I am now going to make up a story. I have to make this story up because it did not happen but it should have happened.
Once upon a time in Pakistan a Christian Woman was accused of Blasphemy because, while she was working in a field with other women, she fetched water for herself and her fellow workers. The other women workers refused to drink the water because the Christian Fetching Woman was a Christian Woman.
An argument ensued and the Muslim Women accused the Christian Fetching Woman of Blasphemy and Insulting the Prophet.
Don’t ask me how the leap was made from... I don’t want to drink your fetched water ... to ... You Committed Blasphemy and Insulted the Prophet. The only thing that matters is the accusation was made and, in Pakistan, once you are accused of Blasphemy and Insulting the Prophet you are immediately thrust into the Pakistani Two Step...
1. You are accused of Blasphemy and Insulting the Prophet.
2. You are guilty of Blasphemy and Insulting the Prophet.
Blasphemy in Pakistan is a Weapon of Choice and the Penalty is Death.
What happened next ought to give you pause about ever thinking you had a hankering to become a Pakistani Tourist but it does have a happy ending because the Judge Saved The Day...
Ø The Christian Fetching Woman was taken to court.
Ø The judge listened to all the shouting from the accusers.
Ø The judge did not listen to the Christian Fetching Woman because every time she started to talk the accusers shouted so loud that the judge could not hear the Christian Fetching Woman.
After all the shouters had gone hoarse from screaming the shouting, the judge said. “The Evidence against the Christian Fetching Woman is Flimsy and Inconsistent and Described it As a “Feast of Falsehood”.
The Christian Fetching Woman was released right then and there in the courtroom and she went home to cook supper for her husband and 5 hungry children.
The shouting and screaming accusers in one voice said they were sorry and applauded as the Christian Fetching Woman left the courtroom.
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The story I pecked out above, as I told you it was going to be, was not true. Here are the Actual Facts surrounding the case of the Christian Fetching Woman...
Ø The Christian Fetching Woman was not released from the courtroom.
Ø The Christian Fetching Woman has been in prison since 2009.
Ø She was sentenced to death by a court in 2010.
Ø Jail officials said two inmates were arrested last month for planning to kill the Christian Fetching Woman by strangling her.
Ø Pakistan has some of the most severe blasphemy laws in the world.
Ø Hundreds are languishing in prison on blasphemy charges.
Ø Prominent figures who opposed the blasphemy law have been assassinated.
Ø According to one religious minority source, an accusation of blasphemy commonly subjects the accused, the police, the lawyers involved and the judges involved to harassment, threats, attacks and rioting.
Ø Calls for change in the blasphemy laws have been strongly resisted by Islamic Parties.
Ø This is the kind of wording that Blasphemy Laws contain... “Uttering of any word or making any sound or making any gesture or placing of any object in the sight with the deliberate intention of wounding the religious feelings of any person.”
Ø The Supreme Court now ruled (after the Christian Fetching Woman has spent all these years in jail) that the evidence against Christian Fetching Woman was Flimsy and Inconsistent and Described it as a “Feast of Falsehood”.
Ø The hearing was presided over by Pakistan’s Chief Justice.
Ø The Christian Fetching Woman’s lawyer has received Death Threats (does that surprise you?).
Ø Some critics complain that Pakistan's blasphemy law "is overwhelmingly being used to persecute religious minorities and settle personal vendettas."
Ø Human-rights groups say the laws are subject to abuse and that accusations against Muslims and non-Muslims alike are often used to settle scores.
Ø In the ruling in favor of the Christian Fetching Woman, the judges noted that since 1990, 62 people have been killed by vigilantes based on blasphemy accusations before ever getting to court.
Ø The Christian Fetching Woman’s family has been in hiding since she was arrested.
Ø The Christian Fetching Woman’s husband told The Wall Street Journal in 2016 that he earned a living doing odd jobs and hadn’t dared to return to his home village.
Ø In 2011, a prominent Pakistani politician, Salmaan Taseer, took up the Christian Fetching Woman’s case, saying she was wrongly imprisoned.
Ø He called for reform of blasphemy laws.
Ø He was later gunned down by his own police guard.
Ø When authorities executed the guard in 2016, tens of thousands thronged his funeral to laud the assailant as a hero.
Ø After the Christian Fetching Woman’s release...
>Demonstrators have called for the killing of the judges in the case.
>Demonstrators have called for the toppling of the government.
>Demonstrators have called for a revolt against the country’s powerful army chief.
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It ain’t over till it’s over and it ain’t over. Before I posted this Blog Posting, I found this in my morning paper...
Ø Protestors mounted rallies across Pakistan for a second day in a row.
Ø More than 1,000 Islamists blocked a key road linking the capital Islamabad with the garrison city of Rawalpindi demanding that the Fetching Christian Woman be publicly hanged.
Ø Hundreds also blocked another key motorway linking Islamabad with major cities.
Ø Authorities deployed paramilitary troops, signaling they could move to clear the roads.
We now know that the Christian Fetching Woman ain’t stupid because Family Members are saying she is planning to leave Pakistan.
Would I kid u?
Smartfella
