They say being a woman is very emotionally, mentally and physically taxing. Whether it’s your very own personal crime scene in your pants every single month or the naked nape of your neck making men go to war, the female body has to undergo multiple tests of time during the course of its life.

In a utopian world, all this wouldn’t happen to begin with but the real question is, should it happen at the expense of a disease as horrendous as breast cancer?

Raise your hand if sheer ignorance on the part of your peers have made you taste bile. While you and I have mostly resorted to mentally stabbing these people, one brave Pakistani girl decided to call out such unacceptable behavior.

Fama Hasan is an undergraduate student majoring in Biosciences from COMSATS University in Islamabad. She might be a research scientist by profession but associates to writing by passion. 

And it was that very passion for the written word that made her pen down her thoughts past an uncomfortable episode at university.

Narrating an exchange she overheard between a bunch of guys close to graduating, Fama couldn’t believe what she heard:

Guy 1: Oye wo kia kehrae thay?
Guy 2: Pata ni yara ‘Breast’ cancer ka kuch kerne aye thay. Ussi ka btaye jarae thay.
*inmature dirty giggles*
Guy 3: *smirks* Ayeinnn!
All of the guys: *Errupt in laughter*

Sharing her reaction to hearing this cringe-worthy conversation between adult men, Fama lamented over the sexualization of the female body and lack of education about breast cancer:

“I cringed all the way from university to home and I cringe as I type this”

“A society where basic human organs are sexualized to the point that even a cancer related to it is some locker room banter joke for these boys just like we talk of the one trump said. Little do they realize that it kills more than 40,000 women every year in Pakistan alone and these are just only the cases that even luckily get reported. Little do they know that Pakistan has the highest incidence of breast cancer in Asia.”

Fama continued to talk about the dire need for Breast Cancer Awareness in Pakistan, one that can’t be achieved without the support of male counterparts.

“Little do they know that it is exactly this social setup because of which women are reluctant in medical checkups and sharing their issues, not even with their family members and ultimately lose their lives as the diagnosis only occurs at very late stages. God forbid some woman in their family suffers from this ever.”

Breast cancer is predominantly the most common type of cancer found in women and the alarming statistics boast one out of nine women facing the risk of the deadly disease. The disease can be treated if detected in the earlier stages and something as simple as clinical examination on a regular basis can ensure that it is.

Seeing how this behavior is equally commonplace across the border, Indian publications also picked up on the subject matter which gave birth to a much-needed debate.

The Status Update itself has also been shared over 300 times with over 2000 likes from people all over Pakistan and India, proving that an “education” on the subject matter is sorely needed.

The various comments on the status update itself can bear witness to the fact:

While speaking to MangoBaaz, Fama borrowed from her inspiration Carl Sagan, “We’re tiny beings on a speck of dust in a sun beam. A tiny arena in a vast cosmos with an existential reason unknown. But if we do crave some cosmic purpose, then let us find ourselves a worthy goal.  And my goal is making a difference with my power of words. Be it one post at a time.”

As for the three men who were the subjects of this rant, she has the following message:

“Educate yourselves and those around you. Female bodies are not just objects. We are real humans with real diseases. I wish your porn addiction could have taught you otherwise.
God bless.”

Fama relates to feminism on a deep level and loves to paint, dance and travel. She lives in a family where humans and felines live in perfect harmony and she wouldn’t have it any other way.

Read the full post here.