Queer joy shouldn’t land you in jail. Yet in Pakistan, it nearly did.
A Party, a Photoshoot, and an Arrest Warrant
On returning from a party in Lahore, Yale alumnus Zulfiqar Mannan found himself facing arrest by Pakistani authorities. His “crime”? A Queer inspired photoshoot in front of Islamabad’s Quaid Azam monument with his best friend and bandmate, Kc Odesser.
The shoot was to promote their band Mystical Shayari’s new single, Disco Rani. But for Pakistani officials, that was enough to consider jail time.
On October 2, Mannan finally secured bail. Important to note bail is not acquittal. He isn’t behind bars, but the charges still hang over him.
The Backlash
For weeks after posting their photos and music video, life seemed normal. Then in July, the trolling began.
- A Twitter campaign with the hashtag #ArrestTheCouple took off.
- Zulfi’s family received rape threats and death notes.
- Trolls accused the pair of going against Pakistani culture and traditions.
What exactly triggered the outrage? Zulfi, in an iridescent skirt, bold earrings, and makeup, dared to reject the narrow script of “what men should wear.”
The #FreeZulfi Movement
While the police filed cases, queer communities and allies fought back online. In August, #FreeZulfi trended across platform seven though Zulfi was granted prearrest bail and never actually went to jail.
The movement was about more than one individuality was about queer visibility, freedom of expression, and state moral policing.
Beyond Clothes: The Larger Fight
As Chatta, founder of Fair Trial Defenders Legal Aid Cell, put it:
“The case effectively decided whether we want the state to decide for us what we can and cannot wear in public. It’s about moral policing and how radical religious nationalist groups steer law enforcement priorities.”
This statement reframed the case: not as a “fashion controversy,” but as a fight for personal freedom in a country where radical voices still dictate public morality.
Why This Matters
Zulfi’s bail is a temporary relief, not a victory. The case shows how queer expression something as simple as a skirt can still provoke institutional violence.
- Queer safety is fragile. Even well-educated professionals like Zulfi and Kc aren’t immune.
- Digital hate is dangerous. Online trolling translated into real-life threats for their families.
- Visibility is resistance. Every queer artist who refuses to be silenced chips away at a system designed to erase them.
In 2025, it is shocking and saying that the act of wearing makeup could be considered an arrest worthy offense.
Curtain Call
Zulfiqar Mannan may be free on bail, but the fight isn’t over. His case is now a symbol: of queer defiance, of the risks of visibility, and of how states weaponize “tradition” against individuality.
Because let’s be clear clothes don’t harm anyone. Hate does.
