Daily Times

The way some people have been blindly defending Ali Zafar following the sexual harassment allegations leveled on him by singer Meesha Shafi is a sad reminder of the misogyny that is deep-rooted in the country. The main argument given by those who claim Meesha is lying in a bid to defame Zafar is that she wants to get fame and ‘spotlight’ by making such accusations. First of all, any woman in Pakistan who comes forward with harassment allegations has nothing to gain and much to lose from it, given that the patriarchal society always sees victims of sexual violence at fault. There is lot at stake for victims of sexual harassment when they decide to make their experiences public. For the blame is always theirs and the accused is seen as someone who was provoked to do what he did. Furthermore, Meesha is already an accomplished singer and model which is why there’s nothing this entire controversy will help her get because she already has it all. When one of the most famous female singers of the country accuses a colleague of sexual harassment and the majority of the public responds by saying she is doing it for ‘fame’, you know there is something seriously wrong with the mindset of the society. Even after a number of other women have also accused Zafar of harassing them, no one from the industry (with the exception of a few celebrities) seems to be taking the issue seriously.

Meesha has been facing backlash from quite a few people on social media who deem it fit to lecture women on what they should and shouldn’t do to avoid unwanted behaviour from men. Moral policers are out in full force, advising women to stay away from men and advocating gender segregation. Surprisingly (or not), a lot of these geniuses who are coming up with all sort of absurd analogies to make their point about why there needs to be a ‘gap’ between men and women belong to the supposed ‘educated’ lot.

There is a lot at stake for victims of sexual harassment when they decide to make their experiences public. For the blame is always theirs and the accused is seen as someone who was provoked to do what he did

Actor Hamza Ali Abbasi also took to Twitter to offer pearls of wisdom (pun intended) over the issue. Abbasi is known for his controversial statements on social media. Every time you think you’ve heard the worst thing he could ever say, he comes up with a new statement and proves you wrong by outdoing himself. In the Meesha-Zafar controversy too, the actor posted a series of absurd tweets.

He began by calling the #MeToo movement an ‘epidemic’. “With this entire #MeToo global epidemic on the rise, I am beginning to realise that ISLAM was right all along when it ordains gap between the 2 genders. So called modernism has brought us to a point where the line between flirting & harassment is insanely blurred”, the tweet read.

In another tweet, he had the audacity to mansplain sexual harassment. Because of course, women need a man to explain to them how sexual harassment works. “The man flirts, the woman doesn’t tell him she is feeling uncomfortable, maybe he is in a position of power or other reasons, the man takes it as consent, the woman years later comes out saying she got harassed & the guy keeps thinking he just flirted with consent!” The actor clearly isn’t aware of the difference between sexual harassment and ‘flirting’.

Moreover, one can’t help but notice how hypocritical his statement about ‘gender gaps’ is considering his own interaction with women colleagues during TV plays and movies. Thankfully, a lot of people confronted him over the irony of his statement by posting pictures from his movies and dramas where he was openly mingling with women, defying the ‘gender-gap’ rule that he so vehemently advocates.

The hypocrisy on his part pretty much sums up everything that is wrong with self-righteous, misogynistic lot in Pakistan that sees women as evil who are responsible for misleading men into any wrongdoing that they commit.

Another argument that the meninist brigade came forward with is that it shouldn’t have taken Meesha Shafi this long to speak out. The same argument was given by people last year when MNA Ayesha Gulalai accused her party head Imran Khan of sexually harassing her by sending obscene text messages. This is again another baseless defence. Regardless of their social status or power, it may take years for victims of sexual harassment to come forward with their stories because it is not easy to gather the courage to take a powerful man to task. The culture of victim-shaming that is rampant in Pakistan further discourages victims to name and shame their tormentors. And it is because of people like Hamza Ali Abbasi and others who try their best to justify the actions of harassers that women are afraid of opening up about their experiences.

The Meesha-Zafar controversy is certainly Pakistan’s’ #MeToo moment. Whether or not high-ups in the industry will take the allegations seriously and act against the accused is yet to be seen. Needless to say, it is time to accept the gravity of the issue and give women space to open up about their unpleasant experiences which they had been hiding due to societal pressure.

The writer is Assistant Editor, Daily Times. She tweets at @AiliaZehra and can be reached at ailiazehra2012@gmail.com

Published in Daily Times, April 22^nd 2018.