LAHORE: A presence of a large number of women at the funeral of Asma Jahangir has caused an uproar in the country, especially the conservatives finding hard to digest it and creating a conspiracy out of it, while an equal number of people welcomed the change and termed it progressive.
After Asma Jahangir’s abrupt death due to cardiac arrest, many of her female comrades, colleagues and relatives joined the prayer at Qaddafi Stadium, which was led by Syed Haider Farooq Maududi, son of Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) founder Syed Abu’l Al’a Maududi, in the front row.
This, however, did not go down well with the fundamentalists in the country, and they built their argument on ‘women are not allowed to join the funeral’.
Some labelled her “glorious” funeral a pleasant precedent, another called it ‘false priorities’. The often hate-spewing Bol TV also put its oars in.
Farooq Maududi, however, remained steadfast and it was his decision to allow the women to attend the funeral. Speaking to Bol News, he said, “I allowed the women to join the funeral and I stick by it.”
Paying tribute to the iron lady, a Twitter user wrote: “All they did [women] was honour her memory by standing next to men like she did all her life.”
A Twitter user wrote: “Somehow ended up reading comments under a news post regarding #AsmaJahangir Funeral on Facebook. I’m horrified. Actually traumatised is a better word. How can people be so bitter and hateful? Like how do they even carry this amount of hatred in themselves?”
Somehow ended up reading comments under a news post regarding #AsmaJahangirFuneral on facebook. I’m horrified. Actually traumatized is a better word. How can people be so bitter and hateful? Like how do they even carry this amount of hatred in themselves?
— Hira (@hiraahmedsheikh) February 14, 2018
Another user lauded the gathering, being thankful to Asma for reminding women that “funeral is wajib on women too”, while the other cherished the event as a challenge to “depravity and Imamhood”.
Other issues aside ,it is a fillip for humanity to see Pakistani women standing up against Imamhood and depravity.More power to them #AsmaJahangirFuneral .
— kumud chaudhary (@kumudchaudhary1) February 14, 2018
Another wrote women honoured Asma by attending her funeral.
All they did was honour her memory by standing next to men like she did all her life #AsmaJahangirFuneral
— Aima Ahsan (@AimaAhsan) February 14, 2018
One questioned her faith and wrote: “She was not anti-state since she knew the reality of greatest fraud against Indian Muslims in the name of know as Pakistan. Beyond doubt she was ‘anti-Islam’ and fought hard against any attempt of implementing Islamic laws in Pakistan.
One of the users at Twitter made an analogy between misogyny and secularism on the pretext of her funeral, while others called her a ‘traitor’ and chided media for her ‘glorification’. The Twitter user also said that her activism to help those in need was an attempt to weaken institutions.
Daughters of #AsmaJahangir in front row of a janaza and not knowing basics of salah.
And they wanted a state funeral for this self admitting secular woman.??#AsmaJahangirFuneral https://t.co/NxxewCwfLX— MK Efendi (@M0Skhan) February 13, 2018