Allah Almighty has endowed every human being with the ability to think, understand and reflect. When someone meditates, different kinds of thoughts arise, and it is natural to express those thoughts. That’s why freedom of expression is considered a basic human right.
It is not necessary for a person to express his thoughts only through language, but also for the way a person dresses, the way he behaves, his general attitude, social behavior and sense of responsibility. Every human being is naturally free-thinking. No one else can impose their views and opinions on you, just as we cannot impose our views on anyone. Freedom is a natural process and a basic human right. No one can take away our freedom, neither can we.
But whatever the freedom is, there are boundaries. There may be religious boundaries, national boundaries, social boundaries, and moral boundaries. All these limits are necessary for peace, justice and a happy environment in any civilized society. Everyone in society wants no one to interfere in their life or freedom, but when someone goes beyond their limits, other people are affected and someone has to intervene, otherwise not only do differences arise in society but they also intensify with each passing day.
Due to the moral decay of our society, we have also made the fundamental right of expression controversial. Call it hypocrisy or dishonesty, but we want all kinds of freedom for ourselves but the freedom of others is not acceptable to us. we consider it our right to criticize others but we don’t accept criticism on ourselves. We want our lies to be appreciated but we don’t want to appreciate the truth of others.
Clothing reflects a person’s thinking and ideas. each person chooses clothing according to his or her preferences. No one can force anyone to dress as he pleases, nor can someone prevent anyone from the dressing of their choice. However, religion and society do set certain limits on the choice of clothing, that is for the benefit of human beings.
For some time now, Prime Minister Imran Khan’s wife has been criticized by a group of liberals for her veil, but when Imran Khan in an interview said that obscenity and inappropriate dress is affecting society, they couldn’t bear the positive criticism and made the most noise.
It is the hypocrisy that you consider it your right to choose clothes according to your own thinking while violating the boundaries of religion or society, but if someone else chooses a dress within the boundaries of religion, then you are making fun of it and criticizing, but you are too arrogant to face the criticism by yourself. Freedom of expression does not mean that you consider it your right to criticize the dress of others, but if someone else talks about the dress that transcends your social boundaries, tell them not to talk about your dress or choice.
There is a group of people who talk about women’s rights, but only support those whose views are in line with their views, those whose views do not conform to their views are only criticized. These people think that only they have the freedom to speak, no one else has the right to disagree with their views. If someone insults or disagrees with their partner, they take it to the skies, but if their partner insults someone, he is not guilty.
A few days back, a female feminist criticized a female journalist for attending an event hosted by a famous singer. The singer was alleged of harassing a female but later he was proved to be innocent. There is hypocrisy in the criticism of that feminist, as she is fighting a case of another alleged harasser, who was already found guilty and fined by the court. Another example of selective feminism and freedom of Expression. You have issues with the actions of others but if you are doing the same action, it is alright.
In addition to all this, the conditions of our journalism today are also somewhat critical. On the one hand, not only the government and the army but also the state is criticized on the screen, while on the other hand, restrictions on freedom of expression are trumpeted. In Pakistan, few journalists tend to share the news on the behalf of unknown sources, and if someone asks them about their source, they label it as an attack on press freedom. If some official gives a rebuttal to their news, he is labeled as a harasser. And if you criticize them, you will be labeled as a troll.
Some days back, an Israeli news channel reported about the visit of a Pakistani official to Israel. It was a breaking news story in Pakistan and on the behalf of this report, many Pakistani journalists criticized the current govt. of Pakistan. But the other side of this story was very interesting, the Israeli news channel’s report was based on a local news channel of Islamabad. In simple words, a Pakistani news channel blamed about the visit, the Israeli news channel copied it and on the behalf of that copied news, Pakistani journalists started criticizing.
Very recently another similar incident happened. Some Journalists claimed Pakistan will give air bases to USA. Then in an interview, PM Imran Khan was asked that whether Pakistan will give air bases to USA or not. Khan refused by saying “Absolutely not.” But then the media persons started criticizing the govt by saying “how can Pakistan refuse when the USA hasn’t even asked for the bases.” It is another example of intellectual dishonesty. If you can criticize the government, if you can abuse the prime minister, if you can blame and abuse the army, if you can openly support a convicted, and if you can spread fake news shamelesslyØŒ then you have got more freedom than those in the west.
Even if the car of an anti-government journalist gets punctured, the blame falls on the army or institutions. Recently, a YouTuber was beaten by some people but he blamed ISI for that, this incident drew sharp criticism towards the military, but a close friend of the victim claimed the attack was carried out by another journalist. The person who accused the army of beating was already fined by the court in a defamation case.
Another very famous journalist, who was attacked a few years ago, has always blamed the army for that attack. Recently, it was revealed that the real culprit was identified long ago, but not only did he always hide it, but he also kept blaming the secret services for that attack. It is very easy to criticize but when it comes to being criticized, it is very difficult to bear. Another example of hypocrisy is that we journalists consider it our right to criticize and abuse others, but if anyone criticizes us, he is labeled as a troll.
The Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, while defending the freedom of expression, also said that it should not be without limits and should not hurt the hearts of certain communities. Freedom of expression cannot be without limits, we must understand that if we have the right to speak, others also have the right to speak. We cannot afford the freedom of expression that undermines the integrity and social rectitude of our country.
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