Tag: sexist remarks

  • ‘It works two ways’: Khan again victim blames Journalist Gharidah for getting harassed

    ‘It works two ways’: Khan again victim blames Journalist Gharidah for getting harassed

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairperson Imran Khan yet again victim blamed journalist Gharidah Farooqi for being harassed at a rally where she had gone to cover the event.

    In an interview with Isaac Chotiner of The New Yorker, Khan was asked if his comment about Farooqi was taken out of context.

    The former Prime Minister responded: “No. No. No. It wasn’t out of context. Look, in our society, we were . . . it was just in one particular rally where they were all men, and she was right in the middle of this male crowd. It’s just that . . . I mean, anyone who knows Pakistani society, or most sorts of societies like India or Pakistan—if you put yourself in that position, you are going to be vulnerable.”

    “It’s just common sense. Yes, the men are to be blamed if they do anything. But also it works two ways, you should all . . . in our society, normally, people would avoid putting themselves in that position. It’s as simple as that,” added Khan.

    “We have brilliant women journalists in this country. They are doing a great job. But they don’t have to put themselves in positions—and let me just say, it was a specific situation I was talking about, because we actually tried to get her out of the situation,” said Khan.

    Chotiner probed Imran further, stating that there seems to be a certain universalism in Khan’s thinking about democratic government, but, when he speaks about cultural or social issues, about girls’ education or how women respond to being mistreated by men, there’s not so much universalism.

    Khan replied, “I’m appalled. I just feel that sometimes the Western press picks up selective things. How can anyone blame women for rape? Tell me, how can any sensible person ever make such a stupid comment? Look, the rapist is always to be blamed. Always. Simple. Full stop. I was looking at the crime charts, and the crime charts reported to me by the police officers showed that sex crimes were going through the roof in my country. So we got to the bottom of it. Why is this happening?”

    “In the case of a woman getting raped, she’s marked for life. But even worse is when children get abused; that stays with them for the rest of their life. The ideas that came forward were, one, that we must bring down the level of temptation in our society, because you have a lot of frustrated people. Now, this is coming from civil society. And secondly, how do we educate children in schools to stop this child abuse?”

    Khan, in October last year, passed sexist comments about journalist Gharidah Farooqi, saying: “Woh mardon mei ghussay gi toh aisa hi hoga” (If she will enter into men’s sphere, then this is what will happen).

    During a meeting with the delegation of the National Press Club and the Rawalpindi/Islamabad Union of Journalists (RIUJ), Khan said that “Farooqi goes into the crowd and then complains that she is being harassed”.

    He also said that he will ask his party workers to act appropriately.

  • ‘We will slap you in the face so much’, PTI’s Gandapur incites violence against Maryam Nawaz

    ‘We will slap you in the face so much’, PTI’s Gandapur incites violence against Maryam Nawaz

    Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan Ali Amin Khan Gandapur has once again come under fire for making sexist and violent remarks against Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz.

    Taking a jibe at Maryam, Gandapur said: “You [Maryam] have spent Rs80 million [tax payers] money on surgery. I will unmask your real face before the public by removing [cosmetic surgery].”

    “We will slap you in the face so much that your real face will be revealed to everyone,” Gandapur said.

    This isn’t the first time Gandpur made such remarks. In November last year, Ali Amin Gandapur had claimed that Maryam Nawaz “owes her beauty to cosmetic surgeries performed at the expense of taxpayers”.

    Speaking at a public gathering, the lawmaker went on a sexist tirade against the PML-N vice president. He said the PML-N leader became “beautiful” by spending tax money on her alleged plastic surgeries.

    Twitterati reacted to Gandapur’s sexist and misogynist remarks.

    PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif tweeted, “His [ Ali Amin Gandapur’s] words are not only violent but also deeply misogynist. Just imagine that people with this mindset have been given the responsibility to govern a country of 220 million people.”

    “Govt’s claims of its ‘commitment’ to women’s human rights and equality will ring hollow What’s worse is that Gandapur is a serial offender and has made such statements before as well with impunity,” says lawyer Reema Omer.

    Social Activist Jibran Nasir tweeted, “Prime Minister Imran Khan endorses it & encourages it. About time everyone stops making excuses for PM that he isn’t surrounded by the right people or he is ill-advised.”

    A Twitter user tweeted, “What are the odds that this is sheer unfiltered hate against women?”

    Meanwhile, the official Twitter account of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) shared a clip where lawmaker Maleeka Bokhari said, “The language used by Maryam Nawaz for the elected Prime Minister and PTI representatives is reprehensible.”

    “It is not possible for you [Maryam Nawaz] to criticise and then play the women’s card,” added Bokhari.

    Minister of State for Climate Change Zartaj Gul tweeted, “Rich of an infamous misogynist Shehbaz Sharif and his abusive deputies who falsely claim PTI encourages such an approach. The track record of the Sharif family is horrific in terms of attacks on women. & Maryam Safdar has actually promoted those who have engaged in openly abusing women!”

  • ‘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.

  • Majeed Niazi’s misogyny and Firdous’ slap

    Majeed Niazi’s misogyny and Firdous’ slap

    Two members of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) have made the news this week and for all the wrong reasons. Yesterday, during the Budget session in the National Assembly, PTI’s MNA Abdul Majeed Khan Niazi passed some sexist and misogynist comments against Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari. By mocking Bilawal Bhutto through gender-based slurs, Mr Niazi is not just demeaning the PPP Chairman but women as well. Such sexist comments by government members are not something new. From Prime Minister Imran Khan addressing Bilawal Bhutto as ‘sahiba’ to Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed calling him ‘Billo Rani’, such sexist comments are absolutely disgusting. 

    Political rivalry does not mean that you attack your opponents in a derogatory way. If somebody wants to criticise their political opponents, they should be criticised for their politics and policies. Such comments are not just below the belt but should be condemned across the board. In the past, we have seen Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Khawaja Asif pass sexist comments against PTI’s Shireen Mazari. We have also seen PPP’s Abdul Qadir Patel’s disgustingly personal attacks against PTI’s Murad Saeed. Such attacks are sickening, to say the least, and should not be tolerated by any political party. Unfortunately, it seems that parties do not condemn such comments in the public domain. Some say, they are privately encouraged. 

    Talking of attacks, on Thursday, Special Assistant to the Punjab Chief Minister Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan slapped Qadir Mandokhel of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) on the set of Express News’ programme ‘Kal Tak’ during a break. The video of the off-air brawl between Dr Firdous and Qadir Mandokhel went viral on the internet. While Firdous said that it all started because Mandokhel abused her first, the said programme’s host Javed Chaudhry clarified that it was indeed Firdous who first used abusive language for Mandokhel. Abusing your political opponents is uncalled for to begin with and then getting physical with them is going one-step ahead and cannot be condemned enough. We have seen late Naeem-ul-Haque slap PML-N’s Daniyal Aziz on air. Mr Haque also threw a glass of water on PPP’s Jamil Soomro many years ago in a talk show. This trend is nothing new but it does not mean that it should be encouraged or condoned. 

    We expect our public representatives to act in a responsible manner. Unfortunately, they disappoint us on several occasions. We hope that party leadership will make their members accountable for such actions rather than silently encouraging them.