Viral video opposing girls' education draws sharp criticism

The Chairperson of the National Commission for the Status of Women (NCSW), Nilofar Bakhtiar, has taken notice of an anti-girls' education video circulating on social media.

"The viral video by Hasan Iqbal Chishti is intolerable," Bakhtiar stated. "Severe action must be taken against the content opposing girls' education."

Bakhtiar urged the Cyber Crime Wing of the FIA to hold those responsible for creating and spreading the video accountable. She also called on the PTA to remove all anti-girls' education content from social media platforms immediately.

The NCSW Chairperson emphasised the need for a permanent ban on broadcasting and promoting content that opposes the basic rights of girls and women. "The Islamic Ideology Council is expected to condemn Hasan Iqbal Chishti's views. We hope religious scholars will distance themselves from him," she added.

Bakhtiar expressed concern over the video's release shortly after the National Conference on Girls' Education, stating, "The idea of depriving girls and women of their fundamental right to education has no place in our religion or Constitution."

Also read: Communities rally behind girls' education efforts

Meanwhile, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has also condemned the series of videos on social media where right-wing clerics urge parents to withdraw their daughters from school, claiming education promotes 'obscenity.'

Another video criticises women's use of mobile phones on similar grounds. The HRCP described the language in these videos as derogatory, abusive, and potentially inciting violence.

The HRCP stressed the need to curtail such deep-seated misogyny, noting that with 12 million girls out of school and widespread cultural restrictions on women’s mobility, Pakistan cannot afford derogatory and anti-women rhetoric.

The state must urgently counter these narratives through strong and consistent public service messages that uphold girls' right to education and women's digital rights, as protected under Article 25A of the Constitution.