Defiant Pakistani Women Are Daring Men To #TryBeatingMeLightly With This Campaign

Earlier this year when the Punjab government passed the ‘Protection of Women Against Violence Bill’ it was supposed to mark a turning point for the hundreds of women facing the daily terror domestic abuse. However when the ‘The Council of Islamic Ideology’ (CII) advised that a man should retain the right to ‘lightly beat’ his wife the bill became the laughing stock of the entire world.

A movement that should have been the saviour for so many women had become a horrifying testament to religious extremism.

There are a whole barrage of ridiculous caveats in the bill including:

- A husband may, when needed, lightly beat his wife

- Three consecutive declarations of divorce will be punishable (punishment unspecified)

- Ban on co-education past the primary level- Co-education past the primary level may be permitted if hijab is made mandatory and free mixing between the genders is not allowed

• A ban on women working in ‘vulgar’ advertisements

• Female nurses should not attend to male patients

• Mothers must breastfeed for two years

• Ban on advertisements baby formula/substitutes for breast milk

• A woman cannot use contraception without the husband’s permission

So much for progressive politics.

Chairman of the CII Mualana Muhammad Khan Sherani had some very specific ideas on the bill and defended their support of a light beating

“Do not try to relate our proposal [on beating women] with violence. Light beating does not mean violence,” He told the Express Tribune. ‘If the husband wants his wife “to mend her ways, he should first advise her If she refuses, stop talking to her. Still, if she does not show compliance, stop sharing a bed with her, and if things do not change, get a bit strict.”

Get a bit strict? I wonder what that could mean, no worries Sherani has explained that too.

‘Hit her with light things like a handkerchief, a hat or a turban, but do not hit her on the face or private parts. And the beating should not cause any kind of physical damage or even scratches. Resort to light stuff, nothing serious.”

The proposal provoked outrage among a large part of Pakistani society and photographer Fahhad Rajper decided to take a stand. He created a photo series of 12 strong, modern Pakistani women who explained the consequences for any man who decided to ‘beat them lightly’. The series sparked interest on social media and the hashtag #TryBeatingMeLightly was born.

This whole fiasco is a look into how backward some parts of the world can be and hopefully campaigns like Try Beating Me Lightly will always be around to restore our faith in a world of peace and equality.