Daily Times

Pakistani politicians have a knack for going viral for all the wrong reasons. Remember when former president, General Pervez Musharraf, had shocked the world with his crass recipe for getting foreign citizenship? Just “get yourself raped!” Not disgusting enough! Asif Zardari’s blunt flirtatious remarks to American Republican leader, Sarah Palin, was just as par for the course. However, for those thinking the dark days of misogyny were behind us, those steering the wheels of our beloved nation continue to stun everyone with their highly irresponsible remarks. The latest to hop on the anti-women bandwagon has been PTI’s stalwart, Ali Amin Gandapur. Again. As if his previous vile comments were not enough to forever taint his record, he is back on the dirty route. Calling Maryam Nawaz a “Dakoo Rani” was a testament to poking holes in his commitment to women’s rights. Yet, threatening to slap “so much that your [real] face will be uncovered from the Rs 80 million [cosmetic] surgery you have done from our [tax] money” crossed a line, no PR miracle can undo! Coming from a party that has climbed to the hallways of power on the slogan of “tabdeeli,” Mr Gandapur has an even greater responsibility to uphold decency in his rhetoric.However, his tasteless words are a sad reflection on male immaturity and reprehensible politicking more than his personal trajectory! In a country largely dominated by male politicians, the late Benazir Bhutto had caused a stir in the 90s when she got elected as the first female prime minister. Her nerves of steel would definitely have helped him stride through a seemingly endless stream of crass and crude sexism. Over a decade down the line, the young leadership of Lahori Lions made sure to continue the toxic traditions. Women attending PTI rallies disgusted Rana Sanaullah so much that his twisted moustache could not hold back from calling them “dishonourable.” Golden-eyed Talal Chaudhry had caused an uproar by drawing parallels between Firdous Ashiq Awan and a “man.” Then again, Khwaja Asif’s tirade against “tractor-trolley” (Shireen Mazari) and “dumper” (Firdaus) successfully threw morality out of the parliament’s window. To top his minions, the PML-N supremo castigated women in PTI for promoting the “song and dance culture.” Sexism reigns supreme in a country that takes immense pride in honouring its “sisters and mothers” mantra. What does this constant drive to ridicule opponents based on gender gain its strength from, one may wonder? On the preordained notion that any attack on sexuality and physical appearance–however brutal– would be forgiven in the blink of an eye!When simply raising your hands in the air is all that takes for your party, your voters and the entire nation to look the other way, why would anyone even try to hide the ugly patriarchy? Too much has already been said about our misogynistic tendencies and the general hatred for women. Period. The overt penchant for derogatory attitudes could not be more brazen. It starts from the very top with politicians busy demarcating the boundaries of a domain assumed to be male-oriented by default. And the worthy exercise to put women in their place trickles down to the very bottom, where millions of Pakistani women bear the brunt of toxic masculinity every day. No lessons have been learned and would be learned henceforth! *