Pak cleric blames women's 'wrongdoing' for COVID-19

Maulana Tariq Jameel made the remarks during the Ehsaas Telethon fundraising event on Thursday. Prime Minister Imran Khan was present at the event, but did not stop the maulana nor did he question him for making such inflammatory statements.

Islamabad:Pakistan's well-known cleric has passed an inflammatory remark against women in the presence of Prime Minister Imran Khan on live television, claiming that COVID-19 has been unleashed on humanity because of the 'wrongdoing of women'.

The incident took place during the Ehsaas Telethon fundraising event on Thursday. Prime Minister Imran Khan was present when Maulana Tariq Jameel made these remarks. The Prime Minister did not stop him or question him for making such statements.

Jameel also condemned media for disseminating lies but later apologised for that remarks. No such apology was made for his offensive remarks on women.

Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has chided the maulana for inexplicably correlating women's 'modesty' to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"HRCP is appalled at Maulana Tariq Jamil's recent statement inexplicably correlating women's 'modesty' to the COVID-19 pandemic. Such blatant objectification is unacceptable and when aired on public television, only compounds the misogyny entrenched in society," the body tweeted.

Meanwhile, Dawn, in its editorial titled 'Blaming Women' wrote that the statements like this are troubling, adding that they are also aired, unchallenged, from a very high-profile platform.

Dawn said that it is a shame that the maulana was not corrected when he made these offensive comments.

The reality is that women in Pakistan and elsewhere, face systemic discrimination and violence. During this pandemic, domestic abuse cases have soared as women are forced to stay home for extended periods with their tormentors, noted Dawn.

(ANI)