Ali Tareen says ‘pepper spray for girls a better idea than abaya’

Multan Sultans owner Ali Khan Tareen has said that giving pepper spray to schoolgirls to avoid harassment is a better idea than asking them to wear an abaya.

The son of senior Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Jahangir Khan Tareen in a Twitter post wrote, “I still think pepper spray is a good idea if local policy-makers feel those girls need protection”.

Better sense prevailed. But I still think pepper spray is a good idea if local policy makers feel those girls need protection. https://t.co/ETlBcKyBRd pic.twitter.com/TQOGWx63cR

— Ali Khan Tareen (@aliktareen) September 17, 2019

In another tweet, he criticised and questioned the logic behind the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government’s decision to make abaya compulsory in all-girl schools.

“This is directed to girl schools. In all-girl schools what ‘unethical incidents’ are they worried about? If the male staff is so untrustworthy then I suggest the students be instructed to bring pepper spray instead of chadars.”

This is directed to Girl schools. In all-girl schools what ‘unethical incidents’ are they worried about? If the male staff is so untrustworthy then I suggest the students be instructed to bring pepper spray instead of chadars. #ProtectOurGirls pic.twitter.com/N96rQ8Q3fn

— Ali Khan Tareen (@aliktareen) September 16, 2019

In an official circular on Monday, KP Education Department had directed heads of government schools to ensure that girl students were wearing abaya or gown to “cover up in order to protect themselves from any unethical incident”.

The government had withdrawn the notification after severe backlash on both social and mainstream media.