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Zamzama hit by burqa-clad thieves
Groups of burqa-clad women with men and children in tow have been shoplifting the length and breadth of Zamazama.
Woman, children hit up to 4 shops one day this week.
KARACHI: Groups of burqa-clad women with men and children in tow have been shoplifting the length and breadth of Zamazama Boulevard, by taking advantage of the hustle and bustle in the small spaces.
Ishaq Memon, who owns a cloth shop, fell victim to one such group that, according to him, stole from others in the area in a single day. “When we discussed the incident among friends and neighbouring shops, we found out that the same group had stolen from four shops in different streets,” he told The Express Tribune.
In one case, a burqa-clad woman haggled over an order, pretending to be a regular customer’s sister. When the regular customer walked in later, the shopkeeper mentioned it to her, only to discover that she was an only child. The burqa-clad woman’s cell phone number was a dead end. A stock check revealed several shirts were missing.
“The problem is that you cannot suspect every woman in a burqa to be a shoplifter,” said Shams Bhatti, a shop owner in lane VI. “You cannot do anything when four women and two men enter your shop and ask the attendants to show them things in different corners.” Most of the time they don’t buy anything. They just excuse themselves and leave quietly. “These women hide the items in their burqas or their bags,” he claimed.
Sometimes the women-dominated group includes men who help ‘distract’ shopkeepers while the women make their move. The number of members of these groups varies. Shopkeepers said they are about six to eight on average.
When shopkeepers suspect them of stealing, they hurry out of the shop and hand over the stolen items to their accomplices waiting outside. “So whenever you stop them for inspection, you have to face humiliation because they have nothing on them,” Bhatti said.
“It is also very difficult for shopkeepers to check the women they suspect as it is extremely disrespectful,” said Abdul Saeed, an official at the Darakshan police station.
These groups have not just restricted themselves to clothes and accessories inside shops, but have also taken off with generators outside. During the last two months, eight generators have been stolen from shops in Zamzama, said Bhatti, quickly adding, “They are not only operating in Zamzama but also in other markets like Gulf Way and the Forum Mall.”
One young woman having coffee at the Forum Mall was deprived of her handbag a little over a month ago. She was sitting with a friend when a group of burqa-clad women squeezed by the small space. It was gone within seconds. “I knew it was them,” she said. “No one else was around at the time.”
Although many shops have installed surveillance cameras the groups somehow dodge them too. It is also difficult for shops to monitor the cameras as well.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 3rd, 2010.
Reader Comments (18)
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simple solution:
hire female guards
install bar codes on products
attend to customers individually
and investigate if the clerks (who have no capital stake in the shop) are or are not ‘in on it’.
Inside jobs are not at all uncommon in the Islamic RepublicRecommend
one more thing web editor, the installation of bar coded products must also come with a detector on the front entrance/s.Recommend
Recite Darood Sharif on these theives & they will be OK & in fact do some shopping also.Recommend
In pakistan anything is possible. It has now acquired the full qualification of a failed state. So shop lifting by burqa or without burqa is a matter to be ignored when you look into other calamities engulfing our poor nation. Our politicians are doing the same thing, but without burqa. From the president to an ordinary policeman , all are thiefs. So dont attack burqa clad shop liftersRecommend
Mr. Khan, wow what a solution? You think God will come down & catch the thieves for you. You our problem is that we leave everything for GOD to do for us.
Please wake up! First of all Burqa is got nothing to do with Islam, it predates Islam in Arabian Peninsula as well as Indian sub-continent. Infact, Hindu’s have one of the strictest parda of all.
In Islam, hijab is ample enough. There is no need of burqa & I don’t think there is any reason against to ban them. Atleast, shopkeepers should ban them.
I know alot of people will be up in arms against my comment, but before you go all berserk , please do look into the history books.Recommend
hmm….is the Tribune really advocating that we ban burqas?Recommend
@Sara: Easier Solution= BAN BURQAS!Recommend
Crimes in Karachi is catching up with the suburbs.Recommend
agreed with trahim faces should be left uncovered as a mean to provide persons identification face veils should be banned.Recommend
Every time the thieves come up with the innovative ideas. This time burqa-clad women.
During the month of Holy Ramadan, Karachi is hit by many beggars from all over Pakistan. The cases of shop lifting also increase.
While the Eid is around the corner, one cannot rule out the possibility of snatching handbags from women and other items. No FIR is registered for such cases in the Police Stations?Recommend
Sara, your list of simple solutions are quite on the asinine side. (the choice of the not-so-simple adjective is quite deliberate so that you exercise your brain cells – a welcome change for those dormant malnourished jelly beans)
do you realize how much costs would go up if u get female guards, install detectors, bar code n all? I guess you don’t cause you belong to that particular segment of the affluent class of society who do very lil to earn their keep and even less before opening their traps. Think think before u go all solution oriented.
Brother R.Khan’, I think your solution has hit the nail on the head. In Durood Shareef lies the solution – and maybe if that doeesn’t work, some mantar jantar from Ainak Wala Jin’s Samri Jadugar’s repertoire could do the trick..
though its quite sad that poet of the beasts Mohamamd Iqbal along with the majority of the populace of that nation which he stumbled over during a (wet)dream manifest an absolute lack of humor, irony and wit. But brother R.Khan, please continue. There are always some souls who see teh wisdom in age old solutions.
As for banning burqas, I think the time is not far away that we will have to ban clothes..too. Our prime minister sb has shown the way by deciding to donate all his western clothes to flood victims though it cud again open pandora’s dabba about corrupting the impressionable and majboor sailaab zadgaan. Maybe PM sb is a double agent with nefarious plans to bring immorality to this pious nation.
Nitpicking aside – actually not aside,cause I really like the report…which highlights some facet of the brazen hypocrisy exhibited by the pious in all matters…
plus, another incident similar to this.
a friend of mine, student at a medical university, offered her prayers at the female mosque there. she kept her phone next to her…as she stood shana-ba-shana — like maimoona and ayazan – alongside another hijaban…
her only crime was that she went into sajda…though it cant be crime cause God demands that…and as she rose…Viola..the phone was no more.
being a conscientious soul, she wrapped up her namaz..and then ran helter skelter in search of the hijabi namazi chorni but maybe she had divine help and was nowhere to be found.
wah jee wah! Yeh mera Pakistan hay…aur yeh mera Musalman hay!Recommend
Do not allow anybody to come wearing a burqa and carrying too many carrrier bags. Ask them to deposit the bags and if they protest about the burqa ban just ask them to deposit that too when inside, and take it when leaving.Recommend
I was pro purdah because it’s all about personal choice and had this opinion that generalizing someone on face value is really bad.Being a victim to such a theft myself, while I was at the tailor’s shop, two hijabis stood beside me and one of them had her hands inside my bag. Luckily my cell phone and wallet both were in my hands, which they didn’t notice. When I protested, they started misbehaving. People are really misusing burqa for committing all sorts of evil these days. These burqa-clad women are a common site in local buses too. They board on buses in groups, steal things from other women’s bags in their most professional way and get off at another stop. Similarly, some prostitutes stand at the bus stops hailing their customers (everyone is well aware of this no matter how naive they pretend to be) as a result of which, shareef girls wearing burqas have to bear all sorts of bad comments and have to face numerous drooling-mouthed perverts stopping their cars for them. Shop keepers who can afford running a shop in Zamzama can install cameras if they want. Plus installing female guards doesn’t seem to be a bad idea either. The problem can be with shops in bazaars like Meena bazar and the like because they are congested.
Naturally i get conscious whenever i am in a market and some burqa-clad woman is hovering nearby, and for many people, it can lead to deep hatred and bias. But I still think banning burqas is no solution at all, as we cannot accuse innocent women observing purdah (no matter if they want to cover themselves in a shuttle cock sort of a burqa or just wear a fashionable abaya) for the acts of some black sheep. No one can guarantee that a cleavage exposing, sleeveless wearing, streaked hair aunty can NEVER steal anything?!Recommend
usage of any good thing in any bad case doesnt make it bad ,Recommend
@comments…lol..name a single thing that is not controversial in country i love more than my lifeRecommend
I am amused with the comments along with the heading of the article, as it shows pure bias. It is not the first time that thieves have “hit” shops at Zamzama or other locations at Karachi, yet i have never read a heading stating “Thieves in pants rob shops” or “Thieves in shalwar kameez hit Karachi” etc. We all know how common shop lifting is in Pakistan or as a matter of fact in other country. Yet this is the first heading that has specified the dress of the so-called robbers.
As for making this the bases and suggesting a ban on burqa is equally hilarious. So if based on this you ban the burqa, are you suggesting that you ban Shalwar Kameez, Pants, T-Shirts too? because most of the robbers wear these clothes. LOL you guys are funny!
Or as per your comments, in countries like the US where so many famous celebrities have been caught shop-lifting they should ban celebrities from shopping!? ha ha ha
The part that takes the cake is that, items were found missing, yet NO ONE caught the “burqa clad” stealing the items either red handed or on security camera. This is stated in the article itself.. yet every ones pouncing on denouncing the burqa, whatever happened to innocent until proven guilty?
Sorry to say, but this article comes across to me as more of an attempt to target a particular class of people rather than anything else.Recommend
Close Circuit Camera will not do the trick as the face of such culprit is hidden and cannot be produced as witness.
The best way is to be alert while going into crowded area, dont take valuables with you to attract such thieves and when you feel that someone is sneaking into your purse, make loud noise and ensure to catch them with the help of male members around.
This requires daring effort which one should be ready. If we keeping remaining silent, this crime will increase day by day.
So lead the crowd and determine from today that you will expose such “lady” thieves and will help to capture them.
Regards
Dr. Saleem Siddiqi
QatarRecommend
More simpler solution: keep more vigilant staff!!Recommend