Often in the media, we see the oppression that goes on in Pakistan. And there is no denying oppression goes on in Pakistan- oppression happens all over the world. In even in first world countries such as the UK and the USA- opression happens.
And of course we need to speak out about oppression which goes in Pakistan and around the world.
My main problem is, I feel like a lot of the time, Pakistan is shown only for it's oppression. And that's what people see Pakistan for, only for it's oppression.
I know many on here are American so I'm going to use the USA as an example. Oppression goes on in the USA. Imagine the only thing reported to the world about the USA was sexual assault that goes on there, the racism that goes on there, the poverty that goes on there. How would the world, and I as someone born and raised in the UK view the USA? I'd view it as oppressive, and so would other world citizens.
But while sexual assault, racism and poverty are problems the USA faces - like many other countries, the good things about the USA also get reported. We hear of wonderful things about the USA too, like how it's fighting against it's problems- and we see good things that happen there.
And because I see the positive reports as well as the negative ones that leads me over here, in the UK to think: "In instances the USA has problems. But I don't think it's fair to think it's problems solely represent the country, because actually, good things happen there too, like any other place in the world."
When it comes to Pakistan people think: "Pakistan is an oppressive country." And I'm going to hold my hands up and say, even I as a British Pakistani thought of it as an oppressive country for sometime.
But thanks to the internet, I've been able to see things about the country- the good things. And I want to share that with you guys.
I think it's important to share these things so the people within Pakistan don't get stereotyped for being a certain way, and if we show the good side to things, all the people trying to end the oppression in Pakistan get to be known and their work only gets amplified which is a good thing.
So without further redue let's get into this!
I found a few videos on YouTube which are actually pretty cool, and show a side to Pakistan which I think not many across the world get to see- so I'm going to be sharing and discussing these videos with you.
#1 "The Rise of Women in Pakistan"
This is a video by a YouTuber called "Drew Binskey" who is amazing, this man has an aim to visit every country in the world- which is in my eyes, admirable and the best way to beat ignorance. He reports well too, stating facts and his own experiences.
I love this video because it shows amazing Pakistani women, of a diverse range of professions and I think these women are doing an amazing job of fighting for equality, and killing a stereotype within their country!
#2 "Traveling Pakistan: What the media doesn't show you"
The dude who made this series of vlogs is called "Alexander Daniel" and I honestly believe he deserves an award for his journalism. He speaks better Urdu than me- and I'm British Pakistani lol- but saying that where my family are from in Pakistan we speak Mirpuri which is like a mix of Urdu and Punjabi- but even then, I'm not that good at speaking it lol.
I just love how instead of following the media, like a sheep, he decided to venture out into Pakistan and speak about the stereotypes what Americans believe about Pakistanis and the stereotypes Pakistanis believe about Americans.
And by making these vlogs, he is killing the stereotypes what Americans believe about Pakistanis, and he is showing the Pakistanis the stereotypes what they believe about Americans are wrong too. He's uniting all around. Total respect to this guy.
#3 Pakistani Female Boxing Club
I remember watching an RT documentary about this, with my dad and even as British Pakistanis- we were surprised this existed. With what the majority of the media portray to us about Pakistan, a lot of us would never believe female boxing clubs in Pakistan existed.
And what I really love about this is firstly the hardwork and dedication of these girls in Pakistan who box, and secondly, what a boxing coach called "Mohammad Yunas Qambrani" said in this video:
Our country's progress and our girls' progress lies in getting equal opportunities so they can move forward, shoulder to shoulder with men. Only then progress is possible. So my wish is girls should come out into the open.
And seeing that there are men supporting these girls in learning a male dominated sport like boxing, eliminates the stereotype that "Pakistani men believe in oppressing women".
#4 Cassie De Pecol about Pakistan
This girl is a Guinness World Record holder. She became the first woman to travel every country in the world in the shortest time period.
She claims the most surprising country she visited was Pakistan. She claimed that the media leads people to believe that Pakistan is dangerous. When she went to Pakistan she went to Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad and she says she felt like she was "take into the arms by the people" in Pakistan. She says she felt "completely safe and fine" even when she was walking around on her own, and she said that she didn't have to "cover-up" in Pakistan either.
Once again, she is an amazing woman killing massive misconceptions.
#5 Two American Women Visiting Pakistan
This was such a lovely vlog to watch. They looked like they were having such fun, they visited some beautiful sights in Pakistan and even raised awareness about pollution in Pakistan. They even claimed their favourite part about their visit to Pakistan was the people.
Amazing women. :)
#6 English Girl In Pakistan
This awesome girl tries making roti in Pakistan, and she looks like she's enjoying herself. When we make roti at home, we don't make it like this, so it's cool seeing it being made in a different way and I want to try this myself one day :)
#7 Why is Everything FREE in Pakistan?!
This amazing guy (another Drew Binsky) showed us that in Pakistan the hospitality is so sweet that people he met - and not just his friends, even strangers would not let him pay for anything because he was a guest in their country.
Hospitality to guests is apart of Pakistani and Muslim culture. I had a friend who used to walk with me to secondary school, and sometimes we'd pick our younger siblings up from their primary school together. She came to our house, almost every morning and my dad would give her breakfast even if she said she didn't want it because my dad feels bad if we have guests and they don't eat from our house. So she'd eat breakfast with us. :)
That's all I have time for, today...
I showed you guys 9 videos today but there were so many more on the internet showing a positive side to Pakistan. I am really thankful that these videos exist, and these vloggers post these videos because even as a British Pakistani I have always been worried about going to Pakistan because for a long time, I've only seen it being portrayed in a negative light. I have never been outside of England before, by the way.
But these videos have actually shown me, it isn't as dangerous as the majority of the media claim.
And actually I think I'm going to write these types of MyTakes for more countries than just Pakistan because I have wrongly held prejudices (which I am not proud of) about certain countries because of my ignorance. I would love to learn more about the world, rather than just believe what I hear from person X.
These vlogs make me want to travel the world, but right now, that is wayyy out of my budget so for now, I'll just stick to watching and reviewing the vlogs- from independent vloggers.
And for those of you who might say "Well if they went to certain parts in Pakistan it wouldn't be very as nice" or something along those lines- what I have to say to that is like any country Pakistan will have good parts and it will have bad parts. It's not fair that we empathise the bad and dismiss the good. Because the good could help heal the bad.
I'm sure there are good parts in America which I also want to visit. But if I went to a part in America where say the KKK was, and they could get away with harming me- I'm sure they would. That doesn't mean I let that bad part of America, represent the whole of America.
Anyways, I enjoyed writing this MyTake, I hope you enjoyed reading it- and I think these travel vlogs are becoming my new addiction.
Thank you for reading :)
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