A prominent Pakistani cleric has stoked controversy after his remarks relating to the coronavirus pandemic’ which he claimed was because of God’s wrath over increasing obscenity and nudity.
Rights activists and members of civil society condemned the remarks made by Maulana Tariq Jamil on national television during Prime Minister Imran Khan’s telethon on Thursday to raise funds for eople affected by Covid-19.
Maulana Jamil, who has a huge following in Pakistan, said, “Obscenity and nudity are the reasons behind God’s wrath in the form of coronavirus.”
“Who is making my nation’s daughters dance. Their dresses are getting shortened. Allah sends his wrath when obscenity is common in the society,” he said.
The remarks have been called “callous and demeaning” to women.
Barrister Maleeka Bokhari, parliamentary secretary of law and justice, tweeted: “The spread of a pandemic must never and under no circumstances be correlated or linked to a woman’s piety or morality. It is dangerous to make this correlation as violent crimes against women/girls continue to take place with impunity.”
Federal minister of human rights Shireen Mazari said: “We will not accept the targeting of women on the pretext of such ludicrous accusations. We in Pakistan have fought hard for claiming our rights as enshrined in the Constitution of Pakistan.”
