Police press poultry poses as perfect punishment for punks
* What is non-violent, humiliating, has nothing to do with tikkas and works wonderfully for teasing girls? Karachi’s police have the answer…
KARACHI: The police in Karachi have come up with a brand new and entirely non-violent way of enforcing law and order in crowded market places and bazaars where young punks have displayed a propensity for teasing girls.
“Usually, four to five boys become Murghas (chickens) daily,” said on-duty police officer Tariq at Tariq Road. “I have made at least 10 boys Murghas myself.” Officer Tariq was referring to the old fashioned punishment meted out by school teachers in which the child was told to squat and grab their ears in a sign of repentance. This punishment came to be known as ‘Murgha bann’a’ which roughly stands for ‘making chickenÂ’ because the pose was reminiscent of the way the poultry looked. As a punishment, however, it is fantastically effective as an instant dampner on the mojo of the young man in question.
Officer Tariq said that Tariq Road becomes one of the busiest shopping hubs in the city towards Eid and thousands of people converge there after iftari. Some of them are there to actually shop, but in the case of some young men, the narrow, crowded footpaths and tight alleyways are a perfect place to cop a feel.
Particular targets are young women who turn up in well dressed groups with the aunts and mothers but without a male member. “Making them a murgha is much better than beating them,” said Emran, who is one of the men managing the security at Haidery market. According to their system, market management in plainclothes mingle with the crowd and if they see anyone misbehaving with a girl, they catch them there and then and turn them into chickens. “I think it’s a great punishment because no one who’s made a murgha will ever try to tease a girl ever again. It’s especially effective for those who think they’re the kings of flirting.”
But of course, it isn’t just a one-way street. Some boys have claimed that the girls beckon at them to approach but when they take them up on the offer to ‘make friendship’ they chicken out and accuse them of teasing. One of several boys who met the fate of a murgha complained about this. “They give us signals and then get afraid of getting caught,” he said. “Then they try to disassociate themselves and the boy ends up embarrassed.”
Source: Daily Times
Date:10/9/2007
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