By Sidra tul Muntaha
Humor plays a pivotal role in exhibiting a society’s values, norms, stereotypes, and issues. It can minimize or normalize problems in its underlying message. A joke that might seem harmless can jeopardize the harmony of society, particularly when it downplays marginalized groups and desensitizes people to real issues like sexism, racism, or inequality. Jokes that women are infallibly beleaguered by, such as “a woman’s place is in the kitchen,” define limitations that have been put on women for centuries and are not harmless or just a way to collect laughter. While there is an ongoing conflict between religious and secular groups over issues relating to women that are nowhere near being resolved, it is dismaying to see women being mocked for their hard-fought rights.
The term “sigma male” is a viral phenomenon on social media, promoting toxic masculinity that shuns empathy or chivalry toward women. While social media can be a tool for spreading awareness, it is also a place where derogatory jokes and comments about women and feminists, perpetuate harmful stereotypes, reinforcing or trivializing women’s struggles and suffering. A nerve-wracking yet normalized comment that reappears under social media content created by young girls is bachi ha, bari b to ho gi (“She’s a girl, she’ll grow up too”). Instead of unmasking or reporting such commentators, viewers often like these remarks. In a country like Pakistan, ranked sixth globally in child marriages, it is alarming that such comments remain untrammeled. Feminism advocates for protecting women and children and addresses far more complex issues than just the right to work or drive a car. However, its relevance is often denied. Girls may present themselves as antifeminist to appear unique or gain male validation, while men who support women are often ridiculed for being weak or feminine and betraying the “bro code.”
A small number of individuals who take offense to such derogatory comments, whether in the workplace, at home, or on social media, are labeled as “too sensitive” or are often told, “It’s just a joke. Don’t be overdramatic, laugh it off.” But are we really “too sensitive,” or are we more aware now that humor, which seems harmless, is one of the factors that reinforce cultural norms and expectations? Historically, humor and literature have played crucial roles in advancing the feminist movement. Writers like Virginia Woolf, Mary Wollstonecraft, and Simone de Beauvoir through this medium highlighted and challenged the patriarchal norms, satirical works by Jane Austen shed light on societal absurdities, class, and social prejudices. Humor and literature are tools that are crucial as they stir conversation, allow critical thinking, and inspire change. In islam, joking is not prohibited as long as it adheres to certain guidelines, jokes should not involve lying and false information and should not belittle anyone. It is important to maintain the integrity and not hurt any individual or community. “O you who believe! Let not a group scoff at another group, it may be that the latter are better than the former. Nor let (some) women scoff at other women, it may be that the latter are better than the former. Nor defame one another, nor insult one another by nicknames. How bad is it to insult one’s brother after having Faith.” [Al-Hujurat 49:11]
The jokes defining gender roles are far from being harmless and diminish the historical fight for women’s rights and equality. Dismissing the concerns of those who find these jokes harmful, as being called out as ‘too sensitive’ undermines the roles of language, literature, and humour in shaping societal and cultural values and expectations. The masses should be aware of the role and core values of feminism, which advocates for justice, equality, and the right to choose.
