Pak varsity to observe Sisters’ Day on Valentine’s Day

NEW DELHI : In a bid to promote ‘Islamic Traditions’, a Pakistani varsity has decided to celebrate Sisters’ Day on February 14—Valentine’s Day. Notably, February 14 is celebrated as Valentine’s Day across the world. On the day, people express their love and affection with greetings and gifts.

Vice Chancellor Zafar Iqbal Randhawa of the University of Agriculture in Faisalabad said that female students can be gifted scarves and Abayahs (clothes). The vice chancellor believes it was ‘compatible with Pakistan’s culture and Islam’, a Pakistani News channel reported.

Randhawa said that he was not sure if his suggestion to celebrate Sisters’ Day “would click or not”.

He stated, “Although some Muslims have turned Valentine’s Day into a threat, my thinking is that if there is a threat, convert it into an opportunity.”

“Women are at a very high rank for us. Today the era of gender empowerment is here, Western thinking is being promoted. But the best gender empowerment and division of work is in our religion and culture,” the vice chancellor added.

He claimed that celebrating Sisters’ Day would allow “a soft image to develop,” and that people will realise that this is how much sisters are loved in Pakistan.

“Is there a love greater than that between brother and sister?” On Sisters’ Day, it is greater than the love between husband and wife,” Randhawa said.

Valentine’s Day has been a controversial subject in Muslim-majority Pakistan for years, with some celebrating and others protesting against it.

The Islamabad High Court in 2017 and 2018 “banned” all Valentine’s Day celebrations, and print and electronic media were warned to “stop all Valentine’s Day promotions immediately”.