One month after passing misogynistic remarks against renowned television anchor Gharidah Farooqi, Dr Omer Adil has publicly apologised.
On a podcast hosted by Zohaib Butt, Dil Ki Baat, in July, film critic and orthopaedic surgeon Adil claimed that female anchors in Pakistan’s media industry are “handpicked by a seth or somebody else to go and host a stupid program”, adding that they are treated extraordinarily in comparison to their male counterparts.
He made these comments during a segment of the podcast that primarily targeted Gharidah Farooqi and used derogatory language, including vulgar abuse. He further claimed that the producers had ‘no guts’ to criticise women anchors for their mistakes.
This was followed by a massive backlash from the journalist community across Pakistan, particularly women who are, time and again, subjected to harassment and sexist commentary.
On August 6, Gharidah Farooqi updated on X (formerly Twitter) that Dr. Adil had been arrested by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).
On August 24, Dr Omer Adil posted an “unconditional, wholehearted and sincere apology” to Gharidah Farooqi.
But speaking with The Current, Gharida Farooqi revealed that it is not the first time that Omer Adil apologised to her.
“Dr. Umar Adil contacted me many weeks ago, shortly after he was granted bail following his arrest by the FIA after I filed a complaint. He called and apologised for about 20 to 30 minutes, insisting that he had been trapped and ended up saying things in the podcast that he did not intend.
He seemed to be playing the victim,” she recalls.
Gharidah then demanded that he issue an apology on his official YouTube channel for a duration equal to the time he spent making those offensive remarks on the podcast, to which he agreed.
The apology, however, was delayed due to alleged technical issues. During this time, he posted a brief video but then vanished again.
Although the case was receiving widespread attention, the FIA only detained Adil after Farooqi filed a complaint, which ultimately led to his public apology.
Fight against digital violence
Ghareeda Farooqi has long been subjected to online violence. From rape threats to even death threats, she has been targeted by “malicious campaigns”.
“I have been fighting against not just cyberbullying but cyberviolence against myself since 2014. I was the first female journalist who was made the victim of digital violence against women, as well as planned campaigns organised by political parties”, she says.
Women Press Freedom has documented at least a dozen organised troll campaigns against Gharida, reportedly the “highest number of organised digital violence we have ever documented against a journalist in the region” after Indian journalist Rana Ayyub.
“People have forged videos and pictures using my face, including pornographic content,” she recalls.
“So far, I have filed almost ten complaints with the FIA; not even one has been addressed, and no culprit has been arrested.”
