New Delhi: ‘Halwa’ has become a flashpoint for blasphemy in Pakistan. A woman wearing a kurta with Arabic lettering was attacked by an angry mob in Lahore Sunday. They claimed she was hurting religious sentiments. She had to be rescued by the local police, led by Gulber Circle ASP Syeda Shehrbano Naqvi.
The mob hadn’t bothered to read the text, they just assumed that they were verses from the Quran. But the lettering on the kurta was the Arabic word halwa, meaning sweet, repeated multiple times. But the woman still had to publicly apologise in front of two maulvis (clergymen).
Now, there are two things on Pakistanis’ minds: Why was the woman made to apologise and who is the brave policewoman who stood up to the mob?
“Women being made to publicly apologize to assuage the egos of some idiotic men who can’t read Arabic & aren’t willing to admit their own mistake. Sounds familiar. (And no, I don’t blame the police officers for this. I blame the state that allowed such ignorance to flourish.),” sociologist Nida Kirmani posted on X.
The Arabic print wasn't a Quranic verse, yet the poor woman has to apologise for "people thought it was blasphemous." pic.twitter.com/qq3g583q3S
— Naila Inayat (@nailainayat) February 25, 2024
In videos of the incident shared online, the woman, seated in the corner of a restaurant, looks visibly distressed by the mob.
Lahore ⚠️ another drama.
The woman was surrounded by people because there were names in Arabic on her wristbands, some are saying verses of Qur'an.
Actually, it's not. That's just simple Arabic words not regarding religion. حلوة means beautiful, random Arabic words.
The… pic.twitter.com/Q1rCsi3Gp2
— Barister Sidra Qayyum (@Shr_9998) February 25, 2024
In another, police officers have surrounded her, creating a barrier between her and a gathering crowd demanding that she remove her kurta. In several videos, individuals can be heard chanting that blasphemers should be executed.
Also Read: One place in Pakistan where blasphemy laws won’t haunt you—in your dreams
Star policewoman
As a charged mob gathered, shopkeepers who knew such prints were fashionable and unrelated to religion hid her in one of their shops. Clothes with Arabic calligraphy are widely available in the Gulf states, including Saudi Arabia. Despite the woman’s denial that she committed blasphemy, numerous members of the crowd remained sceptical, Dawn reported.
Officer Naqvi calmed the crowd down and “put her life in danger” to rescue the woman. The woman was later taken to the police station where several religious scholars interpreted the text and confirmed that it was Arabic calligraphy and not Quranic verses.
The Chief of Punjab police is now calling for Naqvi to receive an award for her bravery.
“ASP Sherbano’s daring effort to save a woman from a lynch mob shows the importance of inducting qualified women within the state apparatus. Pakistan is doomed if we do not give exemplary punishments for false blasphemy charges that are ripping apart the fabric of our society”, activist Ammar Ali Jan posted on X.
Making her way through the mob, Naqvi tried to reason with the men, imploring them to ‘have faith in the police’ and not take the law into their own hands and went on to rescue the woman.
The officer told BBC that nobody actually knew what was written on the shirt.
“A group of men saw the woman’s dress with Arabic text on it while she was out shopping and demanded that she take it off, believing it to be blasphemy,” she said.
Supporters of the far-right Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) party, whose members frequently demand the beheading of blasphemers, were present in the mob.
“Had I not screamed and had I not convinced the crowd that we will do something about it, it would have turned nastier,” she said.
“ASP Shehrbano must be rewarded at the state level so that her courage sets an example for the officers who choose to act as silent spectators when blasphemy-accused individuals are attacked by mobs,” an X user wrote.
Also Read: I love the Prophet, but I was never taught blasphemy is punishable. Yet Pakistan does it
Rising violence
The question that Pakistanis now have is why the woman had to apologise in the first place.
“Apologise for what? She committed no crime,” Taimur Rahman, Lahore University of Management Sciences professor and activist, asked on Instagram.
Many argued that it was done to pacify the mob, but pointed out that the incident highlights how blasphemy is becoming a tool to harass women.
At least 89 Pakistanis, including 18 women, have been slain in 1,415 cases of blasphemy claims or cases since 1947, according to reports.
Allegations of blasphemy have increased significantly in the last 10 years. In recent years, the abuse of the blasphemy laws has drawn the attention of civil society organisations, international human rights organisations, and Pakistan’s judiciary.
In Jaranwala in 2023, scores of churches and homes were set ablaze after two men were accused of damaging the Quran, showcasing the potential for extreme violence that such allegations carry. The majority of these cases never reach the courts, as vigilante groups often take matters into their own hands, The Interpreter reported.
(Edited by Theres Sudeep)