Let us be honest as to why social media is under the hammer. Not because of a newly-discovered national trend towards prurience but because Pakistan has moved into the next phase of censorship.
On the discourse surrounding morality and social media, you have addressed a very pertinent question about who is responsible for moral degradation: the platform or the actor. Those who think that VPNs lead users down a rabbit hole of immorality forget that, as indicated by the historian Toynbee, most of the great civilisations perished because of internal moral corruption, long before the invention of internet.
In fact, we live in a post-democracy electronic age where surveillance states suppress online dissent and disruption by use of force. It’s a power play issue that has nothing to do with morality. The present day anxious generation longs for participative parity and mutual recognition through online engagement, and its offline anxiety and moral values shape its online exchanges.
As for our Pakistani variety of keyboard warriors, their venomous and rowdy online activism may result in more suppression instead of emancipation, as evident from the aftermath of the Arab Spring uprising.
Excellently put but there was no need to bring Dr Zakir Naik. He didn’t call for censorship in Pakistan and what he did was in line with religion command (you like it or not).
But I like your analysis and for the most part they resonate with me
Religion does not command a man shouldn't be able to keep his pants zipped the moment he sets eyes on a woman. Women are not objects of lust or desire. They are responsible, intelligent, willful human beings with a role to play in society. As Talat says, the rot is in the mind.
And yes absolutely women are not objects of desire and they are the better half of the society. I don’t know why you had to bring this up. Khair I wish you all the best. May sanity prevail in our country
It’s very hard to judge the rottenness or soundness of a person’s mind from the outset. Gender segregation is a concept presented by the religion and it ought to be followed (We like it or not)
As I said in my comment the analysis is top notch but bringing Dr Naik in the picture was unnecessary.
Brilliant! Your powerful analysis reflects on how past political games are tied to today’s shrinking freedoms. The ending is a striking reminder of how the nation continues to suffocate under the cover of morality.
On the discourse surrounding morality and social media, you have addressed a very pertinent question about who is responsible for moral degradation: the platform or the actor. Those who think that VPNs lead users down a rabbit hole of immorality forget that, as indicated by the historian Toynbee, most of the great civilisations perished because of internal moral corruption, long before the invention of internet.
In fact, we live in a post-democracy electronic age where surveillance states suppress online dissent and disruption by use of force. It’s a power play issue that has nothing to do with morality. The present day anxious generation longs for participative parity and mutual recognition through online engagement, and its offline anxiety and moral values shape its online exchanges.
As for our Pakistani variety of keyboard warriors, their venomous and rowdy online activism may result in more suppression instead of emancipation, as evident from the aftermath of the Arab Spring uprising.
Excellently put but there was no need to bring Dr Zakir Naik. He didn’t call for censorship in Pakistan and what he did was in line with religion command (you like it or not).
But I like your analysis and for the most part they resonate with me
Religion does not command a man shouldn't be able to keep his pants zipped the moment he sets eyes on a woman. Women are not objects of lust or desire. They are responsible, intelligent, willful human beings with a role to play in society. As Talat says, the rot is in the mind.
And yes absolutely women are not objects of desire and they are the better half of the society. I don’t know why you had to bring this up. Khair I wish you all the best. May sanity prevail in our country
It’s very hard to judge the rottenness or soundness of a person’s mind from the outset. Gender segregation is a concept presented by the religion and it ought to be followed (We like it or not)
As I said in my comment the analysis is top notch but bringing Dr Naik in the picture was unnecessary.
Very nice, always lovely to read your candid views.
Brilliant! Your powerful analysis reflects on how past political games are tied to today’s shrinking freedoms. The ending is a striking reminder of how the nation continues to suffocate under the cover of morality.