Pakistani singer Momina Mustehsan urges Ali Zafar to apologise over sexual harassment
Afreen Afreen fame Momina Mustehsan took to Twitter and urged Pakistani singer Ali Zafar and all the men who have violated a woman in a way, to acknowledge their fault and apologise unconditionally. She wrote an open letter on the Twitter, admitting that she herself has been a subject of sexual harassment herself. She shared the thoughts in the light of singer Meesha Shafi’s claims. Earlier this week, Shafi has accused Ali Zafar of sexual harassment. However, Zafar has denied all her claims.
On the other hand, Shafi's statement sparked Pakistan's own #MeToo movement earlier this week.
"This issue is bigger than just that of Ali Zafar," Mustehsan wrote.
"This is about the relationship of trust that men take for granted with women. Very often, as we can see, women are violated by the men they know, trust and often work with," she added.
The "Afreen afreen" singer raised a concern about the question "Why wait so long before saying anything?"
Mustehsan has an answer.
"It's because rather than shame the perpetrator, society at large tends to shame the victim. There is also immense social pressure to ‘not say anything', and keep matters like this private because some people may immediately question the woman's character, for their own defense, and drag women through courts and humiliate them, knowing fully well that it is impossible to prove cases of physical harassment, hence forcing some women to eventually have no option but to pull back their cases.
"This affects families, lives, careers, all of it."
Mustehsan extended her support to all women who have had to deal with inappropriate behaviour.
"It's time Pakistani women are able to stand up and hold their oppressors accountable, no matter how strong or influential they are... They are strong because we are weak - let's change that," she asserted.
Harassment of any form is "not okay", reiterated Mustehsan, adding: "I would want to ask Ali Zafar and all other men one question: do you think you have ever, knowingly or unknowingly, violated a woman in any way or form?
"If you have (no one is an angel), I request you to acknowledge your fault, apologise unconditionally, learn from the mistakes, and become a better human being. “
(With IANS Inputs)
