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When We Choose Silence: The Quiet That Speaks the Loudest

  • Writer: Jaweria Afreen Hussaini
    Jaweria Afreen Hussaini
  • Jul 14
  • 4 min read

There is a kind of noise that comes not from words, but from absence. It is the sound of people who choose not to speak. It is the loud silence of neighbours, of friends, of a society that has seen too much and said too little. And that silence, though empty in sound, is full of meaning. It tells a story. One that does not favour the victim, nor the truth. One that makes injustice look acceptable and cruelty look normal.


We are told that being silent is wise. That silence keeps peace. That silence keeps us safe. But what is the use of peace when it is built on the suffering of others? What is the use of safety when it comes at the cost of someone else’s life, dignity, or future? There is no honour in such silence. No nobility in looking away.


Every day, we witness wrongs unfold around us on streets, on screens, in courts, in schools, in everyday language. People are mocked, targeted, reduced, and erased. Some lose homes. Some lose freedom. Some lose life itself. And yet, the majority says nothing. Not because they do not see it. Not because they do not know. But because it is easier not to care. Because the pain is not theirs. Because the victim is not one of them.

This is how injustice survives, not just through those who commit it, but through those who watch and stay quiet. The mob might strike the blow, but it is the crowd's silence that lets the blow fall.


Barbara Jordan once said, “If the society today allows wrongs to go unchallenged, the impression is created that those wrongs have the approval of the majority.” This is not a metaphor. This is exactly what happens. When people remain silent, it creates the illusion of agreement. It gives confidence to the oppressor. It isolates the victim. It allows injustice to wear the face of law, of tradition, of public will.

And that is what makes silence so dangerous. It looks passive, but it is powerful. It looks harmless, but it does real damage.


Silence protects the wrongdoer.

It tells them: “Carry on. No one will stop you.”

Silence abandons the victim. It tells them: “You are alone. No one will stand for you.”

Silence reshapes society. It turns violence into routine. It makes people forget how to feel, how to care, how to resist.


There is a reason why injustice always thrives in a quiet society. Because a quiet society is easy to manage. It does not question. It does not remember. It does not interrupt the comfortable lie that everything is fine.

But everything is not fine.


People are being judged for their faith. Homes are being bulldozed, not for justice, but for punishment. Laws are being reshaped to favour some and destroy others. Prisons are full of truth-tellers. Innocent lives are being trapped in courts while the real criminals get garlands, elections, and protection.

And through all this, the majority remains silent. Watching. Shrugging. Scrolling.


The problem is not just the extremists who spread hate. The bigger problem is the silent majority that believes it is neutral. That its inaction makes it innocent.

But the truth is bitter and undeniable —

the majority is not innocent. Its silence is loud. Its pride is poisonous. Its inaction is what allows injustice to continue, again and again


This silence is not empty. It is a full agreement without words. It is a nod behind closed doors. It is comfort that does not want to be disturbed. It is privilege that does not want to be shared. It is fear that pretends to be wisdom.


But we must ask :

• What is the value of a life lived in silence, if that silence means standing with the wrong?

• What are we teaching our children when we ask them to stay quiet instead of stand tall?

• What kind of society are we building, where speaking the truth is dangerous but tolerating lies is normal?


Some people think their voice will not matter. That they are too small to make a difference. But silence is not small. Silence is a crowd. And every time one person stays quiet, the crowd grows. And when too many people stay silent, injustice becomes policy.


On the other hand, truth has never needed a crowd to begin. It needs just one person to say, “This is wrong.” One person to speak. One person to refuse. And then another. And another.


Speaking up does not always mean shouting. It means not pretending. It means not joining in. It means refusing to forget. It means standing, even if you are standing alone.

This is not a call for noise. This is a call for presence. A call to stop pretending we do not see what is happening. A call to remember that silence is also a voice and it is often the voice that gives the oppressor the confidence to go further.


To the one who is watching but not speaking: your silence will be remembered. And not the way you hope.

History does not forgive silence.

Truth does not forget who stood up and who looked away.

Justice does not wait forever.

The victims do not need your sympathy.

They need your solidarity.

The truth does not need your whisper.

It needs your witness.

Because one day, the silence you kept to stay safe may turn into the silence you hear when you need someone to stand for you and no one does.


So speak. Before your silence becomes your shame.


 
 
 

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