Maryam Nawaz fixes policewoman’s headscarf. Now Pakistanis are calling her the moral police

New Delhi: Pakistan’s newly elected first woman Chief Minister, Maryam Nawaz Sharif, is already facing scrutiny—not for any decision she made since, but for adjusting a policewoman’s headscarf. Her PR team released the clip in the hope that it would bolster her image as a ‘leader with compassion’. Instead, it has become a polarising topic with many questioning whether the CM was simply reinforcing patriarchal norms. Everyone from journalists to members of her party, the Pakistan Muslim League (N), have waded into the debate.

“CM Maryam Nawaz Sharif’s act of adjusting a police officer’s dupatta is a powerful reminder that leadership is about compassion and understanding,” her PR team wrote in the video shared on X and Instagram. In the clip, a woman can be seen trying to explain something to the CM on a computer screen, but Sharif’s attention seems to be focused on the woman’s scarf.

Many of her supporters commended Sharif, while others called her out on invading the policewoman’s personal space. She’s now being accused of  ‘breach to privacy” and ‘moral policing’.

The incident has sparked a broader conversation about Sharif using the woman’s scarf to set an example of how leadership should be.

“She thinks she did a nice thing. I personally wouldn’t want anyone adjusting any piece of my clothing unless I asked them to or am really close to them (like a sister or a best friend),” wrote an Instagram user. Another comment on the video reads, “50 rupe kaat iski overacting ke.” Cut 50 rupees for her overacting.

Another user noted that her act of adjusting a police officer’s scarf had nothing to do with leadership and compassion. “It only is a reminder that women’s dresses and bodies should be left alone and not policed.”

A political stunt

In a press conference held on Wednesday, PML-N leader Azma Bokhari explained that Sharif fixed the police officer’s scarf in a moment of “motherly and sisterly tenderness”.

“Good gesture was made into a point of discussion,” Bokhari said.

Sharif’s supporters argue that the action highlights her compassion toward the woman. “Clearly dupatta was slipping and then MNS adjusted it. What exactly is stupid in it? I’m not a moral police to decide one should or shouldn’t cover their head. If she wasn’t already covering her head and MNS had done this, it would have been different,” wrote journalist Rashid Hashmi on X.

Sharif has always been a prominent figure in Pakistan’s political arena, but since assuming the chief minister’s post, every action of hers has been scrutinised. On 26 February, another video went viral on the internet, where she could be seen pushing a party member Uzma Kardar back and asking her not to touch her. The woman was trying to hug Sharif to congratulate her on becoming the first female Chief Minister of Punjab province.