" Wish to add some colors of Utopia to this world because I dare to dream and strive to turn my dreams into reality!

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. Indeed,it’s the only thing that ever has” - Margaret Mead

I read this quote that I completely believe in, while reading a short interview of Dallas Jessup here who’s a 17 year young girl but a CEO, founder & spokesperson of/for “Just Yell Fire” and has made a difference in the lives of a million girls already.

Just Yell Fire’s message as their site says is:

“…. that girls and young women have the right to live their lives without fear of assault or abduction. The Just Yell Fire mission is to put predators out of business…”

They go to educational institutions and train girls the essential tactics of self-defense so that they can fight back if/when being sexually assaulted. I remember that this is exactly the idea that my ex-colleague E and I had in mind about 2 years ago and we kept dreaming about it but couldn’t turn it into reality and today when Jamash shared the link about “Just Yell Fire” with me, I felt my dream has come true. Being a female myself, I very well realize what one has to face when you are out of the comfy shelter and the protective shields that your family has created for you. It feels worst, when you can’t do anything but live with a continuous fear all the time. However, non-profitable organizations like “Just Yell Fire” appear to be a ray of light, a hope for all the females across the world. I so wish, they come to Pakistan as well and train a group here that can in return train more girls.

People might have heard me speaking against Female Harassment at various places and at different occasions and ‘am proud to say that I’m a feminist (please don’t confuse feminist with female chauvinist); but a lot might have probably thought of me working to launch yet another *NGO* which fights for female rights. If you are also one of them, then let me explain that it is not so, all I want is to change the mindsets of some people of our society, make them realize how torturous it is for women to listen to your lewd comments, see you staring and a lot more that merely is fun for you but can very qualify as female harassment as this unwanted attention is extremely disturbing for females. My primary objective will be to focus on the forms of females harassment that are given least importance yet they are the most common ones and for this I need not launch yet another NGO but rather contribute in my own little way through blogging online or otherwise by carrying out discussions/sessions that can trigger the changing of mindsets; because unless we change the way people think, nothing will work.

Flipping TV channels in the evening today, I came across the program "Awam ki Awaz" on CNBC Pakistan and the topic for the episode was "Prejudice towards Hijras" (Hijra is an urdu word for members from the third gender).  While the host interviewed different people from this community, asking them why they don’t choose to go for professions like others(men and women) do, most of them said, "..because of the attitude of these men and women" i.e.  because of us, the so called normal people. One of them told that she had studied till intermediate and wanted to study even further to become a doctor but had to quit because of the attitude of society towards them. According to them, people often end up making their life miserable and force them to go for the conventional "hijra" get up and activities even if they are not willing to.

As I watched the program, I realized how majority usually treats them with disgust and then various questions flooded my mind. Why don’t we let them lead their lives as we do? Get education and go for careers as we do, being what they really are? Why do we expect them to conceal their gender before they could work/study with us? Why the "Eww" feeling even when some of them actually make it big being famous designers/make up artists, we proudly wear what they design and pay thousands to get a makeover done from their salons?

Why can’t we simply accept them as they are and enable them to contribute to the society in more positive ways. No wonder one of them might end up doing something to make us and this country feel proud of! So, is this prejudice ever going to end?