Women Tell Us How They Illegally Buy Alcohol and Drugs in Pakistan

In Pakistan, alcohol is banned for Muslims under prohibition legislation enacted in the 1970s. The penalty for Muslim drinkers is imprisonment, while drug possession is subject to a fine and imprisonment, which may vary from two years to life, or even a death sentence based on the quantity of drugs found. 

This makes it doubly hard for women, against the backdrop of religious and patriarchal beliefs still pervasive in Pakistan. Pakistani women have to discreetly navigate the country’s strict cultural and legal landscape to buy drugs and alcohol. Recreational indulgence is mired with risks of moral policing and threats to personal safety from authorities and suppliers. 

Despite legal threats, wealthy male consumers who enjoy protection through their money and connections have relatively easy access to black market bootleggers and drug dealers. Most women then have no choice but to rely on male friends to avoid stifling social stigma. “Very few women directly contact dealers for hash or booze themselves,” a drug dealer, who caters to rich clients in Islamabad, told VICE. 

VICE interviewed Pakistani women on how they manoeuvre societal restrictions to drink and get high. All names have been changed to protect them from potential legal repercussions. 

VICE: In your experience, how difficult is it for women to procure alcohol and drugs?
Nashmiya: It’s not very easy to score either but if you know [a seller] and they’re reliable, you feel safer scoring from them. As a woman in this country, you’re scared to go out alone and do anything in any case. 

On top of that, you’re meeting a strange man whom you’ve just spoken to on the phone.  You never know how they might turn out to be. They call you to a secluded spot. There’s always a risk because if they attack you or something, you can’t really do anything. Even if they mug you, you can’t go to the police because it’s illegal in the first place. You hear horror stories and that adds to the anxiety. 

What are your opinions on people’s perceptions of women who drink or get high?
I'm of an age now that I honestly don't care. But people still stare at you if you smoke in public. However, I would never smoke up or drink in public. Even now, I’m very selective of who I drink with because people form these judgments about you. It doesn’t really bother me but I do think about whether the other person is going to judge me or spread shit about me.

If you're known as somebody who drinks or smokes up, people assume that you have a bad character and they just relate that to being a “loose woman.”

VICE: What are some of the obstacles and reactions you’ve faced for drinking or getting high?
Amna: There are many barriers to access because as a woman, you’re relying on someone else. If you ask your guy friends, chances are they will pull the “I’m your brother” card, in line with that overprotective macho thing they do. They will prevent you or won’t give you access even though you’re an adult and fully capable of making your own choices and facing their consequences.

Guys feel the need to be all “you're a girl, why do you need it?” or “this isn't right; look at how modern you are.” And in Pakistan, being “modern” or “Western” is a code word for vulgar. I always feel very awkward about it. 

You internalise a lot of these things. Even if I’m with friends and everyone is drinking, there’s a tiny disapproving voice inside of me saying “oh, how dirty.” Dirty in the context of something that’s undesirable or something that's not pure or good. I definitely feel that I’m harsher on myself for participating because these things seem dirty, they're bad, they’re haraam (forbidden by Islamic law). It really colours your perspective. 

Have you been able to develop contacts with dealers despite so many barriers to access?
Yes, but it took me five years to develop that one drug contact who I could call and ask them to come over or see me somewhere. That’s a long time to get to one reliable lead.

VICE: Hey Aniya, had any weird or scary experiences while buying booze or drugs?
Aniya: This happened to me when I was in 10th grade. A bunch of friends and I had called a dealer to give us alcohol. We were walking down the road to get it when a car pulled up next to us. A man inside (who was the dealer) told us to come and sit in his car to take the bottle, but we were all paranoid. All of us held on to each other so that no one would get kidnapped. It's so desperate and scary to do this. That was really creepy because scoring means you’ve to face all these sketchy men pulling up and saying, “Come and sit in the car and get it.”

How do you navigate drinking and getting high in different social settings?
You have to be very strategic about where you’re going to drink. It can’t be a casually enjoyed thing. You have to make an entire plan to do it. 

What kind of planning does that take? 
So things like where are we doing this? Where will it be safe? If it’s indoors, would their parents be okay with it? How are we going to get home? How do we keep from behaving weirdly in public where some random men might spot us? If we act drunk as women, that’s just straight-up dangerous for us.

If it’s late at night and you’re outside, even if it’s with a bunch of other drunk women, it’s not safe. Whenever that happens, we make sure there are guys with us. Nobody's safe really, unless you’re just in that scene and you don’t give a shit about what anyone thinks. Otherwise people will just ruin your reputation.

What could be the repercussions of a ruined reputation?
It's so important to get married here. That [damage to the reputation] can actually be an issue if you’re going to have a more traditional or an arranged marriage. People go around asking about you before fixing that kind of marriage, and there are those who would love to offer information about how this person was drinking once. It’s like this small-minded mentality that actually means “she is ruined.”

Sometimes, you can be in actual danger if a certain person in your family finds out. In some cases, they can kill the woman too because they feel the need to protect their honour. 

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