On August 22, 2021, the Parks and Horticulture Authority (PHA) of the Punjab province in Pakistan announced that Tiktokers are banned from entering public parks. The decision was made during a meeting of the PHA officials on the same day.
The ban against social media influencers on Tiktok comes after the incident in Minar-e-Pakistan on August 14. Minar-e-Pakistan, located in the Greater Iqbal Park in Lahore, is a national monument dedicated to the first call for a separate Muslim state. The national monument attracts visitors with its central tower surrounded by beautiful parks. It also serves as an attractive backdrop for social media influencers.
The incident happened during Pakistan’s Independence Day on August 14, 2021. According to the unnamed Tiktoker, close to 400 people attacked her and her six companions. She explained that they were shooting videos to share on Tiktok when the crowd began gathering around them. They tried to escape, but they were encircled, and the crowd kept growing bigger.
On the First Information Report (FIR) filed at the police station in Lorry Adda, the Tiktoker claimed that she was passed around and was thrown into the air multiple times. The attack was so severe that she was almost stripped naked and even had some of her jewelry stolen. The woman added that her companion’s phone was also forcibly taken. The FIR was filed under Pakistan’s Penal Code sections 354A, 382, 147, and 149.
In a country that recently passed anti-rape laws that are expected of any civilized state, the Minar-e incident comes not as a surprise but as a call to further strengthen the state’s legal capacity to promote and protect women’s rights. Pakistan’s Prime Minister, Imran Khan, has not played an effective role in the matter. In June, outrage blew over the Prime Minister’s comment blaming rape victims.
In an interview with Axios, Khan commented on his victim blaming, calling it “nonsense.” He also supported a social implementation of purdah as the proper solution. Khan added that women should not “add temptation to the society” because Pakistan has no discos and no nightclubs, and therefore the society in Pakistan is very different. He continued that women that are “wearing very few clothes” will have an effect on men.
Anchor: You were accused of rape victim blaming, how do you respond to that ?
Here is complete Answer ..
Listen carefully and don't fall for the petty Propaganda against Prime Minister Imran Khan.
— MNA (@Engr_Naveed111) June 21, 2021
The Prime Minister’s administration tried to defend his statements by highlighting the groundbreaking anti-rape laws passed under his administration. Critics, however, can’t help but notice the action of the Punjab Province’s government is very reminiscent of the Prime Minister’s views on rape and sexual abuse. Instead of addressing the heart of the issue that caused the Minar-e incident, the PHA has opted instead to cast out the victims.
