Daily Times

Men in the land of the pure have been able to get away with casual misogyny and sexual harassment for far too long, partly because the victims are not encouraged to open up about their ordeal. Sexual harassment is often trivialised in the media and the culture of victim-blaming is promoted. But for the past few months, women in the country are coming forward with their stories of harassment and assaults. However, the public response to a woman naming a powerful personality and making accusations of sexual harassment is part of the problem. Even as the #MeToo movement against sexual harassment made its way to Pakistan following singer Meesha Shafi’s harassment accusations against Ali Zafar, local celebrities continued their indifference to the gravity of the issue. If you’re a woman in Pakistan who has been cat-called or sexually harassed, it is infuriating to see how lightly the issue is being taken in the country. What is worse is that victims have to worry about the ‘reaction’ once they decide to name and shame the culprit and the accused conveniently terms the allegations ‘malicious’. The society is certainly to be blamed for this culture of hostility that the victims of sexual harassment have to face, but as far as the Ali Zafar episode is concerned, the big names of the industry and media who did not speak out against hate campaign that targeted Meesha Shafi’s character after her accusations, are equally responsible.

The showbiz personalities who have a following should have educated the public that a victim of sexual harassment has the complete liberty of choosing when they share their experience and what medium they choose for the purpose. But the silence from the country’s entertainment industry and even those actors and singers who call Meesha their friend, is deafening. The Meesha-Zafar case is being heard in the court, and truth will be out soon. But the debate that it generated ended up revealing the true colours of some members of the country’s showbiz industry. Some media personalities who are otherwise seen discussing gender issues and women rights also questioned the victim instead of holding the accused accountable.

The bigwigs in Pakistan’s showbiz industry need to take a clear stance against sexual harassment and call out apologists for the crime in their ranks

Apart from actors Osman Khalid Butt and Armeena Khan, no one from the showbiz industry sided with Meesha Shafi, who faced severe backlash on social media by the supporters of the accused. Some said Shafi should have gone to the court of law instead of making her grievances public on social media, while others suggested that she has only herself to blame. Her allegations were also termed by some as an attempt to gain ‘cheap publicity’. The industry bigwigs who have long maintained a clean image preferred to stay silent and shied away from intervening and asking Ali Zafar to come clean on the serious allegations leveled against him.

Women rights activists and feminist groups recently ran a campaign on social media to boycott Ali Zafar’s new film ‘Teefa in Trouble’ to protest his callous attitude following Shafi’s accusations, but the film and Ali Zafar were promoted by all media houses as if nothing had happened. Those who are frequent participants in women rights events and claim to stand up for equality remained tight-lipped as sexual harassment was blatantly justified by his friends in response to the calls for boycott. And this irresponsible reaction to Meesha Shafi’s allegations strengthened sexual harassers. That Ali Zafar did not come under any sort of scrutiny following the episode sent a message that if you are a powerful individual with big names supporting you, you can get away with such behaviour.

At Lahore’s Cine Star cinema, some student activists held a demonstration against Ali Zafar during Teefa in Trouble’s premiere last month. Waleed Zaman, son of a brand owner, was recorded on camera saying, “we support sexual harassment”, while arguing with the protesters. Once again, there was outrage and calls for boycott of the brands he is associated with. A vague apology was issued and Zaman said his remarks came after his wife was ‘harassed’ by the protesters. Once again, those whose condemnation would have made a difference remained silent and the matter was settled after a weak apology that was as confusing as the statement itself. Another controversy over the issue arose when actor Haroon Shahid, who starred in ‘Verna’ (a film about a rape survivor seeking justice) endorsed a tweet in which the user wanted to ‘slap’ journalist Gul Bukhari. This time too, he was not taken to task by his colleagues in the industry but by feminists and ordinary users on social media. An apology was issued, but the actor in question continued with whataboutery instead of being ashamed of what he had initially tweeted. There will be no end to sexual harassment and other forms of violence against women if influential personalities and celebrities do not stop condoning the mindset that justifies such crimes. The big names in Pakistan’s entertainment industry need to take a clear stance against sexual harassment and call out the apologists of the crime in their ranks. Pakistan’s elite which often lends its voice to women rights causes has largely ignored the few voices like Meesha Shafi’s who have dared to name their alleged harassers. This indifference needs to end and veteran actors should help make #MeToo in Pakistan successful. Pakistan does have a law in place against sexual harassment at workplace (which remains unimplemented due to lack of awareness among other factors), but the relevant authorities do not show vigilance when such crimes are reported. For Pakistan’s law enforcement agencies, moral policing holds more importance than acting against a sexual harasser. Just recently, police in Lahore raided a party and arrested several girls and boys for allegedly using drugs in Lahore’s DHA area. The police officials also recorded a video whereby the arrestees were being beaten by the police officials and girls were slapped. It is pertinent to note that the police never show this much vigilance in cases of sexual abuse and domestic violence. This is a case of misplaced priorities, and the priorities of the authorities will get straight when prominent figures and celebrities help build a strong narrative against sexual abuse, harassment and gender-based violence and demand action.

Published in Daily Times, August 12^th 2018.