Re: Imran Khan Divorces Reham
I'm going to go out on a limb and say the marriage came across (whether that was the reality or not) as a politically-motivated marriage - it did not seem as if the couple was marrying for love or companionship necessarily, but because the optics and interests of each person in the political realm was their motivation. For that reason, this marriage and its demise is and will be remarked upon.
While divorce is a difficult and intensely personal matter, sadly in this case it will be remarked upon and people will comment on the judgment of both parties in entering into and leaving the marriage.
The reality is that more so than anyone else or any other role or position or career, a politician's personal life is always fodder and provides talking points because the public will always say:** if he/she can't manage their home life, how can they manage a country? If he/she doesn't act with dignity and the right "moral" values in their home and personal life, how can we have them represent us as a nation? **
That being said, the populace can be hypocritical because they generally expect their leaders to be paragons compared to themselves and their own personal sins and transgressions (though in the case of Pakistani political leaders - that doesn't always hold true - maybe its a more Western political sentiment - I'll let the Pakistanis in Pakistan comment on how forgiving the public is when it comes to politicians).
I will qualify my remark by saying - I obviously can't know what IK or RK's motivation was and most will probably never know. I also don't know how the populace will react - I'm not there and I can't relate to the thought processes. My comments reflect how I see politics play out where I am - so maybe it can't be extrapolated to Pakistani context.
This is basically a manifestation of that backward mentality where they say xyz couldn't save her/his first marriages, how they going to handle their second one? This narrow-minded view, when goes unchallenged because we think it is a 'reality - prevents people from marrying again, and people to accept and bless second marriages. If this backward view isn't acceptable at grass root level, then it shouldn't be given a pass when it concerns someone at the top.
It is a reality, but such views should be challenged. As with whole how can he can represent us as a nation - then Pakistan is a majority Muslim country - second marriage and divorce is as Islamic as it can get whether some people like it or not. Someone's personal life should not be any indicator of how they will run the country - surely for smart people - they know the difference between professional job and personal life.
In West, infidelity is considered unforgivable, not mutual parting! I don't know how things are in seemingly more religious and intrusive America - but in Europe, it is so common for MP's to just have girlfriends or or be open about homosexuality, and not always project a picture perfect image of "happy traditional family".
At 60 - I doubt many people marry for "love". For someone like Imran's stature and the media focus he's always under - casual dating to judge someone's 'compatibility' is never an option. She did come across as intelligent, politically aware and passionate individual - I can see why he thought he she would understand his political commitments a lot better than an average Pakistan woman. If the reports about her political ambitions becoming the core reason of the fall out, then it was a really bad judgement from both sides.