Myths

I just wanted to share a "mythical" image with the class. I remembered it as soon as we saw the picture of the mutilated Afghan girl, but thought of it again just now because I am in Pakistan, my home country, for winter break and thought I would say something about my experience here.



I would think, considering that we are all familiar with the insidious manipulation and effect of popular images, that it goes without saying that this image is obviously a lie, or hyperbolic, for the reluctant. I have grown up and lived in Pakistan my entire life, and of course, life for me is very different from what it would be for a foreign visitor, but I can safely say that I have never ever encountered such vicious-looking, teeth-baring men here. This is not to suggest that Pakistan is a haven of peace. We have our problems, lots of them, and yes there are frequent blasts and attacks and fighting going on, but that is still the exception, not the norm. Life, for most people, goes on as routine and ordinary (how else can it be, anyway? Life must go on).
The picture also implies another myth: that only men (and beareded ones, at that) exist in Pakistan and they probably keep any women oppressed and inside. This is also untrue, unlike the popular images of Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia that people in the west have. Women are very much part of the public sphere here.