By Gulranga Ali
Every human being needs to express his feelings or opinion freely, whether he/she lives in developed or no developed country. God has created human beings with different thoughts, feelings, emotions and opinions and there can be no uniform law which should be imposed for expression of their views.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights has guaranteed the right to speech to all human beings without discrimination. Similarly, the constitution of Pakistan has also ensured this fundamental right to speech to every citizen.
The right to speech is known as “freedom of speech” or “liberty of expression” in laws. The constitution of Pakistan, under Article 19 defines the right to speech and freedom of expression i.e. ‘every citizen shall have the right to freedom of speech and expression, and there shall be freedom of the press, subject to any reasonable restrictions imposed by law in the interest of the glory of Islam or the integrity, security or defense of Pakistan or any part thereof friendly relations with foreign States, public order, decency or morality, or in relation to contempt of court, [commission of] or incitement to an offence.(article 19 of the Constitution od Pakistan 1973)
When the exceptions of definition clause of this article are examined, one can see that the freedom of speech is very strict and limited in our country. This practice is not common only in Pakistan but many other countries are also found with the restrictions imposed on freedom of speech.
If we look at the history of Pakistan, democracy is always threatened by martial laws which always curbed the freedom of expression of our nation. However democracy is a political system in which all the citizens are entitled to their fundamental rights, therefore every citizen of Pakistan shall have the freedom of enjoying their basic rights including liberty of expression.
Media is a considered bridge between government and its public but media in our country has also very limited space for expressing various issues. Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) which is a constitutionally established institution observes more strict rules for freedom of expression than that of entertainment which violates cultural norms and values.
In Pakistan the fundamental right to speech and freedom of expression is either oppressed by law or moral and cultural pressures.
If we take an example of girls during Nikah, in spite of having legal and religious right, still majority of females are not allowed to express their consent before nikah. Many women having domestic or other issues related to her married life are also not allowed to speak.
In remote areas of Pakistan many women die due to petty issues and they are not able to discuss it openly for treatment.
It is not surprising that Pakistan is among the conservative countries in regard of freedom of expression. Due to restricted and limited freedom of expression no one can utter a word against law.
Gulranga Ali is a social activist and a law and sharia student in the University of Swat. She writes on social and cultural issues in her region in connection with constitutional and international laws.
