Fact-check: Ansar Abbasi and the Aurat March disinformation campaign

Journalist Ansar Abbasi has posted a series of tweets against slogans and placards at Aurat March 2021. His comments emerged shortly after a disinformation campaign was carried out against the Aurat March organisers on Twitter.

Here are his tweets:

Abbasi made the claim that some “very dangerous” content has come out of Aurat March, and he asked the government to take action against those responsible for creating it. He did not, however, clarify what exactly was the dangerous content, but he quoted some tweets that have been accusing the march of blasphemy.

We fact-checked claims by some anti-march people, and found them to be incorrect.

Participants didn’t hold the French flag

Some people claimed on Twitter that Aurat March participants were holding a French flag, and accused them of subscribing to what they described as a “foreign agenda”.

The French flag has blue, white and red stripes. The participants at Aurat March were holding a flag with red, white and purple stripes. This is the flag of the Women Democratic Front, the main organisers of the marches in various cities.

The WDF flag represents grassroots feminism in Pakistan and has nothing to do with the French flag. We, at WDF, stand against all forms of imperialism and the accusation that we would ever wave the flag of a former colonial power is ridiculous. pic.twitter.com/oZIjDB8XGu

— Women Democratic Front #AuratAzadiMarch2021 (@wdf_pk) March 10, 2021

Related: Fact-check: No, Aurat Marchers were not holding a French flag

There was no blasphemy

A photo of a placard about child abuse has gone viral. But in no time some people on Twitter labelled it as blasphemous. Aurat March has clarified that it was a placard that described the ordeal of a child survivor of rape questioning the lack of justice. It said, in Urdu, ‘I was 9, he was 50. I was silenced. But his voice is still heard as he delivers the call to prayer’.

Statement by Aurat March Lahore condemning slander against the march.#AuratMarch2021 #AuratMarchLahore pic.twitter.com/Mq0IFNTe6I

— ⁧عورت مارچ لاہور⁩ – Aurat March Lahore (@AuratMarch) March 10, 2021

There were no blasphemous slogans

A video of Aurat March participants chanting slogans but with wrong subtitles has gone viral on Twitter. Aurat March organisers were quick to share the original video, which asked for azadi from all forces oppressing women. The fake subtitles were written to make “Ansar” and “Orya” sound like something else. Ansar and Orya Maqbool Jan, who is a columnist and a guest on TV shows, routinely face criticism that they give sexist views on TV. Every year, they criticise this and accuse organisers of working on a foreign and anti-Islam agenda. They have provided no proof of their accusations yet.

To clarify, Aurat March wrote down the exact slogans.

جب آزادی کے نعرے گونجے:

ماہی گیر کا نعرہ، ڈاکٹر کا نعرہ
سندھی کا نعرہ، بلوچ کا نعرہ
پشتون کا نعرہ، گلگت کا نعرہ
پنجاب بھی مانگے، یہ سندھی مانگے آزادی
بلوچ بھی مانگے آزادی
پشتون بھی مانگے آزادی
ہر عورت مانگے
ہر مزدور مانگے آزادی
کسان مانگے آزادی
ہر بچہ مانگے آزادی pic.twitter.com/dWPNA2CZJR

— Aurat March – عورت مارچ (@AuratMarchKHI) March 10, 2021

Ansar Abbasi, based on tweets making these accusations, has asked for a ban on Aurat March. But the Lahore High Court dismissed a petition for exactly this last year.

Just to add, you cannot ban Aurat March. They tried to ban it last year through petitions, the Lahore and Islamabad High Courts DISMISSED THEM and said that it is our constitutional right to march. Are you against the constitution? https://t.co/RojPVAaJle

— main aap ki behan nahin (@shmyla) March 11, 2021

Abbasi asked for the government to ask the FIA to investigate the march. Digital rights expert Farieha Aziz asked what authority the federal government had to tell the FIA to investigate something.

With what authority should Fed Govt “hand over” this issue to the FIA, which at least on paper is supposed to operate as an indepedent investigation agency designated under PECA’16, dutybound to act in accordance with law & procedures laid down in Act, not directions of Fed Govt.

— Farieha Aziz (@FariehaAziz) March 11, 2021

What’s the FIA’s responsibility as per law? To entertain complaints from govt/others against march organisers & participants or act on complaints against those doctoring videos, circulating them to mislead about march, resulting in rape & death threats & blasphemy accusations?

— Farieha Aziz (@FariehaAziz) March 11, 2021

After criticism and a demand from Aurat March for an apology, Ansar Abbasi said that he didn’t share any “fake” & “heinous” content.

Firstly, I didn’t share any “fake” & “heinous” content, instead demanded of the Govt to probe what was being widely spread thru the social media. Secondly in my view Aurat March should be banned for the reasons given in my column published today. https://t.co/NfUz4iz4th https://t.co/fdRugMNepB

— Ansar Abbasi (@AnsarAAbbasi) March 11, 2021

Previous criticism and reactions

Ansar Abbasi has repeatedly flagged to the government information or phenomena which he deems to be vulgar. Last year, for example, he asked the prime minister to take notice of a show on PTV in which a male fitness coach guided or coached a woman on the correct way to lift weights.

Mr PM @ImranKhanPTI this is PTV. @AsimSBajwa @shiblifaraz pic.twitter.com/hpoTxEF4TJ

— Ansar Abbasi (@AnsarAAbbasi) September 21, 2020

In 2019, he accused Aurat March of encouraging women to rebel against the family system in Pakistan, in response to a placard which read,”How would I know where your socks are”.

عورتوں کے حقوق کی نام پر گھروں کو اُجاڑنے کی مہم چلائی جا رہی ہے۔ مغرب کے نہیں بلکہ اسلامی اصولوں کے مطابق معاشرہ کی تربیت کی ضرورت ہے۔ https://t.co/XB4ce2Cje4

— Ansar Abbasi (@AnsarAAbbasi) March 8, 2019

Activist and lawyer Jibran Nasir asked Abbasi how he could share unverified videos when otherwise he, being an investigative journalist, can report on “whispers in closed rooms”.

اور اگر یہ جھوٹ ہے تو کیا کیا جائے؟ آپ سینئر صحافی ہیں بند کمروں کی سرگوشیاں بھی رپورٹ کر دیتے ہیں مگر یہاں کھلے میدان میں لگنے والے نعروں کی تحقیق کئے بغیر آپ نے گرفتاری اور پابندی کے مطالبات کرنا شروع کردیئے۔ اسی لئے عورتیں ایسی صحافت اور ایسے صحافیوں سے آزاری مانگ رہی ہیں۔ https://t.co/CO7MTVvRmX

— M. Jibran Nasir (@MJibranNasir) March 11, 2021