The human race has pushed its boundaries over the course of history. We have flirted with different ideologies; by adopting some and discarding others. Along with taming the natural environment, we have also travelled to the space; with the idea of conquering it.

Pakistan seems to be going in a different trajectory altogether. Senator Sherry Rehman pointed out how policemen in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were blackening a woman’s image on public display

What’s happening in this photo?

This is a truck featuring an advert somewhere in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It has a woman on the advert too. The police officer in the picture is covering up the woman.

The officer believes, or is ordered by his superiors to do so because the general assumption of a conservative mind is that women in adverts give rise to vulgarity and must be snubbed.

This is what Sherry tweeted:

Sherry Rehman was extremely furious because of this act and thought that it was necessary to bring this up. She also called out Imran Khan and questioned his vision for the Naya Pakistan.

According to her, a Naya Pakistan – where orthodoxy is present – is not acceptable.

Men on Twitter started trolling the Senator for pointing a wrong behavior

People are clearly not happy with what Sherry Rehman pointed out and thought it was necessary to cover up the woman. Although such imagery is quite prevalent in the Pakistani art scene.

https://twitter.com/salkay511/status/931788393914257408

There were some sane minds who were in agreement with Ms. Rehman, too

Important Reminder

The idea that to curtail “vulgarity” or crime against women the society should hide them from public spaces is flawed on so many levels, as can be seen from thousands of years of history of excluding women from public discourse and its consequences.

It is 2017! Pakistan has moved way beyond such petty issues. The image of a woman should not bother anyone nor should it be the cause of distraction. We have had women leaders in this country, and women have taken up different roles. Let us not give space for a reversal of this process. Art, in all its forms, is a very important part of our culture. Such images have been around for so long, and it is not the job of a police officer to cover them up.