The Islamabad-Pakistani court banned the public celebration of Valentine’s Day in Islamabad, the capital, and Indonesian students plan to abandon the event because of the love festival in some parts of Asia to hold a cool reception.
In Australia, Malaysia and Singapore looking for a romantic lonely heart are warned to pay attention to the growth of online love scams while Japanese grumpy protesters rallied in recent days to end public safety.
The decision of the High Court of Islamabad on Monday was a recent attempt by conservative Muslim-state authorities to announce the celebration of what many see as a vulgar and indecent Western import.
The annual occasion is gaining popularity among young Pakistanis, many of whom seize the opportunity to honor romance by giving cards, chocolates and gifts to their loved ones.
The court issued an order after the petitioner declared that love was used as a cover to spread “immorality, nudity and obscenity … which violated our rich traditions and values”.
The ruling, seen by Agence France-Presse and approved by Islamist parties, also requires electronics and print media to stop promoting Valentine’s Day.
Meanwhile in Muslim-majority Indonesia, a group of school students in the city of Surabaya denounced the romantic day as a Western celebration that encourages casual sex and staged a protest.
“Say no to Valentine!” chanted the students, who were aged between 13 and 15 and included many girls wearing headscarves.
“This protest was organised as we have seen on television that Valentine’ s Day tends to be associated with free sex,” said Pandu Satria, organiser of the demonstration. “That makes us afraid.” Several cities across the country also banned people from celebrating.
In Malaysia, where Islam is also the dominant religion, a group called The National Muslim Youth Association urged females to avoid using emoticons and an excessive amount of fragrance in a pre- Valentine’ s Day message.
Days earlier in Japan, a group of marxist protesters known as “Kakuhido”, or the Revolutionary Alliance of Men that Women find Unattractive, also called for an end to public displays of love, claiming it hurts their feelings.
“Our aim is to crush this love capitalism,” the group’ s public relations chief Takayuki Akimoto told AFP.
“People like us who don’t seek value in love are being oppressed by society,” he added. “It’ s a conspiracy by people who think unattractive guys are inferior, or losers – like cuddling in public, it makes us feel bad. It’ s unforgivable.” Authorities in Malaysia, Australia and Singapore also warned of a growth in online scams cheating lonely people out of their savings.
Romance scams cost Australians more money than any other form of cheating, with those aged over 45 more likely to be stung, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said.
“Romance scammers are getting increasingly manipulative so if you are going online this Valentine’ s Day to look for love, it’ s absolutely vital that you’re able to recognise the warning signs,” ACCC deputy chair Delia Rickard said in a statement.
