Bannu (Pakistan) Bannu (Pakistan) 27 : After protests led by Islamists as well as religious leaders who claimed that a park “spreading obscenity and vulgarity” the authorities in Bannu, Pakistani city of Bannu have shut down the area, according to media reports stated.The decision has caused an outrage in women who have claimed that the decision is illegal and are urging authorities to resist the pressure of clerics who are hard-line, RFE/RL reported.
The move was viewed by observers as part of an overall campaign from Islamists to promote Talibanisation, which is a term used to describe the growing Islamic fundamentalism in the majority Muslim Pakistan that is influenced by the Taliban’s repressive rule in neighboring Afghanistan The report said.
“This is a cruel and unconstitutional act” stated Natasha Suman, a local activist and lawyer.
“No one is able to restrict our freedom of movement,” added Suman, noting that the Pakistani Constitution permits freedom of movement for all citizens.
Female activists claimed that only women as well as girls and young children were allowed to enter the park, while boys older than 12 years old of 12 weren’t allowed in.They also claimed that all female visitors were required to wear the burqa, or hijab, all-encompassing, in line with conservative Islamic customs, RFE/RL reported.
The park was shut down by the authorities on the 23rd of August two days following Islamic clergy and leaders staged demonstrations in the city.
Many thousands of protesters filled the streets, causing chaos in areas of the city.
The protests occurred one week after pictures surfaced on social media of burqa-clad women waiting in line outside the crowded Jinnah Family Park to celebrate Independence Day on August 14 which drew the fury of the left-wingers.
The Jinnah Family Park is located in an army cantonment, a section of the city controlled by the military.The park was open to the public a few years ago, RFE/RL reported.
The move has been astonished female lawmakers and political activists.
“We don’t want anyone to remove our right to privacy through accusing women of disseminating sexual obscenity,” said Syeda Yasmin Safdar who is who is a participant of the Pakistan Peoples Party in Bannu.
Safdar declared that the park was a desperately needed place for public use by women in the city that is crowded with.The park is surrounded with high walls of concrete and topped by barbed wire, which hides women female visitors from the public eye.
Sadfar said that if clerics had concerns about intruders coming into the park or women in the park being exposed to the public, the authorities should have dealt with these concerns instead of closing the park off.
Ihtesham Afghan is a political activist in Bannu Ihtesham Afghan, said that the campaign to shut down the women’s playground is part of an organized effort by Islamists to imitate the Taliban’s brutal policy in Afghanistan.
“Whatever takes place in Afghanistan directly affects Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” said Afghan in reference to the northern Pakistani province that shares a border with Afghanistan.
“We are concerned that Bannu is currently in the middle of the war of Talibanisation.”
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