Valentine's Day under attack in Pakistan
2013-02-14 20:42
Islamabad - Romance is not dead in Pakistan, but it's
under attack.
Conservatives in Pakistan tacked up posters urging people
to boycott Valentine's Day on Thursday, saying it's a western-inspired event
that's spreading vulgarity in their country. Romantics fought back with an
arsenal of flowers, pink teddy bears and heart-shaped balloons.
"Here in this part of Pakistan we are faced with
bomb blasts, and we don't have much opportunity to enjoy and celebrate so to me
it is one of those few occasions to celebrate," said Taimur Hassan, a
29-year-old man working in the north-western city of Peshawar.
He was out buying a gift for his girlfriend, and looking
for something different than a stuffed bear he got her last year.
That's exactly the type of behaviour many of Pakistan's
conservatives are worried about.
For them, Valentine's Day is nothing but an occasion to encourage
illicit relations between the country's young - unmarried - males and females.
It's a sign that Western culture and values are eating
away the fabric of Pakistan's traditional, Islamic society.
Valentine's Day, they say, is not a Pakistani holiday and
not part of the culture here.
In the southern city of Karachi, billboards implored
people to "Say no to Valentine's Day”.
The "no" was encapsulated in a black heart, and
the sign said the holiday reflects insensitivity and ignorance of Islam.
Tanzeem-e-Islami, the organization that put up the
billboards, called on the interior ministry to suspend cell phone service on
the holiday that celebrates love. Group spokesperson Muhammad Samee said many
young people use mobile phones to send Valentine's Day greetings and suspending
the service for the day would save people from "moral terrorism”.
Attitudes toward Valentine's Day, named after a Christian
saint said to have been martyred by the Romans in the 3rd Century, vary across
the Arab world, with some devout Muslims opposing the holiday as a Western
celebration of romantic love that corrupts Muslim youth.
Hafiz Hussain Ahmed, a hard-line Pakistani cleric, warned
that young people who celebrate Valentine's Day will be celebrating children's
births in November.
"In Islam, there is a concept of respecting and
loving mother, sister, wife and daughter for 365 days a year," said Ahmed,
who thinks the holiday breeds vulgarity across the country.
Backlash
Fearing a backlash against the holiday, Pakistani officials
charged with monitoring and censoring television content issued a letter on
Wednesday asking TV stations to be respectful when airing programs on
Valentine's Day.
The letter, issued by the Pakistan Electronic Media
Regulatory Authority, noted that large segments of society do not think the
holiday is in line with Pakistani culture and religion.
However, the instructions were rescinded following a hue
and cry on social media and pressure from TV channels, according to an official
with the regulatory authority.
The official spoke anonymously because he was not
authorized to speak to the media.
In Pakistan, social media like Twitter and Facebook have
increasingly become a way for the country's small, liberal, secular segment of
society to voice their opinions. By midday on Thursday, Valentine's Day was one
of the most popular themes on Twitter.
Despite the earlier regulatory warning, TV channels
didn't seem to be shying away from Valentine's Day programming.
Many featured video of people shopping for presents like
heart-shaped balloons and interviews with helmeted motorcycle riders driving
off with bouquets of flowers.
Mazhar Abbas, director of current affairs at Express
News, said the station hadn't received any complaints on its programming.
Opposition
While Valentine's Day is widely celebrated in some Muslim
countries like the United Arab Emirates, in other areas it's been met with
opposition:
- In Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim country,
government officials and clerics in Jakarta called for young people to skip
Valentine's Day, saying it was an excuse for couples to have forbidden sex.
- In the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, the government opposes
Valentine's Day, but tolerates it. It has not banned people or shops from
celebrating the holiday. Some gift shops, toy stores and flower stores were
selling special Valentine's Day items, but the celebrations are not widespread,
mostly are observed by university students or newlyweds.
- Iranian officials in January banned the import of
Valentine's Day gifts, but people in the capital, Tehran, were still out
purchasing such gifts and making plans for meeting boyfriends or girlfriends
for romantic dinners.
Despite the opposition in Pakistan, Valentine's Day
romanticism - or at least the marketing sentiment - wasn't dampened much in the
capital, Islamabad.
Peddlers
approached cars at stop signs hawking heart-shaped balloons, and the prices at
flower stalls nearly doubled.
Eid Muhammed, a salesman at a gift shop in Peshawar, said
gift card sales had dropped in recent years as people preferred to send text
messages to their loved ones instead. But he said more people were buying gifts
for their sweethearts.
He estimated that about 90% of the customers were young
people, and most were men.
One of the few exceptions was Amina Mahmood, a female
college student, who was buying flowers for a special someone she chose not to
describe.
"Some days are so special that we should not miss
them," she said shyly.
- AP
