LAHORE (The Thursday Times) — Retired Captain Muhammad Safdar, the husband of Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, has drawn widespread criticism, including what appeared to be a pointed response from his wife, over remarks mocking women who use the slogan “mera jism, meri marzi” (my body, my choice) and seek prayers when they fall ill with cancer.
Speaking at a Khatm-i-Nabuwwat rally in Chiniot earlier this week, Safdar said: “They say, ‘My body, my choice.’ But when they fall ill or develop cancer, they turn to religious scholars, seeking prayers and blessed water for a cure. They should understand that if they claim ownership over their bodies, they should also be able to cure them. In reality, the human body is under God’s control.”
On Friday, Maryam Nawaz responded to a post on X noting that Safdar had himself lost his mother-in-law to cancer. Her mother, Kulsoom Nawaz, died in 2018 after a months-long battle with the disease. “Heartbreaking,” the chief minister wrote, adding: “The silent battles a woman, a wife, fights behind closed doors … The strength she must find even when she feels like breaking. Some battles are fought in silence and some wounds are invisible.”
Social media users also condemned the remarks, with many sharing their own families’ experiences of cancer and calling his comments shameful.
