The photograph taken by Rachel Megawhat was shared widely by Pakistani internet users because of its remarkable similarity with the baton-wielding vigilante students of the women’s seminary at Islamabad’s Lal Masjid.
Earlier in December, three Muslim men were jailed for attacking people drinking alcohol, stopping a couple from holding hands, and telling a woman she would go to hell for the way she dressed, “in a Muslim area”.
The protest was led by controversial cleric Anjem Choudary, a former British solicitor of Pakistani origin. His group Al Muhajiroun was banned under terrorism laws. Speaking to the protesters, Choudary called the jailed men ‘fantastic’.