Punjab CM says those who 'raise their hand against a helpless woman' will suffer the same fate

Why This Matters

Key context: <p>Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz said on Monday that those who dared to “raise their hand against a helpless woman” would suffer the same fate.</p> <p>“Dare to raise your hand against a helpless woman who leaves her home every day to earn an honest living, and be prepared to face the same humiliation. She will have the right and the opportunity to slap you back,” she said in a post on the social media platform X.</p> <figure class='media w-full w-full media-- media--embed media--uneven media--tweet' data-original-src='https://x.com/MaryamNSharif/status/2119804628842025106'> <div class='media__item media__item--twitter '><span> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"> <a href="https://twitter.com/MaryamNSharif/status/2119804628842025106"></a> </blockquote> </span></div> </figure> <p>Her comments came in response to a video of a man physically assaulting a salesgirl. According to a statement from Faisalabad police on Monday, the incident took place at Kohinoor Plaza. It said the salesgirl had informed the man that the shop was exclusively meant for women; CCTV footage shared by police on X showed that it was a lingerie shop.</p> <p>Police said the “enraged” man then physically assaulted the girl, with CCTV footage showing him yanking her from behind the counter and eventually throwing her to the ground. The statement added that the suspect had been arrested and legal proceedings had been initiated against him.</p> <p>According to the information shared in a visual post by the Punjab chief minister, the incident took place on Nov 8. It added that the shop owner had come to the store to collect rent, when the girl asked him to leave as it was a lingerie shop and contact the business owner.</p> <p>“No one, no matter how wealthy, influential, or powerful, can now intimidate, exploit or harm an ordinary citizen with impunity. The state will stand firmly with the vulnerable and respond decisively to those who misuse their power,” CM Maryam asserted on X, also sharing a video of the alleged victim hitting the suspect in question.</p> <p>“The days of the powerful getting away with abusing the powerless are over. The state will hit back!” she said.</p> <p>A first information report (FIR), available with <em>Dawn</em>, was filed on the woman’s complaint at the Madina Town police station on Monday.</p> <p>It invoked Sections 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) and 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).</p> <p>In the FIR, the woman said she was working as an employee as usual at a lingerie shop on Nov 8, when the shop’s owner came to receive the rent. The woman explained that the rent was paid in instalments on various dates, so she paid him Rs5,000 and asked him to seek the rest later.</p> <p>She alleged that the man escalated the matter and “started arguing about taxes”, at which point she told him that as a mere employee, she did not have the authority to decide on tax-related matters and urged him to speak to the business owner.</p> <p>The woman said the man “adopted extremely unethical and insulting behaviour” with her and threatened to slap her. Despite her repeatedly telling him to take up the matter with the owner, the man began physically assaulting her and kicked her, the FIR said.</p> <p>Last month, CM Maryam also took notice of a man who physically assaulted a <a href="https://www.dawn.com/news/2039490">woman riding a scooty</a> on Mozang Ring Road in Lahore.</p> <p>At the time, she said he had spoken to the victim and told her “she should slap the man as many times as he had slapped her”.</p> <p>“But she said that, for her, it was enough that the government had made her feel protected, cared for, and assured that justice was on her side,” CM Maryam said. She had later also expressed displeasure at the suspect being granted bail.</p> <figure class='media w-full w-full media-- media--embed media--uneven media--tweet' data-original-src='https://x.com/MaryamNSharif/status/2113918756607115583'> <div class='media__item media__item--twitter '><span> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"> <a href="https://twitter.com/MaryamNSharif/status/2113918756607115583"></a> </blockquote> </span></div> </figure> <p>In a similar incident last month, a man was accused of <a href="https://www.dawn.com/news/2028716"><u>assaulting</u></a> a petrol pump employee in Lahore. CM Maryam then shared a video of the employee slapping the arrested suspect while a cop attempted to stop him.</p> <p>“This is a tight slap in the face of those entitled, spoiled brats who look down upon the poor as if they were lesser human beings,” CM Maryam said.</p> <p>“They arrogantly believe that money and power put them above the law, allowing them to exploit, intimidate, and act with impunity,” she added.</p> <p>The chief minister declared that she stood “firmly with the oppressed, regardless of how powerful their oppressors may be”.</p> <figure class='media w-full w-full media-- media--embed media--uneven media--tweet' data-original-src='https://x.com/MaryamNSharif/status/2113665205234540562'> <div class='media__item media__item--twitter '><span> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"> <a href="https://twitter.com/MaryamNSharif/status/2113665205234540562"></a> </blockquote> </span></div> </figure> This development from dawn.com highlights ongoing changes in the sector.