Baroness Sayeed Warsi – File photo by AFP
Baroness Sayeeda Warsi – File photo by AFP

KARACHI: British minister and co-chairman of the Conservatives Party Baroness Sayeeda Warsi has said that a small minority of Pakistani men believe that white women “are a fair game.”

Warsi’s comments follow the sentencing of nine men (eight of Pakistani origin) for plying white girls, as young as 13, with alcohol and drugs so they could be used for sex.

“There is a small minority of Pakistani men who believe that white girls are fair game. And we have to be prepared to say that. You can only start solving a problem if you acknowledge it first,” the Baroness was quoted as saying by reports in British media.

UK’s first female Muslim minister said religious leaders must isolate such men who treat white women as “third-rate citizens.”

“In mosque after mosque, this should be raised as an issue so that anybody remotely involved should start to feel that the community is turning on them,” she said.

Following the case, the Greater Manchester police did not highlight race as one of the major factors in the crime but Warsi insisted that “cultural sensitivity should never be a bar to applying the law.”

Opinion

Editorial

Weathering the storm
Updated 29 Apr, 2024

Weathering the storm

Let 2024 be the year when we all proactively ensure that our communities are safeguarded and that the future is secure against the inevitable next storm.
Afghan repatriation
29 Apr, 2024

Afghan repatriation

COMPARED to the roughshod manner in which the caretaker set-up dealt with the issue, the elected government seems a...
Trying harder
29 Apr, 2024

Trying harder

IT is a relief that Pakistan managed to salvage some pride. Pakistan had taken the lead, then fell behind before...
Return to the helm
Updated 28 Apr, 2024

Return to the helm

With Nawaz Sharif as PML-N president, will we see more grievances being aired?
Unvaxxed & vulnerable
Updated 28 Apr, 2024

Unvaxxed & vulnerable

Even deadly mosquito-borne illnesses like dengue and malaria have vaccines, but they are virtually unheard of in Pakistan.
Gaza’s hell
Updated 28 Apr, 2024

Gaza’s hell

Perhaps Western ‘statesmen’ may moderate their policies if a significant percentage of voters punish them at the ballot box.