IN his speech to the UN General Assembly on Friday, Prime Minister Imran Khan rightly highlighted the fact that the scourge of Islamophobia is growing, and Muslims are being targeted in various parts of the world. He made particular mention of the worrying condition of Muslims in India where — under the BJP’s watch — a majoritarian wave has gripped the country and Indian Muslims are being singled out as ‘outsiders’ by the Hindu ultra-right, from which the BJP has sprung. Moreover, Islamophobic sentiment in the West is also growing, fuelled by a number of factors, including increased immigration and as a reaction to the acts of violence unleashed by Islamist militant groups on Western soil.
Where the situation in India is concerned, Narendra Modi and company have very carefully peeled away nearly all vestiges of secularism in their effort to rechristen the state as a Hindu rashtra. Under this scheme of things, Muslims are eternal outsiders and not worthy of full citizenship. The Indian state’s anti-Muslim policies have manifested themselves in legal edicts that seek to strip members of the community of citizenship, as well as lack of action where punishing perpetrators of violence against Muslims is concerned. In fact, senior Indian government functionaries have made comments regarding Muslims that in any civilised set-up would qualify as hate speech. The passage of laws designed to make it harder for Muslims to retain their citizenship; the lack of punishment for cow vigilantes; and the brutal siege of India-held Kashmir are all stark reminders of what it is like for Muslims to live in Mr Modi’s India, as most of the world ignores this grim reality.
While in India’s case anti-Muslim policies are being promoted by the state, in the West hatred is being stirred up mostly in reaction to the atrocious violence perpetrated by extremists in the name of Islam. Unfortunately, the brutality of Al Qaeda, IS and similar outfits is affecting the way non-Muslims in the West look at Islam, especially when fighters affiliated to these groups carry out acts of terrorism in Western states. This feeds the toxic narrative of the ultra-right in the US, Europe and elsewhere, whereby all Muslims are tarred with the same brush. As the prime minister has said, there is a need to address Islamophobia. This can be done through greater dialogue between the West and the Muslim world. It needs to be communicated clearly that those who act violently in the name of Islam do not represent the majority of Muslims. In fact, many of these groups have capitalised on the pitiful sociopolitical and economic conditions across the Muslim world, as well as failed Western attempts at nation-building in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria etc. Also, the West must realise that republishing offensive caricatures or similar acts that offend Muslim sensitivities will only encourage extremism, and must be discouraged.
Harassing journalists
UNCONFIRMED reports this week of cases being registered against dozens of journalists under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016, sparked panic and elicited condemnations from both members of the media and rights groups.
Fortunately, Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari later clarified on Twitter that the reports were untrue, and that the Federal Investigation Agency had not registered cases against journalists and activists, but that a private citizen had complained about 12 members of the media.
While the clarification brought some relief, the episode underscores the climate of fear in which journalists operate. It also reminds us of the spate of cases that have been filed against journalists in recent weeks.
In early September, an FIR was registered against journalist Asad Toor for posting “negative propaganda” against institutions and the army on his social media account. In the same period, a sedition case was registered against journalist and former Pemra chairman Absar Alam. Prior to this, journalist Bilal Farooqi of The Express Tribune was detained by police for allegedly “objectionable” material on social media which “defamed” the army.
A gift of the PML-N government in 2016, the draconian Peca has become for the authorities a convenient tool with which to silence criticism. In the guise of protecting the people, Peca has enabled the state to protect itself by blocking criticism and stripping citizens of their rights. It is the most sinister cybercrime legislation in the country as it goes beyond just computer-related crimes and gives authorities the licence to criminalise, restrict and prosecute free speech. Not only does it restrict freedom of expression online, it is now increasingly being used to attempt to jail journalists.
Section 37 of the Act gives sweeping powers to the PTA to block or remove online content, whereas Section 20 introduces criminal defamation through an ambiguous section with a three-year jail term and a hefty fine — both strong indicators of the legal framework for the erosion of free speech. As a result of this law and the way it is used, the media is experiencing an unprecedented wave of both imposed restrictions and self-censorship.
There is an urgent need for lawmakers to address this and take action — the first step of which should be the passing of the human rights ministry’s comprehensive bill on the protection of journalists; the bill has been lying with the law ministry for months. Condemnation of individual cases of intimidation is not enough.
Children of the nation
EACH day brings new sorrow. On Friday, a minor boy’s lifeless body was discovered inside a cloth bag by residents of Karachi’s Federal B Area. The child had gone missing the evening before. Instead of reporting to the police, however, the area’s residents took matters into their own hands. While searching for the boy, they came across a neighbour carrying a cloth bag, and found the child’s body inside it. Doctors confirmed the parents’ worst nightmare: the boy had been subjected to sexual abuse before he was murdered. Prior to this, the rape and murder of five-year-old Marwah in Karachi’s Old Sabzi Mandi area sparked a wave of anger and protests. Her burnt body was found on a garbage heap by police two days after she went missing, reigniting memories of Zainab Ansari of Kasur, whose murder led to the creation of the Zainab Alert Response and Recovery Act, 2020. The law aims to save missing and abducted children through the setting up of the Zainab Alert, Response and Recovery Agency, which will maintain a database, work closely with the 1099 helpline, and send alerts on various print and electronic mediums whenever a child goes missing.
According to NGO Sahil’s most recent report, over eight children were sexually abused each day on average in the first six months of this year. The majority of cases were reported from rural Pakistan (62pc). Punjab reported the highest number (57pc), followed by Sindh (32pc) and KP (6pc). Between January and June 2020, 173 children were gang-raped; and 38 were murdered by their tormentors. Given that these figures only reflect the cases that make it to the newspapers — in a country where it is still taboo to speak about such things and victims are apprehensive about approaching the police — the sheer number of unheard and unspoken stories would give anyone with a conscience sleepless nights. Physical and sexual abuse towards children is widespread, both within and outside the ‘safety’ of the home.
