A brutal incident involving the assault of a young woman in Pakistan, where she was stripped of her clothes, thrown into the air, and beaten with shoes by a massive crowd of hundreds of men, has sparked outrage across the country. The incident occurred in Lahore, in eastern Pakistan, when a mob of around 400 people attacked the woman, who is a content creator on TikTok, while she was filming a video with her team in a national park last Saturday, according to German news agency DPA.
Disturbing footage of the incident spread rapidly on social media, drawing widespread condemnation. Related hashtags became some of the most prominent on Twitter in Pakistan. The police have registered a case against 400 individuals and started a search campaign with the help of the video footage. Politicians, human rights activists, celebrities, and ordinary citizens have renewed calls for the protection of women in Pakistan.
The young woman reported the theft of her ring and earrings, while the mob also snatched a phone belonging to one of her companions, along with his ID card and a sum of money. The complaint stated that several passersby attempted to help the woman and her companions escape but were unsuccessful.
TikTok has been banned in Pakistan multiple times over allegations of "inappropriate and obscene content"; however, the app remains popular there, with over 39 million downloads, according to Post First.
This incident followed weeks after the murder of the daughter of a former diplomat in the capital Islamabad, a case that shook the nation. Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan spoke with the regional police chief, urging him to arrest the perpetrators.
Sayed Zulfiqar Bukhari, a close aide to the Prime Minister, stated, "The government will not forgive anyone involved in the incident." The leader of the Pakistani opposition, Shahbaz Sharif, condemned the incident on Twitter, tweeting: "The most concerning aspect is the direction our society is heading. Recent anti-women incidents are a reminder of the deep-rooted malady."
