In the spreading Hazaar Khwani Graveyard of Peshawar, the shrine of the mystic poet of Peshawar, Abdur Rahman Baba, is thronged daily by hundreds of his devotees. The devotees adore and idolise the poet, and love his poetry immensely. This practice has been going on in the city for many decades, regardless of the age or gender of the devotees, and without anyone ever objecting to it.
Probably as a belated ‘gift’ on the occasion of Eidul Azha, the misogynistic police of Peshawar, has placed a ban on the entry of women into Rahman Baba’s shrine. The officials of the Yakkatoot police station have put up huge banners outside the shrine, saying the entry of women into the shrine is prohibited. When asked to explain and justify the ban, the police official standing guard outside the shrine said that after entering the shrine, women used to make video recordings on their mobile phones. Moreover, they played music to accompany the ‘tik tok’ videos, which was a kind of desecration of the ‘mazaar’.
The question here arises that the male visitors to the shrine do exactly the same. They make video recordings and play music to synchronise with the ‘tik tok’ videos. Do their activities not amount to a similar desecration? It may be added here that Rahman Baba’s shrine remains crowded with men, women and children of all ages throughout the year. The SHO of Yakkatoot was not available for any comment.