Here’s Why Imran Khan’s Statement about Divorces in Pakistan is Problematic

Pakistan might have evolved fairly well in terms of many industrial and technological aspects, but the country still has ways to go when it comes to ensuring basic human rights for its populace. Where child marriages, cousin marriages, and even forced marriages are a common phenomenon among the people, Prime Minister Imran Khan should have focused on the very real problems of society. Instead, he attributed Bollywood and Hollywood for the increasing rate of divorce instead.

Here’s why his statement is wrong. And how he could have explained it better.

But first, let’s take a look at what he actually said:

https://twitter.com/AsYouNotWish/status/1221000374821064705?s=20

The Blame Game

The PM of Pakistan blamed the influence of western culture in Pakistan, for the increasing number of divorces. ‘A destroyed family system,’ he called it.

For millions of young people that have loved and supported his cause, it seems like the PM is focusing on all the wrong lessons.

Here’s what could have been the focus of his message instead:

Mental Health

A good number of people let their marriage affect their mental health, for the sake of their family’s reputation, to a point of no return. The young, the old and the restless should be taught the value of focusing on their mental health above all else.

If a marriage is abusing your mental capacity and health, GET OUT! People forget that marriage is about relationships and how compatible you are with each other. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. There’s no shame in it.

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Forced Marriages

Love is blind, but when it comes to desi families, love is also short-lived because “Ammi/abbu nahi maan raheen (Mom and dad are not agreeing to our match).” We see cases of child marriages and cousin marriages at least once, if not a thousand times, in our lifetime.

The honorable PM of Pakistan could have sought the betterment of the people by addressing a problem that has possible implementable solutions. If the root problems of marriages are not addressed, the blame-game creates controversies with little to no avail. Goes without saying, the real reason behind increasing divorce rates is not through harmless imitation of foreign culture. Its pretty much more deeper than that.

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Family’s Honor

Both men and women alike, who consider divorce, are forced to go against their own god-forsaken will. The PM, in spite of all the social stigma against divorce, could have promoted choosing one’s happiness over a forced elongation of marriage. The concept of “log kya kahiengay” (what will people say?) and the VERY sensitive family ego goes beyond an individual’s well-being and thanks to the PM, it is and will be overlooked.

*Slow-clap*

If we are to take the PM at his words, does this mean that he might have fancied two previous divorces due to his love for the western culture or the supposed opposition towards his well-formed family system? Divorce is a deeply personal decision for many, and often taken as a last resort.

Given how Mr. Khan enjoys a huge platform and is popular with the youth, a part of us thinks that his statement may have inadvertently done more harm than good. Divorce should not be treated as a failure, but a lesson to do better. We believe he really should have articulated his point in a better way.

The truth of the matter is that no educated and well-informed person will applaud his visibly naïve statements. The last thing that people, already struggling within the bounds of their marriage, want to hear is that their failed marriage is the cause of Bollywood and Hollywood shenanigans. Such unsophisticated and passionless statements, from the Prime Minister of a country, deserve no affirmations whatsoever.