Tag: Abdul Razzaq

  • ‘Very problematic’, Pemra fines NEO TV for airing show that ‘leads to discrimination against female gender’

    The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) has fined news channel Neo News Rs 200,000 for airing “insensitive, degrading, insulting, and nasty” remarks by Abdul Razzaq, Dawn has reported.

    The complaint was filed by tennis player Aisamul Haq Qureshi with Pemra’s Council of Complaints through Barrister Khadija Siddiqi.

    As per Pemra’s order the complaint filed said the female host on the show also “degrades and shames the career adopted by female cricketers, expressly stating that female cricketers mostly leave cricket when they get married”.

    The Council of Complaints also observed that the comment on women leaving cricket after marriage was a “generalisation” that “leads to blatant discrimination against female gender”. The female host is insinuating that short hair is too masculine and that women cricketers are somewhat an anomaly,” the council said.

    Razzaq was “implying a presupposed notion that cricket is a sport only meant for boys, who define the masculine nature of the sport,” the council said.

    Earlier, this year in July, Abdul Razzaq and Nida Dar appeared in NEO TV’s program in which, one of the members interrupted Dar while she was talking about her profession and said that women cricketers leave their profession and get married.

    Abdul Razzaq was quick to jump in, saying, “Oh, they don’t get married.” “Aap inko hath mila kay dekh lein, yeh larki to nahi lagtein,” said Razzaq. (If you shake her [Dar’s] hand, she is anything but feminine). The video clip went viral on social media and Abdul Razzaq faced backlash for his comments.

  • ‘I respect all women’: Abdul Razzaq responds to criticism for his comments on Nida Dar

    ‘I respect all women’: Abdul Razzaq responds to criticism for his comments on Nida Dar

    Former cricketer Abdul Razzaq has come up with a clarification note after receiving immense criticism for making sexist comments about women cricketers in general and Nida Dar in particular.

    Taking to Twitter, Razzaq shared that he has clarified his position on a phone call with Nida.

    “A clip from a TV show has surfaced, highlighting some comments I made towards my fellow cricketer Nida Dar. Although these comments were made in a lighted-hearted way and not to offend anyone, on reflection the choice of words and their presentation was poor and wrong,” he wrote.

    “I have subsequently called Nida Dar and clarified my position. I have the utmost respect for all women, especially our women cricketers, who have made great strides in our sport. Nida is our shining star and I hope she continues to make Pakistan proud,” the former all-rounder added.

    Razzaq and Nida appeared in G Sarkar with Nauman Ijaz on Neo Tv. During the show, Nida was asked if women athletes always have to leave the sport after marriage.

    “Do you have some kind of allergy with marriage? You don’t want to talk about it at all,” the cricketer was asked.

    Dar commented, “They try to play the sport as much as they can since you never know after the wedding.”

    While intervening in the conversation, Razzaq said women athletes do not marry as they always try to compete with their male counterparts.

    “Oh, they don’t get married,” Razzaq said. “Their field is as such. When they become cricketers, they strive to be as equal as their male counterparts, if not better than them. They want to prove that not only men but women can also do it,” said the cricketer.

    “The feeling [to get married] is gone [by the time they excel. If you shake her [Dar] hand, she is anything but feminine,” said Razzaq.

  • Razzaq’s sexist comments

    Razzaq’s sexist comments

    It should not be surprising how prevalent sexism is in our society but it is still disappointing when sportsmen pass sexist comments about their women colleagues. Recently, former cricketer and all-rounder 0 made some unwarranted and extremely sexist remarks about women cricketers in the presence of Pakistan’s ace cricketer Nida Dar. 

    First, Razzaq said that women cricketers don’t get married. Then he added: “She [Dar] aspires to come to the level of the men’s cricket team and believes that men aren’t the only ones who can do everything, women can do these things as well. That’s why the feeling is gone. Shake her hands and you won’t even feel she’s a girl.” Nida Dar remained cool and composed despite such misogynist comments.

    To comment on a female athlete’s appearance is sexist. Period. It is unfortunate that our male cricketers think they can comment on their women colleagues’ appearance and say they are not feminine because they believe they are equal to men. If women demand equality, why does it irk our men? Women cricketers are as hardworking as our male cricketers. They are still not treated at par with their male counterparts. They also face sexism from society when we see comments about their appearance and bodies, which is quite prevalent. Instead of doing the same, Abdul Razzaq should have been more encouraging of women cricketers. He should have commended them for their courage and hard work despite facing so many challenges to reach the national cricket team. 

    This is not the first time we have seen such comments about women. It is no secret that we don’t treat women the same way as men, we don’t think of them as heroes, we don’t think they are at par with men. Recently, we saw how an issue was made by the Punjab Curriculum & Textbook Board for printing Nobel Laureate Malala Yousafzai’s picture alongside other important personalities. A campaign was started not to include Malala in the same list as that of other heroes. This is our unfortunate reality. 
    Let’s pay heed to the words of our founder Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah: “ No nation can rise to the height of glory unless your women are side by side with you.”
    Pakistan cannot move forward without empowering women and breaking the chains of patriarchy.

  • Abdul Razzaq faces backlash over sexist remarks about a female cricketer

    Former cricketer and all-rounder Abdul Razzaq recently appeared in a TV show hosted by Nauman Ijaz with Pakistan women’s cricket team’s Nida Dar, where he passed sexist comments about her.

    During the show, one of the members interrupted Dar while she was talking about her profession and said that women cricketers leave their profession and get married.

    Abdul Razzaq was quick to jump in, saying, “Oh, they don’t get married.”

    “Their field is as such. When they become cricketers, they strive to be as equal as their male counterparts, if not better than them. They want to prove that not only men, but they can also do it as well. The feeling [to get married] is gone [by the time they excel].”

    “Aap inko hath mila kay dekh lein, yeh larki to nahi lagtein,” said Razzaq. (If you shake her [Dar’s] hand, she is anything but feminine).

    https://twitter.com/emclub77/status/1415197775998951428

    People on social media are calling out Razzaq over his sexist comments.

    https://twitter.com/talkingcurves/status/1415549722450874372

  • ‘Match fixers should not be allowed to play again’: Abdul Razzaq

    ‘Match fixers should not be allowed to play again’: Abdul Razzaq

    Former cricketer Abdul Razzaq has said in an interview that match fixers should not be allowed to play for their teams again.

    On Geo News show, ‘Jashan-e-Cricket’, Shahzad Iqbal questioned if it is true that Razzaq had noticed Salman Butt’s incompetent performance in one of the matches, which was also mentioned in Shahid Afridi’s book.

    Razzaq said: “Shahid Afridi wrote in his book quoting Salman Butt, taking my name, I said that but there was no such thing. I said that in heat of the moment because I observed something, I just had some doubts,” added the all-rounder.

    Former cricketer and analyst, Sikandar Bakht asked Razzaq directly if the players who were involved in match-fixing should be allowed to play again. “No, in my point of view, they should not come back,” said Razzaq.

    Talking about captaincy, the host asked Razzaq why he was not given the captaincy in the national cricket team and why did the management not consider him for this role.

    Replying to Shahzad, he said: “It is a pity not to get the captaincy of the national cricket team even today because an all-rounder is a good captain.”

  • Abdul Razzaq offers to make ‘faulty Hardik Pandya world’s best all-rounder in two weeks’

    Abdul Razzaq offers to make ‘faulty Hardik Pandya world’s best all-rounder in two weeks’

    Former Pakistan cricketer Abdul Razzaq has offered to coach Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya to “improve his faulty techniques”.

    “Today I saw Pandya batting against West Indies and found a few issues in his foot movement, bat swing and body balance while hitting,” the former all-rounder said in a video on his official YouTube channel.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IXIaYFasBE

    On Thursday, Pandya scored a brisk 46 and shared a crucial 70-run partnership with MS Dhoni to help India post a competitive total of 268/7 against West Indies in their ICC World Cup 2019 game at the Old Trafford.

    Pandya chipped in with the ball and also took the wicket of opener Sunil Ambris. In fact, his send-off to the Windies opener became one of the talking points of the game.

    However, Razzaq, who scored 5,080 runs in ODI, said Pandya’s game had weaknesses, which needed to be worked upon.

    “If Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) gives me just two weeks to coach Pandya, he can become world’s no 1 hitter and all-rounder,” he added.

  • ‘Amir confessed to spot-fixing after Afridi slapped him’

    ‘Amir confessed to spot-fixing after Afridi slapped him’

    Mohammad Amir confessed to spot-fixing only after then ODI captain Shahid Afridi had slapped him, former all-rounder Abdul Razzaq has claimed.

    “He [Afridi] told me to leave the room and after a while, I heard the sound of a slap. Later, Amir told the whole truth,” Razzaq said while speaking to a private media outlet on Wednesday.

    Spilling the beans on Pakistan’s ill-fated tour of England in 2010, a scandal that tarnished the image of Pakistan cricket, Razzaq also said that Salman Butt was involved in corruption much before the saga.

    “Butt was deliberately getting out and playing dot balls much before the scandal broke out in England,” the former all-rounder said, also blaming the then PCB management for “bringing a bad name to Pakistan cricket”.

    Butt, Amir and Muhammad Asif were the three players eventually banned for a minimum of five years in early 2011 by the ICC’s anti-corruption tribunal after they were first suspended in September 2010.

    All three have now returned to playing cricket after completing their five-year bans. But only Amir has been picked for the national team and is currently competing in the World Cup.