This Pakistani Woman Police Officer Saved A Woman Being Harassed For Wearing A Dress With Arabic Script
The woman was being harassed by an angry mob who mistook the Arabic calligraphy on her dress for Quran verses.
A woman police officer in Pakistan is being praised for rescuing another woman who was harassed for wearing a dress with Arabic calligraphy.
On Sunday, Feb. 25, while visiting a restaurant with her husband in Lahore’s Ichra Bazaar, the woman was harassed by an angry mob who mistook the Arabic calligraphy for Quran verses.
The men accused her of blasphemy and demanded she remove the dress.
In Pakistan, where Islam is the predominant religion, blasphemy is a highly sensitive subject, and people accused of insulting Islam or its figures may face severe punishment, including the death penalty.
A viral video clip shows the woman, seemingly afraid, rushing into a nearby shop, covering her face with her hands as the crowd shouts at her.
Punjab police shared the video of the rescue, when the woman officer, Shehr Bano can be seen urging the crowd to refrain from resorting to violence.
Intervening swiftly, the woman officer, Bano then entered the shop and escorted the woman out in a burqa.
“At 1:30 pm, we received a call about a blasphemous act near Pakistan Chowk in Ichra,” Bano told Pakistani outlet Dawn. “The caller chose to stay anonymous and just mentioned that a woman was wearing a dress with calligraphy that, God forbid, seemed to be Quranic verses.”
“At that time, our survival instinct kicked in that we need to get the woman out of here. We arranged a burqa, covered her face and told people not to take the law into their hands,” Bano said.
The police have denied the allegations of blasphemy, stressing that the Arabic calligraphy on the woman’s dress spelled “Halwa,” which is not a sacred word.
“The word literally means sincerity, love, goodness, life, humanity,” Bano said.
The woman was later taken to the police station, where she apologized and said she meant no disrespect, adding that she had bought the dress because she liked its design.
Bano’s actions have been widely praised, including by senior politicians.
Punjab police have also recommended her for the Quaid-e-Azam Police Medal, the highest gallantry award for law enforcement in Pakistan.
