These burka-clad women were amongst dozens of Muslim protesters who gathered on Brick Lane in East London on December 14, warning businesses in the area to stop selling alcohol or face 40 lashes in line with what they call the Islamic Sharia.
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’.
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’.