ANOTHER reminder of how recklessly blasphemy accusations are levelled in Pakistan surfaced last week when a Christian eighth-grader was scolded, beaten and expelled for misspelling the word 'naat'. The 13-year-old girl explained to school authorities that she had made a mistake, but this was apparently of no consequence. A local maulana told the press that, regardless of intent, the word she had written instead was blasphemous and the punishment was deserved. But the repercussions were not limited to her; her mother, a nurse, was transferred out of their hometown. Even if this was done for security reasons, the family will have to begin a new life in a new place, a choice they did not make. Other Christians in their former town are now afraid for their own security.

As long as the government and other politicians remain reluctant to modify the blasphemy laws and condemn knee-jerk blasphemy accusations, such incidents — and worse — will continue to take place. In this case the victim was lucky enough not to be jailed, taken to court or attacked, but others have had to bear those consequences on even slight suspicions of blasphemy or because of other enmities channelled into false blasphemy accusations. In fact, as the Salmaan Taseer and Shahbaz Bhatti murders demonstrate, the definition of blasphemy itself has been expanded to include asking for changes to the law — not even its repeal — or questioning charges against an alleged blasphemer. A change in mindset is required, and the first step should be a modification of the law to increase evidentiary requirements, incorporate the intentions of the accused and define punishments to fit the magnitude of the offence. Unless these bold steps are taken, all Pakistanis — and especially minorities — will remain vulnerable to unjust accusations that can endanger their lives.

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