Maryam Nawaz fixing a police officer’s dupatta and sharing a video of it online has polarised the internet

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif fixed a woman police officer’s dupatta after it slipped from her head. The moment was captured on camera and shared by her PR team on Instagram and Twitter with a rather strange caption calling it a moment of “compassion and understanding”.

The video soon went viral and the internet has been divided into those supporting her actions and those who believe she invaded the officer’s personal space and made her feel uncomfortable. We shared the video on our own Instagram with a poll asking if it was okay and 33 per cent of respondents said it was.

Others in opposition to the video maintained that Maryam was perpetuating “moral policing”, which was “very wrong”. They also alleged that she prioritised “people’s appearances over real talk”.

People also pointed out that Maryam adjusting the police officer’s headscarf furthered “religious fanaticism”, and that this made way for others to act similarly as women “are a soft target for many fanatics”.

A netizen pointed out that Maryam “doesn’t need to do anything about it” and “should just let it be” as it is “not her job as CM to adjust dupattas”. However, those in support of the chief minister were quick to highlight that the incident was “different” because the officer already covered her head and the dupatta had slipped down.

Maryam’s proponents reiterated that she wasn’t “forcing” the hijab or covering your head on someone, rather the officer already covered her head and the CM was simply “fixing it” as it was a matter of “extreme importance” for women who observe pardah. They also highlighted that this was a symbol of “respect and protection”.

Similarly, PML-N leader Azma Bokhari stated in a press conference on Wednesday that the police officer’s dupatta fell while she was working and Maryam in a moment of “motherly and sisterly tenderness” fixed it, like one would for their “children”.

During the press conference, Bokhari stated that the “good gesture was made into a point of discussion” and that the “sanctity of covering one’s head could only be understood by those with mothers, daughters and sisters”.

Intriguingly, all politicians at rallies or during pressers — including Maryam Nawaz — address women as their “daughters, mothers and sisters”, instead of referring to all women, full stop. While this could be an effective strategy to evoke empathy, such framing can also be patronising and limiting as it reduces women’s identities and contributions to their familial roles rather than recognising them as individuals with capabilities.

With reference to this incident, Maryam was the person in power and not an equal or relative of the officer, which makes the move a little…strange. Imagine your boss (‘s boss’s boss’s boss) comes up to you and fixes something you’re wearing.

We’re no one to judge either the officer or Maryam’s intentions, but we do have certain thoughts on the video being shared online to over 11,000 followers and beyond. Not to mention, at the time of the article’s publishing, it reached over 500,000 views on X (Twitter alone). While the chief minister’s intentions are too nuanced to pick apart, and she could’ve had ‘good intentions’, her PR team made the active decision to share the video with the world and tout it as ‘compassion and understanding’.

Making it public causes the matter to become a public discussion. True compassion for someone, especially if they are a hijabi, would stem from putting their privacy and consent first. We wonder, did Team Maryam ask for the officer’s explicit consent to share a video of her dupatta falling off and her head being exposed for the whole world to see, particularly when they are emphasising that the officer already covered her head and was not forced to do so by Maryam.

If the bepardagi of a pardah-dar woman is a situation important enough for the chief minister of Punjab to address immediately, should the video have been shared to X?

Perhaps it would’ve been most ‘compassionate’ if the video was not shared at all and the ‘sanctity’ of covering one’s head was preserved through some privacy. Sharing it online feels like a publicity stunt gone wrong. Regardless of intention, not everything MUST be shared on social media, even if you are the chief minister of a province and believe you were doing the ‘right thing’. If you truly care about the woman, put her first.