Asma Jahangir, a prominent lawyer and human rights activist, passed away on the 11th of February.
Asma worked with the United Nations on Freedom of Religion or Belief and co-founded and chaired Human Rights Commission in Pakistan.
Asma died of a cardiac arrest and her funeral was held at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore and was attended by a large number of prominent personalities including Khurshid Kasuri, Qamar Zaman Kaira and Jugnu Mohsin.
People of all religion, castes, and creed were seen at her funeral – women and men standing together in the front row – and Pakistanis objected to that over social media. Asma Jahangir was a woman who worked against injustice and discrimination but even on her funeral, the issue of Muslim and Non-Muslim women attending the namaz-e-janaza became a major topic:
https://www.facebook.com/amjad.rafiq.ppp/posts/1621463044587522
Chief Minister’s Strategic Reforms Unit put up banners to commemorate the loss:
https://twitter.com/UmarCheema1/status/963336663102578688?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.parhlo.com%2Fasma-jahangirs-namaz-e-janaza-stirring-controversies%2F
Renowned Indian film director Mahesh Bhatt tweeted:
https://twitter.com/MaheshNBhatt/status/962641441297190913?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.parhlo.com%2Fasma-jahangirs-namaz-e-janaza-stirring-controversies%2F
Asma’s daughter once said that all her life, her mother worked for others but never for herself. Asma once said herself that she is against religious extremism and she believes in secularism and humanity. It saddens us to see how a funeral – be it anyone’s can be targeted this way.
