In April 2021, two Pakistani Christian nurses, Maryam Lal and Newsh Urooj, were arrested for blasphemy. They had been asked to clean a hospital coworker’s locker, and they did so; on the locker, there was a sticker upon which a verse from the Qur’an was written. While cleaning, the women reportedly either tore the sticker off or scribbled out the Qur’anic text with a pen. 

“I asked her why she did it. A Muslim can’t keep quiet against blasphemy to his prophet ... I attacked her with a knife, wounding her arm. I would have killed her. My life is to serve.” - a male coworker of Maryam who attacked her

When this “offense” was discovered, a riot broke out at the hospital. Crowds outside chanted, demanding death or hanging for the blasphemers. One member of the angry mob that had formed—a coworker of Maryam’s—managed to get to Maryam and stab her. An investigation in the aftermath has revealed that an Islamist group may have fomented the violence.

In the meanwhile, a doctor had reported Maryam and Newsh to the police. They arrived at the hospital in the midst of the riot and took the women into custody. An investigation into the incident was subsequently launched, the women facing a possible death sentence.