Woman’s valour steals the show on Twitter

LAHORE (Web Desk) – PTI supremo Imran Khan’s arrest on Tuesday sparked protests across the country and has been chaotic ever since. A striking video of a brave woman standing alone in front of the police officers in Lahore’s Cantt area has stormed the internet.

In the video, the woman, identified as Tayyaba Raja, throws a black chadar on the ground and advances towards the police and a policeman then grabs her by the hair and pulls her towards a larger contingent of officers.

Raja stated about the incident in a tweet saying, “The policeman cursed at me and told me to get out of here. I said, ‘We are Pakistanis, you are Pakistani, how can you do this to us?’ But he still continued to curse at me. I couldn’t tolerate that and without another thought in my mind, I marched straight ahead and threw the dupatta towards him and said, ‘You can wear this dupatta.’ I still stand by my words, all those who are a part of this dirty system, should put on bangles and dupattas, because they are not going to show their faces. Damn you all.”

The video left the netizens shaken by the violence towards the woman and admired her for her courage and urged more women to be like her stating “Imran Khan’s secret weapon is the women of Pakistan.”

The incident was honored by an artist who paid tribute to Tayyaba while some people said Raja’s bravery was epitome of the resilience shown by women during the protests.

Another user spoke about women who have made history by leading the way against state oppression, giving examples of Malala Yousafzai, Sudan’s Alaa Salah and Iran’s Mahsa Amini, sharing an illustration of the influencer with “Sinf-e-Aahan” written on it, which means woman of steel.

Actor Armeena Khan also tweeted about Tayyaba’s valor while pointing towards the slogan on the billboard behind her that read “strong” saying, “I love how the slogan behind matches the situation. Yes, you are strong Tayyaba!”