Shattered Victim Of Minar-E-Pakistan: On August 14, 2021, while the nation was celebrating Pakistan’s 74th Independence Day, 400 ‘non- robotic’ men in the heart of Lahore celebrated by attacking a woman at a public place, who was there with her friends to get some good footage for a video. These men proved that women are the problem. They excite men by their mere presence, and that public spaces are not meant for women. In fact, their action once again proved that there is no place in the country that women of Pakistan can call SAFE.
Police registered a case against hundreds of Pakistani men for assaulting and stealing from a female TikToker and her companions at the city’s Greater Iqbal Park. Ayesha Akram, the victim, describes what happened at Minar-e-Pakistan in an interview with Daily Pakistan following the incident.
The incident also raises several questions about women’s freedom and safety in Pakistan. The woman has been identified as a TikToker. Netizens have also reacted with rage to a video of the incident, which was being circulated on social media.
The first information report (FIR) has been registered at the Lorry Adda police station, a Dawn report said. In the FIR, the complainant shared that she and her six companions were attacked by around 300 to 400 people while filming a video near Minar-e-Pakistan on Independence Day.
The woman and her companions made several efforts to avert the crowd but to no avail. “People were pushing and pulling me to the extent that they tore my clothes. Several people tried to help me but the crowd was too huge and they kept throwing me in the air,” she said.
“I can’t believe what I just saw! I’ve said it before and I will say it again – make an example out of these men!” wrote Mahira Khan sternly. In another tweet, she continued sarcastically, “Damn, I’m sorry, I keep forgetting – it was HER fault! Poor 400 men, they couldn’t help it.”
If you believe women are equal citizens of this country, then prove it with strong legislation and safety mechanisms that would make women feel safe anywhere at any time of the day.
The woman at Minar-e-Pakistan wasn’t dressed ‘inappropriately’ as some would have loved to argue, and yet she fell victim to a mob of maniacs. With this incident, the claims that ‘Pakistan is the safest place for women, and that ‘we know how to respect women’ don’t hold true. Time to act and prove your claims.
