Eighty four percent of Pakistanis responded in favour of sharia law, according to an opinion poll conducted by the Pew Research Centre last year. This is an alarming number for most people across the world, including our neighbours to the north (China) and the east (India). With sharia law, the picture that comes to everyone’s mind is not nice, to put it mildly. Rather, and to be perfectly honest, it is quite barbaric and gruesome. They visualise a country in which all the women have to cover themselves with a shuttlecock burqa from two inches above the head to three inches below the toes. They imagine the public flogging of young females on a regular basis and envisage a group of men throwing stones at them on minor charges of infidelity and suspicion of premarital sexual relationships. Though the western media somehow ignores the sufferings of normal men, nevertheless they also endured similar treatment under the Taliban regime: forced to keep a beard, they had to cover their heads with a cap at all times. They had to avoid fashion and western clothes, go to the mosque for prayers many times a day and were forbidden from communicating with women, which may also include looking at them for more than a brief moment. Without a question, the Taliban’s treatment of minorities is almost as inhumane as it is towards women. Taking away their right to practice their faith freely, minorities would be prosecuted on the suspicion of blasphemy and all would be forced to convert to Islam until there is no one left to be converted. In short, people across the world think that almost all basic human rights will be usurped by the state in the name of God. To put it differently, a country that attempts to live in medieval times comes to their minds, where the word of the ruler and the word of God are the same, and to question the authority of the former would be considered heresy and apostasy against the latter. The community would be devoid of any pleasure or entertainment, there would be no free speech, no civil liberties and no right to protest against the rulers. On the other hand, by sharia law, most Pakistanis mean something entirely different: a swift and affordable justice system, equality of rights for everyone but focused on the rights of the poor, the end of corruption and elitism, significant cuts in government expenditure, improved governance and a growing economy — all without much change in their social structure. Their understanding may vary a little about how to implement the system of the Islamic Caliphate and what would be written in its fine print, but the essence in their minds about its basic functions is the same: an all-inclusive free healthcare system, free elementary (if not higher) education and a stipend (like social security) for the old, the pregnant, the young, the disabled and, again, the poor. Maybe they are optimists or just naive but after speaking to a lot of Pakistanis, it is evident to me that, in their opinion, women should enjoy the same freedom as they do now, if not more. Their financial independence should be granted by Islamic law and protected by the state. The legal process of divorce should be less cumbersome in general but for women it should be much easier as the social taboo attached with separation and annulment of the nuptial agreement should be disregarded by the acceptance of the truer and more liberal values of Islam. In contrast, the regional and more conservative values of the subcontinent encourage women to endure torture and abuse for family honour and the lack of social support. In the minds of most Pakistanis, the strict curtailment of basic human rights like freedom of speech and travel, as was done during the short-lived tenure of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan or as it is still practiced in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, should not be. The reason is that most Pakistanis believe that many of these rules are cultural and do not necessarily reflect the spirit of the scripture, meaning people do not have to abide by them. The same is true in the treatment of men; if they should wear a beard or shave, in their opinion, is a matter of personal choice. Although encouraged not to shave, they should still be free to make that decision on their own. It is not a compulsory part of the religion for them; the same is with decisions about their attire and caps. Regarding the rights of minorities, although blasphemy is a very touchy subject and there is both a lot of propaganda and stories of misuse around it, nonetheless I am still not sure if Pakistani people want their minorities to live in the constant fear of persecution. I believe that even the most conservative Pakistani would like to give everyone a chance to follow their religious doctrine. However, on this issue I could be wrong, I admit, and may not be able to feel the pulse of the people as I keep getting mixed signals from people, and sometimes even from the same person. However, the bottom line is that the implementation of sharia law may mean two entirely different sets of rules and regulations. While it can be understood as a collection of draconian laws by the west, it might just mean the backbone of an egalitarian society to Pakistanis. The writer is a US-based freelance columnist. He tweets @KaamranHashmi and can be reached at skamranhashmi@gmail.com