A Sufi Tale on Moths and Flies

Published: 19th August 2025

Category: Current Affairs


Don't send a woman to do a man's job.
— Winston Churchill



I recently came across a sufi tale about moths and flies which stuck a chord. The story goes as such. Flies felt bad about their social status as compared to moths. The flies, noticing the moths’ graceful and purposeful dance around flames, approached the king of moths and said, “Our bodies and capabilities are similar. We too have wings, we too are drawn to light—treat us as moths.”

The moth king thought for a while and then replied, “Then go and seek the flame.” The flies flew off in search of the flame. They returned quickly, boasting of all the light they found, faster and more efficiently than the moths. They came back and reported as to where they had found flames, at temples, at funerals, in kitchens and so on.

They were also happy and proud to have found flames and to return first. They waited anxiously for the moth king to proclaim them as victors and give them the same status as moths.

But the moth king laughed and said that the verdict is already out. “The point isn’t to find the flame,” he said. “It is to die in it.”

This fable cuts deep into the heart of a growing social phenomenon—pseudo-feminism that confuses equity with entitlement, and performance with sacrifice.

Much like the flies, pseudo-feminists often argue, “We do what men do. We can work. We can lead. So we must be declared equal.”

But equality is not merely in mimicry, it lies in equal shouldering of costs, consequences, risks.

A notable example that questions this ideal came from the funeral of Lieutenant General A.S. Nahiwal in 2021, where female officers were tasked with carrying his body. Despite their best efforts, the women struggled with the physically demanding task, leading to embarrassment of the deceased's family and public scrutiny. Equality in the military is often equated with the ability to hold the same rank or position as men, but the underlying question is whether women are prepared to meet the same physical standards as their male counterparts. The incident at the funeral raised an uncomfortable truth: equality is not just about access to power but about bearing the responsibilities and sacrifices that come with it. Equality in ranks is a desire for equal treatment without a corresponding understanding of the burdens that equality entails.

Moths don’t just chase light,they surrender to it. Similarly, true equality demands equal accountability, not just equal rewards. A man and woman may walk the same battlefield, but if only one is expected to protect and the other is excused at the first sign of fire, then what we have is appearance, not essence.

Some strands of modern gender discourse argue that simply entering traditionally male domains such as corporate boardrooms, or political power, is enough to claim equal footing. But when the flames of responsibility, physical risk, or social backlash appear, the narrative shifts: “We are different, we need protection, we need exceptions.”

Equal pay is a concept being pushed by the pseudo-feminist group. Many countries have a legislations passed to ensure pay parity among genders. However the concept of equal pay itself is subject to many limitations. Any comparison has to consider the following factors:

Most comparisons do not even consider the demands made by particular position.

In many countries, there is a push for gender quotas in political offices. The argument is that women are underrepresented in government, and therefore, affirmative action is needed to achieve gender parity. But the question remains:

Do women need special treatment to enter politics, or should they be expected to compete on the same terms as men?

In some Scandinavian countries, women have been given preferential treatment in political positions through gender quotas, yet the results are controversial. Many of the women chosen through these quotas are often seen as unqualified or as being appointed solely based on their gender. This sets a dangerous precedent: Are we truly promoting equality, or are we simply awarding positions to women because they are women? In most cases, it becomes less about the merit of candidates and more about satisfying political correctness.

This is not equality; but the fly pretending to be a moth, wanting the title without the trial, the light without the loss.*

True feminism whose essence is to empower women and prevent their exploitation has been reduced to "gender equality"

Men and women are not the same and they should not be either. One provides and the other nurtures. Treating them as equal is simply silly.

Regardless, in principle, if they are to be treated equal, then do so only if both burn with the same intensity.

All their lives men are taught how to treat women and not what to expect out of them and all their lives women are taught what to expect from men and not how to treat them. If one group is taught that sacrifice is expected, and the other is taught that safety is a right, then equality is a farce that society is dressing up as truth. The flies want to be named moths without understanding the deeper code that governs them.

Ultimately, the story of the moths and flies is a cautionary tale for modern feminism. The flies want to be treated like moths, but they don’t understand the price of that treatment. True equality is not about seeking the light, but about being willing to burn in it. It is about facing the consequences, carrying the burdens, and sacrificing as much as the other. Feminism, at its core, should be about empowering women to take on the same challenges, risks, and responsibilities as men—not simply demanding access to rewards without understanding the price. Until we are willing to carry the flame together—equally sharing in the sacrifices—true equality will remain an illusion.

To seek light is indeed noble but to burn in it is divine.