Captain (retd) Muhammad Safdar is facing widespread criticism after remarks about women and cancer patients at a religious gathering in Chiniot, with Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz — his wife — publicly describing the episode as heartbreaking.
Speaking earlier this week at a Khatm-e-Nabuwwat gathering (an event affirming the finality of prophethood in Islam) in Chiniot, Capt Safdar attacked the slogan Mera Jism, Meri Marzi (My Body, My Choice). He asked why women who claim control over their bodies still turn to prayer and religious help when they fall seriously ill, including with cancer.
What Capt Safdar said in Chiniot
Capt Safdar argued that if women insist their bodies are entirely their own, they should also be able to cure themselves. He said the human body ultimately remains under God's control. In the remarks circulating online, he said those who advocate “My Body, My Choice” seek religious scholars for prayers and blessed water when diagnosed with serious illness such as cancer, and that if they treat the body as wholly theirs they should also have the power to heal it.
The comments quickly spread on social media and drew a sharp backlash, with many users calling them insensitive toward women living with illness and toward families who have cared for cancer patients.
Maryam Nawaz's response
On Friday, CM Maryam Nawaz replied to a post on X about Capt Safdar's remarks. She called the situation “heartbreaking” and pointed to the private struggles many women face. “Heartbreaking. 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,” she wrote on her official account.
Her public distance from the comments was widely noted. Amid criticism of Capt Safdar, many social media users praised Maryam for taking a stance in the open.
Political and public reactions
Former federal minister Fawad Chaudhry praised the Punjab chief executive for what he called a “clear stance.” Journalist Benazir Shah wrote that it takes real courage to take such a public stand and offered support to Maryam Nawaz Sharif. Journalist Ajmal Jami said his mother had been a cancer patient and that her survival felt like a miracle, calling Capt Safdar's remarks “utterly shameful and disgraceful.”
The dispute sits at the intersection of political family ties, online debate over women's autonomy slogans, and public feeling about how illness — especially cancer — is spoken about in Pakistan. No further official clarification from Capt Safdar was reported in the material available for this account.
Aasan alfaaz mein
Capt Safdar ne Chiniot mein khawateen aur cancer patients ke bare mein aise alfaaz kehay jin par log naraz ho gaye. Unhon ne “Mera Jism, Meri Marzi” ka naara criticize kiya aur bemari ke waqt dua mangne ka zikr kiya. Unki biwi, Punjab ki CM Maryam Nawaz, ne is baat ko dil dukhane wali kaha. Yeh debate is baat par hai ke bemar aurat ke dard aur uske ikhtiyar ke bare mein kaise baat ki jaye.
