Men should be banned from public places, says Bakhtawar after Lahore incident

The horrific incident of harassment and molestation of a woman TikTok star at Minar-e-Pakistan on Independence Day seems to have shaken the entire nation.

Unfortunately, new cases are surfacing every day and women are sharing disturbing experiences of being publicly harassed and humiliated.

A woman journalist says she faced harassment at a public place in Karachi. Journalist Sabin Agha took to Twitter to report an incident where she was harassed and gropped by over 100 men at Mazar-e-Quaid when she was reporting from the national monument on Independence Day, many years ago.

#Thread
I am not Titokr or Youtuber. I am #journalist. I went to Mazar Quaid in khi for reporting on #14AugustAzadiDay few years ago.
I was reporting, doing my job, not hurling #kisses as this victim blaming nation is accusing that tiktoker girl. 1/

— Sabin Agha (@sabin_journo) August 20, 2021

At one point someone tried to wrap my duppatta around my neck to choke me, all the while gropping me with hysterical laughs and every existing cussword hurled at me. When someone grabbed my arm & pulled me outside that mob of sexually frustrated boys & men.
3/

— Sabin Agha (@sabin_journo) August 20, 2021

Wit shaking nervs & body I went to police van standing at dorstep of Mazar Quaid, who watched the entire episode. Iasked them y did they not come to help. Police response: "bibi hum 4 hay aur wo 150. Hum kese rok sktay thy. Ap ayee kiyun" 4/ #yesallmen #minarepakistanincident

— Sabin Agha (@sabin_journo) August 20, 2021

Responding to Sabin's tweets, late Benazir Bhutto's daughter Bakhtawar Bhutto Zardari shared her two cents on the matter.

She slammed the system that fails to hold the perpetrators accountable and appealed to the government to ban men from public places.

“Another harrowing experience – witnessed by police who refused to help despite their ability to call for backup as well as use weapons to disperse the crowd. Trusted to help & instead complicit."

Another harrowing experience - witnessed by police who refused to help despite their ability to call for back up as well as use weapons to disperse crowd. Trusted to help & instead complicit. Men should be banned from public spaces. We need more women to safeguard women. https://t.co/kIqDE3KSYa

— Bakhtawar B-Zardari (@BakhtawarBZ) August 21, 2021

"Men should be banned from public spaces. We need more women to safeguard women,” the 31-year-old wrote.

Earlier, a mob of 400 men harassed and assaulted a woman at Lahore’s Greater Iqbal Park on Independence Day. The horrifying videos spread on the internet like a wildfire and the incident was labelled 'inhumane' and 'tragic’.

Politicians, celebrities and netizens strongly condemned the incident. A case has been registered against 400 unidentified people for assaulting the woman.

The FIR has been registered under Sections 354 A, 382, 147, and 149 of the Pakistan Penal Code.