Daily Times

Ex minister for information and broadcasting, and former minister for science and technology Fawad Chaudhry recently made some very sexist remarks about Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar. Social media users, regardless of political allegiance, rose to the occasion and defended her against his blatant sexism and misogyny.

On April 19, Chaudhry posted an old interview from Khar’s last appointment as foreign minister which was in 2011. She was not only the youngest person but also the first woman to have held the position in Pakistan’s history. In his tweet, Chaudhry insulted her intelligence and credibility, attaching it to her “Berkens”.

“When you appoint a low IQ women whose only claim to fame is her Berkin bags and expensive eye shades such blunders will become a norm, hope to get rid of this lot sooner than later #ImportedGovernmentNamzanzoor,” he tweeted.

Numerous people rose to simply defend Khar, saying the video accomplishes the opposite of what Chaudhry intended, displaying her “high IQ caliber” and “impressive” tackling of “provocative questions” instead.

The former minister faced immediate backlash from netizens regardless of their political affiliation — some social media users specifically mentioned that they were PTI supporters and did not endorse these claims, calling them “unbecoming” and “unacceptable.” On the contrary, the users called Khar “articulate” and “one of the best foreign ministers our county has had”, asking Chaudhry to apologise.