Smoking while driving

any times I’ve seen the habit of some road users throwing their burning cigarettes onto the road from their moving car. Similar to eating or drinking while driving, smoking too should be an offence since it will distract the driver a lot. It can also end up causing damage to him/herself, to the passengers inside the car, as well as if an accident were to occur, to other road users. The worst part is, after that person is done smoking, he throws the burning cigarette onto the road. Also littering.

Residents should avoid smoking at least while driving. It can avoid some mishaps and increase your lifespan. The authorities are doing their level best to guide people from staying away from such bad habits, but still, if the people don’t care, I think the authorities should put fines on them so that they might think twice before lighting a cigarette inside the car. From Mr Afzal Ahmad UAE

Eagerly awaiting Olympics

After all the partnership drama for the Rio Olympics, I am glad to know that Indian tennis players Leander Paes’ and Rohan Bopanna’s chemistry on the tennis court is working out. Of course, it would be foolish to get elated with their easy victory against the Korean pair, who were totally demoralised. It is not going to be easy for them to conquer the world’s best doubles players during the Rio Olympics. Incidentally, if the Indian Olympics Association (IOA) insists that there is only a 50 per cent team quota as support staff, then I feel the physiotherapist and the coach should be the first choice and not the kith and kin of players. From Ms Janaki Mahadevan Mylapore, India

Quick and stern punishment!

I t is a real shocker to learn that the rapists, who were on bail, raped the same Haryana Dalit woman again (Facebook live: Gruesome rape cases in India’, Gulf News, July 19). This incident is proof that even after the formulation of stringent laws in 2012, such cases are not taken as serious and allowed to drag on. Now this incident should open the eyes of the courts, which not only delayed the verdict, but also granted bail to the culprits to allow them to continue with their lust. Since the culprits have been caught, at least now the court should ensure speedy disposal of the case and severe punishment to the guilty. Only quick and stern punishment, without any favour on caste, creed and religion, could put an end to such crimes in India. From Mr N. Viswanathan Virugambakkam, India

How do we fix the problem?

I ’m a Pakistani, but with great regret, let me say that some people misuse technology, particularly the internet and mobiles (‘Pakistani man tortured in ‘honour killing’ over affair: police’, Gulf News, July 20). In most cases, parents are responsible for such incidents, as there is no checks and balances on family members, since mobile packages are very cheap in Pakistan. Most youth communicate on mobiles, which lead can lead to inappropriate relationships. When family members come to know of what’s going on, it results in a tragedy, either by killing their own daughter or killing the boy as well. It’s very sad.

In Pakistan there is no compromise on dignity and honour as no one is ready to hear taunts from friends, neighbours and relatives. How do we fix this? From Mr Waqas Amin Ewak UAE Facebook comment

Communicate with children

A re you serious right now, Mr Waqas Amin Ewak? This is an issue of ancient mindsets. The more you try to control it, the more it will spiral out of control. Talk to children openly about all topics and they will make the right decisions in life. From Mr Rakesh Kapoor Dubai Facebook comment

An activist in some ways

I believe remain it made sense in the past to completely covered, but today, in my opinion, women empowerment is that Qandeel Baloch doesn’t need to cover to feel safe (Facebook live: Qandeel Baloch honour killing. Murder?’, Gulf News, July 19). Perhaps that was her interpretation as well — women should not be molested, regardless of the clothes they are using.

In my country, we have some women that go beyond our local limit, you wouldn’t like to know what they do. For us it is shocking, but in many Muslim countries they would die immediately, because it is unthinkable for the culture. So, I think that there are always limits, otherwise, we lose control of society, which is bad too. From Mr Camilo Delf UAE Facebook comment

Where are the laws?

I am totally against any honour killing. The reaction that came from family members in Pakistan and, unfortunately, in many developing countries, is that there is no other way for the brothers, mothers, fathers, relatives, neighbours and fanatics so they take the law into their own hands. They justify the killing or murder of the person by saying that their actions affected the honour of many individuals. Where is the law of Pakistan hiding? Will the lawmakers of parliament allow this to happen to their sisters or daughters? With great sadness, I condemn this death. From Mr Khan Mustafa UAE Facebook comment

We are different

A s far as the matter of rights are concerned, tell me what religion allows you to be vulgar and call it freedom of citizens? I don’t think any religion allows that. Nobody is really concerned about how she portrayed her own image. Nobody really cares, but she dragged certain personalities into it and that’s the point where her freedom ends. The public got involved and it was her own choice. Murder isn’t the answer, but rights are supposed to only go as far as not harming others by practising your rights.

As far as the equality of men and women is concerned, our religion does not allow that. Women are considered precious and men are built in with enough capabilities to protect them, whether she’s their family or not. From Ms Aisha Chaudhry UAE Facebook comment

Took it too far

W omen are equal to men, no one is more or less in the view of Islam. This is what I take from any religion. Let’s separate it from religion and talk about the real world we are living in. There are certain limits and we can think about them to prevent situations. She was not the only girl in Pakistan who was modelling. From Mr Osman Mazher UAE Facebook comment

Problems of the youth

Iwant to highlight the abstract problems that the youth of this generation feel. We crave independence. We want to be free, we want to be different, we want to be able to express ourselves, but at the same time we want to fit in.

At this enigmatic age, we are only beginning to open our eyes and the world we see is so much different than what we thought it would be. Our vision is blurry, but we have never seen clarity, so we assume that what we see now is reality. The world is much bigger and dynamic to fully see.

The biggest problem that we face is trying to find ourselves in this evergrowing labyrinth amidst the mirages that people have created of us. We want to live up to their expectations while simultaneously being rebellious.

Being a youth is so ambiguous. We are never settled and we are forever changing and looking for who we are. We want to suffice in our society and in our world, but we have to realise that we’ll never be enough for everybody, but we have to be enough for ourselves. From Ms Paakhi Bhatnagar Dubai

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