Pakistani politicians and activists applauded on Saturday, April 28, a government ban of a play ridiculing the traditional veil or burqa, saying free speech is guaranteed in the country as long as it does not trespass on religious sensibilities.
"Islam orders Muslim women to cover their bodies properly. Though, the burqa is a cultural norm, and Islam has not ordered for that, however, still nobody has the right to ridicule the cultural norms followed by the majority of the people," State Minister for Special Education Aneesa Zaib Tahirkheli.
Pakistan's culture ministry imposed a nationwide ban on the "Burqavaganza" play on Thursday, April 26, amid resentment from the theatre director, Madiha Gohar, who argued that such decisions are running against the enlightenment policy of President General Pervez Musharraf.
Culture Minister Ghazi Gulab Jamal told the national assembly that he had called for video cassettes and CDs of the play and that the Punjab provincial government had been told "not to allow any more shows (of the drama) until we have examined it" to decide if its contents were objectionable on religious or cultural grounds.
"Burqa is part of our culture and nobody could be allowed to make a fun of it. The government can permanently ban the drama and cancel the license of its producers," added Tahirkheli. The sarcastic play was staged this month by Ajoka Theatre at the Arts Council in the eastern city of Lahore, known as the country's cultural capital.
The play contains highly objectionable scenes and remarks against Burqa. In one scene, a burqa-clad couple is shown exchanging romantic and suggestive sentences. Gohar vowed to challenge the ban in court. She said her group was supporting Musharraf's policy of "enlightened moderation" in Islam but regretted the latest government move against the drama after only five shows.
But Tahirkheli said the government is not against arts, but there are red limits that should not be overstepped. "I want to tell them who are objecting the government's decision (to ban the drama), that being Muslim we have to follow certain limits and regulations. The media by restricting itself within these limits, can easily educate the people. You do not have to confront the local traditions and norms," she said.
MP Ayesha Munawwar for the six-party religious alliance Muttehida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) said Pakistanis would not allow seeing their religion and traditions insulted "in the name of culture." "This drama contains every kind of vulgarity and mockery of Parda (veil). Pakistan is an Islamic country. There is no place for such vulgarity here," Ayesha said.
"This (drama) reflects the hidden desires of these people," she said. "My point of view about this drama is not different than the people of Pakistan. Our forefathers had rendered sacrifices for an Islamic Pakistan, not for a country where Islamic injunctions are assaulted in the name of culture."
Munawwar said Pakistan is a conservative country and liberal-minded people should pay respect to the people's religious sensibilities. "I will advise those people who are promoting such nonsense in the society, not to take shelter of so-called modernism or liberalism. They should simply move to that country, where they can do this with impunity," she said.
Nihal Hashmi, a lawyer and prominent member of Pakistan Muslim League (N), agreed. "People like Madiha Gohar should move to India or UK or any other non- Muslim country, which are better places for them. Pakistan has been built in the name of Islam, and Those who are making the mockery of Islamic tenets, they have no place to live here," she fumed.
Hashmi said "Who has given the right to her (Ms Gohar) to represent Pakistani society. She belongs to a very minor westernized class, who has nothing to do with local culture and norms. Even she does not represent herself,".
Hashmi wondered why anti-Islam slurs often go unpunished in the country. "If someone speaks against the army, he is charged with treason. Similarly, if you speak against the court judgment, you are charged with contempt of court. But if someone speaks against Islamic beliefs, it is a much bigger crime, and we cannot afford that," she said.
Saadia Aqueel, a Karachi-based lawyer, dismissed the play and its ilk as a sort of "cultural terror.""This is just because of the so-called enlightening moderation policy of General Musharraf, which has encouraged every tom, dick and hurry to unleash a reign of cultural terror against Muslims," she charged. Aqueel also blasted the play as dull and uncreative in artistic terms.
"The basic purpose of the any theatre drama or documentary is to educate the people and not to confuse or enrage them. What she is doing, is totally ridiculous and has nothing to do with creativity," she said. She accused Gohar and her companions of following a Western agenda and trying to instill their propaganda.
"Their minds and hearts do not match with ours. Physically, they do belong to Pakistan, but their hearts and minds have been captured by the ideologies of western culture," added Aqueel, who holds a PhD from North Western
University, Chicago.
Aqueel said when Pakistanis revolt against obscenity, it is extremism, but when other peoples like Indians do the same, it is conservatism, citing the recent row in India over the public kissing between actress Shilpa Sethi and Hollywood superstar Richard Gere. "Shilpa is paid for objectionable scenes in films, and it was not a big deal for her
when she was kissed publicly. But because it was not acceptable in Indian Hindu culture, the people burst out against that. Will u call them extremists or fundamentalists too?" she wondered.
Agencies
Our button
print version
