Pakistan’s New Patriarchs<br />If a woman demonstrates that the men in a political party, in the army or on a court bench are a bunch<br />of nincompoops, the new patriarchy responds a lot like the old patriarchy: She is asking for trouble.<br />The new patriarchy will respect women but it makes subtle demands: First, go get shot, get doused in acid or get raped, and then we will be with you.<br />While some of the country’s most powerful men have lined up to lick the boots of every new military<br />dictator, Ms. Jahangir’s activism has sent those dictators into impotent fits of rage.<br />Khadija Siddiqui, a law student, was hailed as a role model: Stabbed 23 times in the face<br />and the neck during an assault last year, she took her attacker to court despite threats from his influential family and friends.<br />Ms. Wazir was asking for trouble so badly that she entered politics, joined Mr. Khan’s party, won a seat in the National Assembly<br />and then left the party denouncing its culture of harassment.<br />Yes, she is being hailed as a role model on TV, but really, in a society where all talk about women<br />boils down to their being mothers, sisters and daughters, who wants a role model like that?
