Dawn Images

“Islam is so beyond and deeper than regressive ideologies and banter around such stuff,” said RJ and host Anoushey Ashraf in reaction to a statement made by public orator and religious preacher Dr Zakir Naik in which he said single women have two choices in life — marry an already married man or become a ‘bazaari aurat’, a term he translated as ‘public property’.

The preacher made the controversial statement at a public event at Governor House in Karachi on October 3 in response to a question about why men are allowed to marry more than once in Islam — a question that has been put forth before many scholars, who have addressed it with a nuanced and sensitive approach.

Dr Naik responded and spoke about how Islam only allows multiple wives if the husband was able to “do justice” to them. He then spoke about the life expectancy of men being lower than women and wars further reducing the population of men.

He argued that there are many more women than men, therefore even if every man married once, there would be many women left with no one to marry. “So what option do they have left? They have two options — the first is that they marry a man who already has a wife. Or they become a ‘bazaari aurat’. ‘Bazaari aurat’, such a strong word! In English, I would say ‘public property’. People complain about it but I say I don’t have a better word for it.

“If you were to ask any good woman, if you are unable to find a man to marry who isn’t already married, and you have two options — marry a man who’s already married or become a bazaari aurat, any good woman would say she’d prefer the first option.”

In an Instagram story posted on Wednesday, Ashraf said, “First we say, Allah makes pairs and one’s wedding happens when God wills it. Then we say ‘you’ve got to be someone’s second wife or a bazaari aurat’ if you’re not married in time? How can I be married if Allah hasn’t willed it yet?”

She said inner growth, love and the power of prayer is all sidelined in religion and what instead remains [because of such statements] is this kind of conversation. “I know women getting married in their late 40s today, to nice men and they’re very happy MashAllah,” she said. “There is a certain [segment] this talk can sell to, [and I] am sorry Pakistanis are only evolved to this level of preaching. Perfect market for him.”

Actor Nadia Hussain also shared a post on Instagram on Wednesday in which she said, “Unmarried women, you are not bazaari, you are not public property. Married or not married, children or no children you are respectable members of society. Please do not let anyone think of you otherwise.”

“Here’s something we all need to understand: women, whether they choose not to marry, struggle to find a suitable partner, or become widows, are NOT public property,” comedian Shafaat Ali wrote in a post shared to X. He said this mindset was neither humane nor rational.

Compassion is something that is at the very core of Islam and we hope that people who speak on it keep that in mind when addressing complex matters. With a following as massive as Dr Naik’s, there is an even greater responsibility to treat people with respect and choose words carefully. There is no need to put anyone down while making a point.