Daily Times

In what should have been a straightforward moment, Maryam Nawaz’s handshake with the President of the UAE upon his arrival to Pakistan has spiralled into a contentious debate that exposes deep-seated misogyny plaguing the political landscape.

The uproar that followed this seemingly innocuous gesture raises a critical question: Would the reaction have been the same if a man were at the centre of this controversy? A male leader shaking hands with a woman would likely have been dismissed as routine, drawing little more than a raised eyebrow at most. The uproar over Maryam Nawaz’s handshake is rooted not in actual protocols or norms but in our societal discomfort with women asserting authority.

This socially constructed outrage, largely fueled by PTI’s social media team, speaks volumes about the patriarchal undercurrents that run through our political discourse. While supporters might have forgotten, history recalls the candid moment when Malaysia’s first lady asked former Prime Minister Imran Khan to hold her hand. Though the two interactions took place in entirely different scenarios, the backlash against Maryam is a stark reminder that women in positions of power are often subjected to a harsher lens of scrutiny than their male counterparts. The real scandal lies not in any supposed breach of protocol but in the pervasive sexism that continues to undermine women’s roles in politics.

Adding to this disturbing climate is the sheer incompetence of whoever decided to publicize the handshake, which even if intended as a display of diplomacy and strength, has opened the floodgates for ridicule. This blunder reveals a serious disconnect from the contemporary socio-political realities. How can a party with decades of political experience be so tone-deaf to the gender dynamics at play?

Meanwhile, framing Maryam Nawaz’s handshake as a violation of cultural or Islamic principles is nothing but a cynical tactic aimed at diminishing her agency. This incident clearly illustrates how our political discourse must evolve.

A handshake should not devolve into a spectacle of condemnation. Instead, we should stick to the criticism that actually matters: what does her governance scorecard say? *