No, Picture Would not Present Padlocked Grave in Pakistan Meant to Forestall Males from Raping Corpses

In late July and August 2024, a photograph circulated broadly on social media, purportedly displaying a padlock on a grave in Pakistan that was put in to forestall males from raping corpses.

(TikTok person @haavvaa_1)

One TikTok post with the declare reached greater than 200,000 views, as of this writing. “Not even lifeless we’re secure,” a TikTok person commented below the submit. 

On X, one other person shared the {photograph} in July 2024, captioning it: 

In Pakistan, dad and mom are actually placing PADLOCKS on the graves of their lifeless daughters to forestall them from being dug up and raped. Western nations need to cease importing hundreds of thousands of males like this, who do not possess the mental capability to grasp that rape is mistaken. 

Nevertheless, whereas the {photograph} is genuine, it was not taken in Pakistan, nor was the padlock put in to forestall the desecration of corpses. We price this declare as “Miscaptioned.”

Alt Information, an Indian nonprofit fact-checking web site, debunked the false claims related to the {photograph} in April 2023. Its investigation revealed that the picture was truly taken at a cemetery in Hyderabad, India.

Beneath yow will discover an actual location of the grave in a picture from Google Maps:

Alt Information reached out to Abdul Jaleel, a resident of Hyderabad, who visited the positioning and supplied images of the grave in query:

(www.altnews.in)

The article defined the padlock was put in to not stop rape, however to cease unauthorized burials over current graves and maintain the pathway clear on the cemetery entrance:

Jaleel spoke to Muqtar Sahab, who’s the Muazzin of the Masjid E Salar Mulk. Muqtar Sahab stated that the padlocked grave, which was roughly 1.5 to 2-year outdated, was constructed with out the permission of the involved committee. It’s positioned proper in entrance of the doorway, thus blocking the pathway. This problem was mentioned among the many Masjid committee members for eight days.

Explaining the rationale behind the grille or jaali as Muqtar Sahab known as it, he added, “Lots of people come right here and bury our bodies over the outdated graves with out permission. The individuals who have already got their shut ones resting right here have had complaints since they arrive right here to learn Fateha. To be able to stop others from burying any our bodies additional, the households have put the grille there.”

On being knowledgeable in regards to the picture of this grave being circulated with the declare that it’s from Pakistan, Muqtar Sahab refuted it and added that the grille was constructed additionally with a view to stopping individuals from stamping on the grave because it was proper in entrance of the doorway. Muqtar Sahab corroborated the deal with of the cemetery as Madannapet, Darab Jung colony, which matched Alt Information’ findings as said earlier.

Equally, Digital Forensics, Analysis and Analytics Middle, a fact-checking group primarily based in India, additionally concluded the picture was taken in Hyderabad. 

Newschecker, one other fact-checking group in India, reached out to native residents and the proprietor of a close-by store, Jahangir Dairy, who confirmed the grave’s location within the Hyderabad cemetery:

Newschecker reached out to the proprietor of Jahangir Dairy, a store positioned close by the graveyard in Telangana’s Hyderabad, who confirmed to us that the viral image is certainly from the cemetery in his neighbourhood.

We reached out to a number of different individuals from the locality who corroborated that the viral picture is definitely from a graveyard in India’s Hyderabad. Including that the grave seen within the viral image is on the cemetery’s entrance. It was locked in order that nobody steps on it, or builds one other grave on the highest with out permission.

A Fb submit by @Deccan24Hyderabad, dated Could 1, 2023, carried a video of  the members of the family of the deceased buried within the padlocked grave explaining their causes for placing up the iron gate and lock. A male relative of the deceased is heard saying that the lock was put in place as individuals used to throw rubbish and different filthy objects on the grave. 

BOOM, one other fact-checking outlet, additionally debunked the false rumors relating to the {photograph} in Could 2023. Agence France-Presse reported that considered one of its journalists visited the cemetery on Could 2, 2023, and confirmed the grave’s location in India.

This is not the primary time we have fact-checked a Pakistan-related rumor. As an example, in Could 2023, we investigated a photograph purportedly displaying a girl going through armed police throughout protests in Lahore, Pakistan, in opposition to the arrest of ex-Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Sources