Tag: Maria B

  • ‘Liberals try to take me down’; Maria B. reacts following criticism for stealing designs from Palestinian collection

    ‘Liberals try to take me down’; Maria B. reacts following criticism for stealing designs from Palestinian collection

    Maria B is under fire after being accused of copying designs for her Palestine campaign.

    Over the weekend, designer Maria B. launched a capsule line called the Falesteen Collection. The collection includes T-shirts, two-piece and three-piece lawn suits featuring prints of the black-and-white keffiyeh, colourful houndstooth patterns, and watermelon, symbolising Palestine’s resistance.

    One of the designs featured a map of Palestine with a boy merged into the pattern, along with the Palestine flag wrapped in olive branches.

    This design caught the attention of artist Leena Ghani, who noticed it was copied. She shared Maria B.’s campaign on her Instagram stories and tagged the page Palestine Quebec, which confirmed that Turkish artist Hacı Balina Atölye created the design.

    As the allegation spread online, Palestine Quebec and Leena Ghani urged people to call out the designer and support the artist whose work had been copied. Maria B. did not initially respond to the accusations.

    On Tuesday night, however, the designer addressed the issue on her Instagram stories, confirming that she had “unintentionally” used the artist’s work in her collection. She called it an “oversight” and apologised to her followers.

    “In this digital age of fast-paced information and viral images, such unintentional oversights can occur. We apologize for the oversight,” her statement read.

    “We have contacted the artist, who recognizes our work with empathy and grace and is willing to collaborate with us in our efforts for Gaza. She’s a young and talented artist, please support her work! @hacibalina,” the designer said.

    She also criticised those she called “liberals foaming at the mouth” for accusing her of blatant plagiarism.

    Maria B. responded to criticism in her stories, saying, “Maria B. copied the Gaza flag. Maria B copied the Gaza map. Maria B copied Keffiyeh. Maria B copied resistance art. Maria B copied watermelon. Watermelon copied embroidery. Low IQ liberals.”

    She emphasised, “This is an inspired collection picking up images of resistance,” and clarified that she was not making any money from the sales. “Liberals try to take me down while I’m trying to help raise funds for Gaza. This is Pakistan. Do nothing yourself and tear down anyone who tries to do something, God is enough for me, I will never stop,” she added.

    The Turkish artist Atölye shared a photo from Butt’s collection that featured her design, along with the caption, “My artwork in Pakistan.”

    Maria B.’s claim that ‘liberals’ were trying to ‘take her down’ overlooks the fact that she did copy the design. While her campaign to donate the proceeds from her sales to Palestine is commendable, copying someone else’s design is not. Whether intentional or not, incidents like this can harm even the noblest campaigns. We hope more brands in Pakistan will educate their teams about plagiarism and take extra care in reviewing their collections.

    Maria B. has repeatedly landed in hot waters in recent years for targeting the transgender community and, most recently, for her crusade against Barzakh.

  • Khawaja Sira community members attacked by mob in Karachi; No action taken yet

    Khawaja Sira community members attacked by mob in Karachi; No action taken yet

    The first-ever elected transgender member of the Karachi Municipal Council and transgender rights activist Shahzadi Rai took to X (former Twitter) and described an incidence of violence against her community members.

    Shahzadi wrote, “A mob attack occurred at Johar Mor. These individuals first beat members of my community, then threatened to kill us openly. Please help and kindly tag the police. @sindhpolicedmc8 @BBhuttoZardari @PPP_Org @AuratMarchKHI @TMItalks.”

    In the video she highlighted how police arrived quite late while she was constantly being threatened with being killed. In another video, she was trying to calm the mob, but nothing worked at that point. She has appealed to the Sindh police to take legal action against the hate crime and violence.

    Member of Awami Workers Party, Ammar Rashid, wrote, “Horrifying to see. There is a direct line from the anti-trans hate being spread by rightwing activists, youtubers & parties to such mobs. Your ‘gender activism’ hobby & moral panic clickbait leads to situations of life & death for others. And no surprise Sindh police is MIA.”

    Transgender Rights Activist Aradhiya Khan demanded strict action, “ Urgent Alert: Another mob attack at Johar Mor! Once again, our community is being targeted and hunted down. We’re facing threats of violence and need immediate intervention.
    @sindhpolicedmc8 , please step in to stop this cycle of terror. Lives are at stake! #StopViolence”

    Human Rights Activist Gulalai Ismail highlighted the consequences of online campaigns against transgender community, “This is terrifying and highly condemnable. The recent trans-hate politics of JI and likes of Maria B has intensified the existing threats to the lives of Pakistani khwajasira community. These hate mongers should be held accountable & brought to justice.”

    Aurat March Karachi also reacted to the situation and said, “This is outrageous and horrifying. Till when will the khawaja sira community and trans people be forced to live in fear of such gruesome violence? Why do these fanatical cis men feel emboldened enough to issue threats like these, that too so openly? We stand in solidarity with the trans community and reiterate our demand to immediately end the hate campaign & mob violence targeting them.”

    Lawyer Muneeb Qadir said, “’Taang pe taang rakh ke cheer doon ga’ was what Qaiser Raja had said about transgenders & while specifically naming Shahzadi Rai in that speech. Hate speech can have dangerous consequences as you can see from what happened in Johar Mor last night. Maria B, Mishi, this one’s on u”

  • ‘Dangerous and irresponsible’: Ushna Shah calls out Maria B for misusing Palestine activism

    ‘Dangerous and irresponsible’: Ushna Shah calls out Maria B for misusing Palestine activism

    Actress Ushna Shah took to her X (formerly Twitter) account to call out controversial fashion designer Maria B for misusing her tweets and photos from the Palestine march in Karachi to malign the transgender movement.

    “Maria B’s collaboration with questionable low grade bloggers and use of my tweets and photos from the Palestine March — where I was incidentally standing with a transgender rights activist — for her agenda is dangerous and irresponsible. She’s misusing edited content to stir controversy, exploiting trending topics like Palestine in a way that’s beneath even her.”

    “I am not aligned with her extreme right-wing or any extreme left-wing views,” continued the ‘Habs’ actress. “I have a diverse social circle, like most actresses working in showbiz, and I don’t subscribe to any political agenda. I value all life, from minorities to even animals. I urge Maria to realize the harm and potential risks to my safety her actions cause. In layman’s terms: please keep my name out of your mouth & don’t drag me in a war that has nothing to do with me.”

    “I am not pushing any agenda except the liberation of Palestine, do not use me to push yours.” Ushna wrote. “I’m sorry I rejected coming to your march, but this was a sick retaliation which has endangered me. Me not wanting to associate with Maria and her march doesn’t make me an LGBTQ activist. It has nothing to do with that. She has made me uncomfortable since her stunt with the covid patient working in her home, I see her as an irresponsible person who weaponises religion to push her brand & her recent stunt proves just that. Using the photo from a *Palestine* march in which an activist Shahzadi came next to me for a while & posing it as an LGBTQ March is again highly irresponsible of her, not to mention spreading lies online to endanger someone is illegal.”

    In the next tweet Ushna wrote: “To the fundamentalists threatening me: I’ve written this in Urdu. Simple words “meri dosti SAB ACTRESSES ki tarah SAB sey hei, meinay Palestine ke ilawa koi agenda push nahi kiya, Jo sawal mujhse karney hein woh sab actresses sey karein. LogoN ko mazhab Matt istemal karney dein sales banaaney ke liye. Mere Falasteen make stance ke baad haath sey endorsements jaa rahi hein, matlab high paying multinational waqfay, Jo ke aap sab ko patah hei mujhe bohot miliey thee alhamdulilah, Aur yeh logue Falasteen ko Aur mujhe istemaal kar rahey hein ratings ke liye”. I am at Umrah, let me get back to it without fearing propaganda. Jo masla mera hei hee nahi uss mein mujhe mutt ghaseetein. Aur meri avaaz falasteen ke haq mein Jo uthee hei ussey chup Matt karwayein.”

    Ushna Shah ended the thread by writing: “Maria, I am not new to cheap made up controversies by bloggers but a woman in your position should know better than to use me and to use this genocide. You are old enough to be my mother. Since you decided to address me online and open me up to threats, even though you have my number, I’ve decided to do the same. What you have done is dangerous, irresponsible & illegal, and if I had time to visit FIR offices, I would.”

    Maria B has yet to comment on Ushna Shah’s statement.

  • Maria B has yet another factually incorrect take on transgender people

    Maria B has yet another factually incorrect take on transgender people

    Designer Maria B has yet again decided to court controversy. The fashion maven took to social media to disperse more of her opinions about transgender communities, because she knows them better than the experts from the community, right? On Friday, the face behind the fashion brand ‘Maria B’ tweeted how the biggest threats to women universities were “biological men” aka transgender women, who were invading women’s bathrooms. She called for a ban on giving admission to transpeople in women’s colleges.

    “Women Universities in Pakistan are under attack. Biological men are now being given admission in our safe spaces for women. Female bathrooms are now being invaded by biological men who feel like women….As it is we live in a Conservative society where parents hesitate sending their daughters for higher education. Forcing biological men into women’s universities under the garb of transgenders will be a great disservice to women’s education. Watch how parents will start stopping their daughters from getting education bcz there are MEN PRETENDING TO BE WOMEN in the universities.”

    The fashion designer went on to slam women rights organisations like Aurat March for “not standing up for women’s rights” and “shutting women’s voices”.

    However, reports from universities all around Pakistan would disprove Maria B’s take that the transgender community is the biggest reason why parents are refraining their daughters from going to universities. Because from all the recent cases of sexual harassment and rape reports from colleges, we can’t help but deduce that the majority of the perpetuators behind these assaults are men.

    Take for instance, the recent case in Ghazi University where a young woman complained of being sexually assaulted and threatened by two male professors who were black mailing her younger sister.

    READ MORE: Accusations of sexual assault, blackmail leveled against two professors in DG Khan

    Or the matter of the ex-head security officer at Islamia University in Bahawalpur, who was caught in July with multiple illicit videos of women and female staff on his phone. He was allegedly black mailing women with threats to leak the videos.

    READ MORE: Police arrest university’s chief security officer for objectionable videos of female students, drug possession

    In June, another male employee at King Edward Medical College was caught making videos of women in washrooms, an action which launched protests as several women revealed they had consistently filed complaints with the KEMU administration about the pressence of male staff members in female bathrooms.

    READ MORE: Employee at King Edward Medical University caught making video of female student in washroom

    In not one of these stories is it mentioned that a transgender woman was caught harassing or black mailing a woman. However recently, reports circulated on social media of a transgender activist who was forcibly converted in a rehabilitation centre Focus Life, where she detailed reports of being tortured, sexually harassed and abused for her gender identity.

    READ MORE: Transgender activist Zaakraa’s story takes sinister turn, wipes all previous posts

    So there you have it folks, it is not transgender women who are making other women feel unsafe in universities, but it is the way institutes turn a blind eye to male privilege, sexual harassment, and protection of harassers that keeps women feeling unsafe in these places.

  • ‘Don’t label things as agenda without knowing the complete context’: Muneeb Butt responds to Maria B’s criticism of Sar-e-Rah

    ‘Don’t label things as agenda without knowing the complete context’: Muneeb Butt responds to Maria B’s criticism of Sar-e-Rah

    When Sar-e-Rah aired its fourth episode, the story shifted to the struggles of an intersex boy who struggled to get love and acceptance from his family, and was determined to work hard and make his father proud. A significant moment in this episode which had caused social media users to declare it as the best television series of the decade, was an interaction between father and son when he explained to his child that it was okay to embrace gender fluidity.

    However, fashion designer Maria B had criticized the episode for encouraging acceptance of the transgender community, and called the actors who had taken part in the show ‘sell outs’ who were contributing to the destruction of Pakistan.

    In an interview with Maliha Rehman, actor Muneeb Butt addressed the criticism of the episode being ‘anti-Islamic’ by calling it wrong and entirely taken out of context.

    “I was disappointed to listen to her accusation because we are not anti-Islamic, we are Muslim, as well as the writers who wrote this script. We have a problem that we are quick to label other people as having agendas, or we distribute certificates that they’re anti- Muslim or taking an anti-Islamic stance. We think that we’re right, and the other people around them are wrong…When I read this drama, I was analyzing that there is nothing insensitive being spoken, clashing with my Islamic beliefs, and I didn’t think it was contradicting any Islamic value.”

    Butt addressed the scene which was slammed by B and other right wing critics as promoting ‘vulgarity’, by explaining that these critics had not taken into account the back story of these characters to understand the scene properly:

    “You should listen to the context behind this clip. If you watch a clip and judge an entire drama from this, then you’re completely wrong. No one can predict an entire drama from just a clip, because you don’t remember what happened before it. Before this, the father had seen his son dancing like a woman and wearing makeup, and his mother was forcing him to do this. The dad simply asked him did he want to do all of this in the bathroom, to which the son responded yes he does. The father is silent for a minute, then again asks ‘Beta, if you like doing this then tell me. I won’t feel bad at all.’ Then the son says ‘Baba, I don’t want to do this.’ It’s after that the father gently explains to him that right now his son is young but when he grows up that’s when you will learn to understand the feelings inside your body. He wasn’t saying that it’s your choice if you want to become a girl or a boy. The father was trying to make his son understand that the feelings your body is trying to tell you, whether you’re a male or female, that is something you will decide on your own. Right now it’s not necessary for you to figure out these things, you have to focus on your studies. This is the entire context, and it was beautiful how the father was encouraging his son to keep moving forward and study hard.”

    Given the entire context, Butt slammed critics for labeling him and the rest of the ‘Sar-e-Rah’ crew, saying it could have placed his life in danger.

    While social media overflowed with different takes on Sarang’s character, Butt had chosen to remain silent and did not address the allegations on social media. Butt explained that he had planned to write a note as soon as episode 6 came out, when Sarang gives a speech at a convocation.

    Butt revealed that the wife of a prominent actor had reached out to him when this episode had aired, and had sent him an audio note which said some things that proved she wasn’t happy with the drama.

    “It was her right to say all of these things because we make shows for the public. It’s their right to tell us about their opinions about our dramas, but for that you need to watch the complete episode to understand the context rather than judging it from a small video clip.”

    Listen to the complete interview here:

  • Maria B and what continues to be wrong with our society

    Designer Maria Butt, running the Maria B design label, somehow stays more in the news because of her controversial, many times toxic and mostly disappointing point of view than her clothing brand itself. The designer has a way of getting attention for all the wrong reasons.

    So a designer who has been in the industry for a long should have evolved with the changing times, but sadly, to our disappointment, Butt reflects a more significant part of our society that is still stuck in ancient times. But, like many bigoted Pakistanis, it provides little to no space for accepting people for who and what they are.

    Let’s talk about her many problematic views that have hurt the sentiments of many, put the lives of marginalised groups in danger and not to forget the very recent emotional damage done to a family because of her brand’s recent photoshoot.

    Maria B has several times attempted to “raise awareness” about her apparent “vast distinctions” between the Khwajasira and Transgender community through her limited knowledge, which resulted in putting the lives of the already marginlised community in danger. People like Maria B should understand that the transgender community is struggling to stay alive, let alone benefit from rights granted to them by the laws of this country. She has a huge following and the words she utters against anyone have consequences of their own.

    How can one forget that Maria B expressed great joy in a series of Instagram stories, when the censor board in Punjab banned the film Joyland. A film that has put Pakistan’s name on the world map was widely opposed by the designer. She then hailed the Punjab government saying, “You guys rock!” when they banned the film. Maria also highlighted how this ban “gives hope” to people like her who want a better future for children in Pakistan.

    Despite being from a previliged class, she has only displaying ignorance. A member of Bahawalpur’s Abbasi family, the former nawabs of the once princely state, called out the Maria B brand for posting and later deleting pictures and videos of a campaign shot in their private family graveyard. The campaign featured shots from various locations in Bahawalpur. In it, the models are seen walking and twirling around in various locations, one of which was identified as the private graveyard of the royal family of Bahawalpur. The videos and pictures have since been deleted and the Maria B page posted an apology for the “unfortunate incident”.

    Needless to say, Maria B has been receiving backlash for offering her unsought and limited knowledge about topics she is no expert on. Yet, her ignorance and insensitivity makes her believe that it is her duty to raise her voice, and speak without thinking of consequences for others. We can only hope she and others like her learn for the better. Pakistan is already intoxicated by the narrow mindset of many. We don’t want additional toxicity in our country.

  • Ruh-roh, Maria B quotes trans supporter Lady Gaga in campaign video

    .It seems that while insisting she has better knowledge about who is a real woman and who is not, Maria B should have first researched which celebrities champion trans causes.

    A video for the promotion of Maria B’s upcoming fashion brand is going viral because Mona Hussain, another vocal anti-trans rights person, was seen quoting Lady Gaga’s famous song ‘Born This Way’ in it.

    “Women empowerment is when a woman is allowed to reach her full potential in whatever way that may be. What it certainely means is that we do not need men to tell us who we are, or define our roles… In the words of the famous Lady Gaga, ‘Baby, you were literally born this way!”

    Mona Hussain is a psychologist who has collaborated in the past with Maria B in transphobic videos.

    What Maria B chooses to completely filter out here is that ‘Born This Way’ was written by Lady Gaga in support of the transgender community, and it features lyrics that encourages people to love themselves, regardless of being gay, straight or transgender:

    “No matter gay, straight, or bi
    Lesbian, transgender life
    I’m on the right track, baby
    I was born to survive
    No matter Black, white, or beige
    Chola or Orient made
    I’m on the right track, baby
    I was born to be brave!”

    Lady Gaga has also called out transphobes in interviews, for instance in an interview with Anderson Cooper, she was asked about the rumor that she is secretly a man to which she responded:

    “Maybe I do…Would it be so terrible? Why the hell am I gonna waste my time and give a press release on whether or not I have a penis? My fans don’t care and neither do I.”

  • Editorial: Are we betraying our culture if we accept something might be different?Bilkul nahi

    Editorial: Are we betraying our culture if we accept something might be different?Bilkul nahi

    Sar-e-Rah, a drama well known to the Pakistani audience, recently aired one of its most anticipated episodes that explored the struggles of a transgender boy who tries to gain acceptance from his family by studying hard.

    The episode delved into how Sarim (played by Muneeb Butt) is bullied by his stepmother and brother because of the fact that he is an intersex boy. However, Sarim and his father have a close bond, who encourages him to work hard and is the only one who embraces his true nature rather than hiding it away.

    In a scene that gained massive audience attention and praises on Twitter, the father and son are sitting by the sea where he teaches his son that there is no shame in wanting to be feminine, and he can choose to be whatever he likes because it won’t diminish his father’s love for him.

    Many users praised the way this episode depicted the relationship between the father and son, as portrayed by Nabeel Zafar and Butt’s moving acting. The show was lauded for handling a taboo subject in a delicate manner, and showing how important it is for parent’s to empathise with and support their children.

    In a time when censorship overrules freedom of thought, and many drama creators refuse to engage with the audience, there are creators who are making stories for the audience by taking bold steps in crafting unique stories that tackle social issues in a sensitive yet thorough manner.

    Unfortunately this message did not resonate with everyone, as harsh critics like fashion designer Maria B once again stepped up to criticise the drama for ‘promoting vulgarity’ and encouraging the acceptance of the transgender community. This isn’t the first time Maria B has targeted the transgender community through her hate campaigns and probably won’t be the last time either. But it all comes down to a few questions we really need to ask ourselves: How is being an intersex a bad thing? Why can’t we as people accept everyone for who they are and what they are? Why is it so hard for us to choose kindness? What are we so afraid of? How is accepting a child for what and who they are a problem? At a tender age, a child only needs validation and acceptance. Parents don’t love in categories, their love is unconditional. Then why do we always put conditions on things which only need love and kindness.

    Moving forward to the larger debate, which is about culture and what will people say. We need to understand that the world has massively changed. It’s the 21st century and people have a way of living on their own terms. Why do we always bring society, culture in things we ourselves are afraid to handle? Take the example of the scene in this drama itself, in our society a father is mostly shown as the angry adult, who doesn’t speak much, expresses even lesser and then here was a father, calm, tender and accepting of his son. We should promote such culture where fathers shower their children with kindness and love.

    Kindness and love is the need of the hour. Pakistan already has a lot of problems. Let’s not make acceptability a problem as well. Our children deserve better. They deserve peace, security and assurance that yes our parents have our back. It all starts from home. Children need these little affirmations from a young age. Let’s not disappoint them just because they are different.

  • ‘Rotten scooties, dirty’: Feroze Khan slams celebs who support ‘Joyland’, sides with Maria B

    ‘Rotten scooties, dirty’: Feroze Khan slams celebs who support ‘Joyland’, sides with Maria B

    Actor Feroze Khan has supported designer Maria B’s stance on the ban of the feature film Joyland. He compared her mindset to a Rolls Royce with a 100-year road life. The Khaani star dissed several celebrities who are supporting the film and termed them as “rotten scooties”.

    Khan tweeted, “Maria B’s mindset – Is like Rolls Royce 100-year road life while “other” you know who are like those rotten scooties. Push push no move, you dirty.” He also asked for the film’s ban earlier in an Instagram story.

    An order dated Nov. 11 from Pakistan’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting says that the country’s censor board had granted a censor certificate to the film on Aug. 17. But it has since reversed the decision.

    “Written complaints were received that the film contains highly objectionable material which does not conform with the social values and moral standards of our society and is clearly repugnant to the norms of ‘decency and morality as laid down in Section 9 of the Motion Picture Ordinance, 1979,” the order states. “Now, therefore, in the exercise of the powers conferred by Section 9(2) (a) of the said Ordinance and after conducting a comprehensive inquiry, the Federal Government declares the feature film titled ‘Joyland’ as an uncertified film for the whole of Pakistan in the cinemas which fall under the jurisdiction of CBFC with immediate effect.”

    Joyland movie review: Beautifully told tale of soul-crushing patriarchy and LGBTphobia in Lahore-Entertainment News , Firstpost

    “Joyland” was due to release in Pakistan on Nov. 18. 

     Saim and his team members are raising their voices against the ban imposed by the government. Terming the ban a “grave injustice,” Sadiq, in an Instagram post, says that the ban is “absolutely unconstitutional and illegal” and has urged the country’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to review the decision.

    Apart from the movie’s team, several A-list celebrities condemned the ban and extended support to the team.

  • Maria B wants transgender’s rights act to be called ‘khwaja sira’ act, Twitter wants her to stop ‘commenting’

    Maria B wants transgender’s rights act to be called ‘khwaja sira’ act, Twitter wants her to stop ‘commenting’

    Designer Maria B has once again landed in controversy for her transphobic comments. The designer took to Instagram stories to share her two cents about the recent debate on Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act of2018, along with her sisters Najia and Aafia.

    In the video, Maria B expresses her concern about how the said act will affect her children.

    “The first thing that one needs to do is to identify what transgender means. Who is the most famous transgender in the world? Everyone knows about Kim Kardashian and her father. He was her father first and then her mother. His name is Caitlyn Jenner” said Maria.

    Maria said the Act was “transgenders” not for ‘khwaja sira’

    “No absolutely not, this Act was designed for the khwaja sira community. They are intersex people and there’s a massive difference between them and transgenders. On the Act that represents the marginalised community, after 70 years when we’re doing something for them, and transgenders have usurped their rights,” she said.

    People are criticising the designer for sharing her opinion about a marginalized community of which she herself is not a part. Take a look at the tweets:

    The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act of2018 has come under intense criticism from some sections of society during the past few weeks with two petitions also having been filed in the Federal Shariah Court against the Act.

    The Bill was enacted in the year 2018 to guarantee transgenders equal rights to education, basic health facilities , issuance of CNICs and passport and giving them a right to vote and contest elections.

    Earlier this year in August, Maria B complained about a trans activist being on the speaker’s panel at a talk in her son’s school.