Love is in the air as the sun of February 14, rises upon us, well not so much for Pakistanis this year. Valentine’s Day, named after a Christian saint who died for love, is often marked across Muslim-majority Pakistan, with retailers offering themed sales, restaurants advertising special deals for couples and florists registering booming sales.
A case was filed early 2017 contending that the celebration of Valentine’s Day was spreading “immorality and indecency” in Pakistan. The 2017 case came after Pakistani President Mamnoon Hussain raised uproar a year earlier, declaring the event a Western cultural import that threatens Pakistani values.
“Valentine’s Day has no connection with our culture and it should be avoided,” Hussain said at the time.
Pakistan has again banned Valentine’s Day events and media coverage of them, after a court ruled the holiday un-Islamic for a second consecutive year. The judgment prohibited any advertising or the sale of merchandise associated with the day.
In my understanding there’s no particular day or time to express love. All days are just as special and wonderful! Valentine’s Day is a concept that has been commercially built, and those who do all the fuss do it because society created a norm and there is some pressure people feel. Breaking their back and trying to keep up and match up to what is ‘expected’ in a desperate attempt to make a point are really not driven with the right attitude.
Love will find a way through paths where wolves fear to prey. Live and let Live!
