Open Skies and Unveiled Nights. The Changing World of Mingora City

A city’s story where boundaries are fading

I remember that between 2000 and 2008, an unusual change came over Mingora. During those years the number of transgender people in the city increased, and at night dance gatherings began to take place in different hujras and hotels. After Maghrib and Isha, it became normal to see decorated rickshaws, large vehicles and street corners filled with such scenes.

This was during Musharraf’s era. The media was promoting a kind of unrestrained liberalism and “enlightened moderation” that seemed aimed at pleasing the West and the United States to strengthen his rule. The major cities of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were also affected and Mingora did not remain safe from this wave. It was a time that could be called liberal extremism, and in reaction, religious extremism also surged. Society became trapped between these two extremes and slipped into deeper disorder.

During those years, dance CDs featuring Nargis, Deedar and other performers in Lahore were spreading across the country. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, local CD dramas filled with vulgar dances and crude dialogue were corrupting young minds. It wasn’t just Mingora; an entire generation of young people was being shaped by this environment. The boys and girls who stepped into adulthood at that time changed in their hairstyles, clothing, way of speaking and even their tastes. Under the banner of fashion, imitation spread so widely that tight and inappropriate clothing became common among both girls and boys. A new era had begun, and most indulgences took place behind closed doors.

Dish antennas had also become common, and many uneducated people were using them mainly for immoral entertainment. Because there was no education or awareness, these technologies brought decline rather than progress. Instead of reform, the media was being used to promote negative trends, and the effects gradually moved from private rooms to streets, neighborhoods and markets.

Then the country entered an era of terrorism. This temporarily shifted people’s attention away from such things, but over the last four or five years it feels as if the atmosphere is returning to what it once was. Now we live in the age of the internet. A person can see or do anything they want; a small lapse is enough to lead someone astray. In today’s world only a strong character can protect a person. Character is not built by policing, strict control or religious extremism. It requires elders to raise children with love and care, teach them responsibility and help them understand their purpose in life. This is a continuous and demanding process.

Yesterday I read a news story from Charsadda about a man who tried to assault his own mother. His brother caught him and handed him over to the police, and during his attempt to escape he was injured by gunfire. On the other hand, reports of child abuse are also becoming more common. On the Mingora bypass, transgender individuals can be seen openly displaying their bodies. When things start happening openly, it doesn’t take much to imagine what happens behind the scenes.

I request all parents to pay special attention to their children’s upbringing. Spend time with them. A parent’s job is not only to earn a living but to build their children’s character. Only have as many children as you can properly raise. Increasing the population thoughtlessly harms both society and the household.

Sadly, many young people are leaving the country for work, and without proper moral grounding they end up bringing shame to their area, their country and their faith. The race for money without any sense of right and wrong has become a major challenge for us.

One generation has already slipped through our fingers, and its effects will continue to show. But the next generation can still be guided. Boycotting modern media technology is not only difficult but impossible. What we need is to understand it, learn it and use it for positive change. Boycotting does not solve problems. The destruction caused by the last generation’s ignorance should be a lesson to us.

Today the hardest task is not feeding children but raising them well. Our schools and madrasas have failed in this responsibility. This duty now falls on parents and no one else. Every mother and father must become a teacher and a guide. Only then will the coming generation remain safe.