One more talk show, I mutter under my breath, as I hit play. What follows is a one of the most shameful sights Pakistan has ever witnessed on national television.
During a discussion surrounding Aurat March, writer and director Khalil-Ur-Rehman Qamar, known for his in
tolerance of women, is preaching his views. He is angry that the court has denied the petition to halt the movement, and women will now march for their rights.
Amidst this very anger, he is blatantly abusing guest Marvi Sirmed on the show, shredding the same izzat he advocates for, through the use of repulsive and obnoxious slurs.
While losing his cool, he says, *What’s in your body? Who the hell are you, go look at your body and face; no one even wants to spit on it. Don’t talk in the middle, don’t talk in between the lines. What is your body, bibi? Don’t talk no bloody nonsense. you bloody shut up. B**ch!”
Sirmid, simply chants “mera jism, meri marzi” (my body, my choice) in the background, repeatedly, with determination, unmoved. The man is then triggered and proceeds to call her a ghatiya (vile) and badtameez aurat (disrespectful woman) as well as ullu ki pathi.
By now, I am fuming. I have stomped around my house five times, and the anger has now built like a whirlpool in my head – ready to explode. If you work in journalism, there are some protocols that need to be followed – eliminate the cuss words, work around to blur the abuses and slurs. We are left in a conundrum – it’s tricky to translate the video for our audience.
Ironic, right? As a woman my work, my colleagues, and my entire organisation will be scrutinised under a moral compass if I am to merely TRANSLATE the words of a man, who has shamelessly vomited them out on national television.
Also read: Tahira Abdullah schooling Khalil Ur Rehman Qamar on feminism is giving us life
Between all this, host Ayesha Ehtesham dismisses Sirmed, and says “Marvi sahiba, please, decorum ka khayal rakhein.” (Ms. Marvi, please be mindful of the decorum).
However, based on the limited backlash on social media (we say limited because you’d be surprised by how many people actually support Qamar’s views), Ayesha has since apologised for not condemning the director’s sexist and outright abusive remarks.
https://twitter.com/ayeshasohaileh4/status/1234988037395767296/photo/1
