Pakistani actor Hina Bayat has voiced her condemnation on Instagram regarding a mob incident in Lahore, where a woman was harassed over her attire, mistakenly perceived to contain blasphemous content. The confrontation occurred in Lahore’s Ichra Bazaar, sparked by a kurta the woman wore, adorned with Arabic calligraphy that was misconstrued by an angry mob.
In her impassioned video message, Bayat criticized the mob’s quick judgment and their self-appointed role as religious guardians. She highlighted the irony of the situation, where the mob demanded an apology from the woman, whereas, in her view, it is the men who falsely accused her of blasphemy who should be apologizing. Bayat called for accountability and punitive measures against those who harassed the woman, to prevent such overreaches in the future.
Bayat’s call to action extends to upholding women’s safety and dignity, emphasizing the need for a legal framework that deters such incidents in a country that claims to adhere to Islamic principles. She advocates for the enforcement of laws that protect women and the abolition of those that facilitate their harassment.
The incident, which gained traction on social media, saw the woman seeking shelter in a shop, denying any blasphemous intentions. The timely intervention of the police, led by ASP Syeda Shehrbano Naqvi, defused the situation, reassuring the crowd that no blasphemous act had taken place.
The calligraphy, upon official verification, turned out to signify ‘halwa’—a term denoting sincerity, love, and humanity, and not any religious scripture. The woman, distressed by the allegations, stated her profound respect for Islam, countering the accusations leveled against her.
