Outrage in Pakistan after hundreds of men crowd female TikToker, tearing her clothes

‘People were pushing and pulling me to the extent that they tore my clothes’

A shocking video from Pakistan’s metropolitan city Lahore shows a crowd of hundreds of men assaulting a young woman near the national monument of Minar-e-Pakistan.

The video, now widely circulated on social media triggering outrage among ctiizens is reportedly from 14 August, when Pakistan was celebrating Independence Day.

The woman, who is a tiktoker, has filed a complaint with Lorry Adda police station against the crowd. According to the complaint, quoted by Pakistani media outlet Dawn News, she said she had gone to the monument along with six of her friends, to shoot a video for her social media profile on Independence Day. That’s when a crowd of about 300-400 people attacked the group.

The video on social media shows a massive mob completely surrounding the woman on the road, while she stands cramped in the middle, pushed near the enclosure. Seconds into the video, a man who was seen with arms around her, is joined by other men in picking her up in the air, bringing her in the middle of the crowd as the hubbub intensifies.

A younger boy in a green kurta can be seen throwing something at the girl when she is dragged.

The woman in her complaint said she made many attempts to get away but couldn’t. “The crowd was huge and people were scaling the enclosure and coming towards us,” she wrote in her complaint quoted by Pakistani media.

“People were pushing and pulling me to the extent that they tore my clothes. Several people tried to help me but the crowd was too huge and they kept throwing me in the air,” she said, adding that her companions were also assaulted.

The unidentified persons assaulted us violently,” she said in her complaint, adding that her ring and earrings were “forcibly taken”, and her friend’s phone and identity card were snatched.

As the video was shared on social media, authorities and several renowned figures have expressed shock and anger over the incident, as they point out the issue of lack of women safety in Pakistan.

“The assault of a young women by a mob at #minarepakistan should shame every Pakistani. It speaks to a rot in our society. Those responsible must be brought to justice. The women of Pakistan feel insecure and it is all our responsibility to ensure safety and equal rights to all,” wrote Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, an assembly member and chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party.

“What Ayesha faced on #MinarePakistan is what every Pakistani woman has faced at one time or another. In smaller magnitude maybe but everyone has faced it in one point of life or another. It is time to refuse to let this happen, or stay silent when it does,” wrote Sania Ashiq, a member of provincial assembly of Punjab state, where the incident occured.

The Lahore police on Tuesday registered a case against unidentified persons for assaulting and stealing. Lahore DIG Operations Sajid Kiyani was quoted by Pakistani media saying those who “violated women’s honour and harassed them will be brought within the ambit of the law”.