A Pakistan Tribal Council Wants To Ban Women From Tourist Places Because It’s ‘Unethical’. And Strangling Women’s Freedoms Is Not?
No matter how modern or orthodox the country you live in is, the fact is that they all love telling women what they can or cannot do. Just take the instance of Afghanistan. Ever since the Taliba took over, the basic human and fundamental rights of women are being violated. And even if you look at a country like the United States, the recent overturning of the Roe v Wade case that grabbed the headlines also is taking back their fundamental rights. And if you want a recent example, then look at Pakistan. A trouble council in Pakistan has decided to bar women from visiting tourist spots and entertainment places as they are “unethical” and against Islamic principles. Really?
On Saturday, the all-male jirga aka tribal council of local elders of Salarzai tehsil in Bajaur tribal district in Pakistan, which is known for its ultra-conservative outlook, announced that women should be barred from visiting public places for tourism and entertainment as it is “unethical” and against the Islamic principles.
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The tribal council also added that if the Pakistan government does not implement their decision of barring women from tourism and entertainment places then the jirga members would take things into their own hands and impose them themselves.
As per reports, the tribal council that is organized by the local chapter of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl, which is also one of the main members of the ruling coalition government, announced this move just days after Pakistan was ranked as the second worst country in terms of gender parity in the world as well as the region by the World Economic Forum.
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On Saturday, while addressing the gathering JUI-F district chief Maulana Abdur Rasheed along with other speakers highlighted that they were there to discuss several issues of the region that emerged during Eid. They said that besides men, there were many local women with either their husbands, other relatives or separately had visited different tourist and picnic places during the Eid holidays in the region in Pakistan and this was done in order to go on boat rides and attend musical concerts. However, they claimed that these practices were against the local customs and traditions that are “based on Islamic principles”.
The tribal council in Pakistan said that women visiting such places were “totally unethical and unacceptable” as there is no room for such activities in Islam and even their local traditions. Hence, their concern over the women’s movement has led to this ban.
First Published: July 18, 2022 12:41 PM
