For Pakistan’s young, love conquers all
Court bans Valentine’s Day, but celebrations go on
Usman Shahid didn’t want to break his wife’s heart by not celebrating Valentine’s Day with her, so he decided to break the law instead.
Shahid and many other Pakistanis are outraged over a court’s ban on celebrating Valentine’s Day because it is considered “un-Islamic.” They vowed to press forward with hearts, flowers and love.
“I am still going ahead with my Valentine’s Day plans in defiance of this unrealistic ban despite the consequences,” says Shahid, 30, a university lecturer in Lahore.
The Islamabad High Court in Pakistan’s capital issued the order Monday after a citizen, Abdul Waheed, petitioned the court to ban celebrations in public places to stop the “spread of love … immorality, nudity and indecency (from) being promoted which is against our rich culture.” The court order does not mention a fine or punishment. On Tuesday, police were issuing warnings.
The ruling was a victory for a conservative group that had long tried to forbid the celebrations in the majority-Muslim country. In a society where adultery is punishable by death and public displays of love are forbidden, young people had increasingly used Valentine’s Day as a form of rebellion.
“Every year that Feb. 14 is celebrated, it is done so as the Day of Shame,” Abdul Muqeet, president of Punjab University’s Jamiat-eTalaba, the student wing of the conservative Islamist Jamaat-eIslami party, told USA TODAY a few years ago. “All over Pakistan, our organization holds protests, marches and distributes litera- ture telling our youth how they are being manipulated toward this un-Islamic and immoral tradition. ... We cannot allow such acts as they will spoil the present and future generations.”
The government ordered the media and retailers to refrain from promoting or mentioning the holiday.
Some bemoaned the order, noting the absence of flowers being sold by the side of the road and heart-shaped balloons.
“I was looking forward to celebrating Valentine’s Day with my friends, but this ban from the government has ruined everything for us,” says Azhar Kalam, 27, an engineering student.
Mehak Haque, 23, a communications student, says the ban was a relief for singles: “Valentine’s Day is a dreadful day. ... There is unwarranted pressure on those who don’t have a Valentine date or aren’t seeing anyone.”