Pakistani lawmakers and rampant misogyny
We take a look at some of the misogynist comments passed by Pakistani lawmakers in recent years
May 01, 2018
Pakistani leaders have time and again casually made misogynist remarks and degraded women and gotten away with it.
From labelling them “tractor trolley” to questioning their characters, misogyny is rampant in the country, from the floor of Parliament to public speeches.
Recent comments by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leaders Rana Sabaullah and Abid Sher Ali have once again brought to the forefront the need for action against such remarks.
We take a look at some of the misogynist comments passed by Pakistani lawmakers in recent years:
April 30, 2018
Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah said women who attended Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) Minar-e-Pakistan rally in Lahore on April 29 “were not honourable” judging from their dance moves.
April 29, 2018
Minister of State for Power Abid Sher Ali used derogatory language against PTI leaders Shireen Mazari and Murad Saeed during a public rally.
Addressing the crowd, the lawmaker from Faisalabad said he told Mazari “there is nothing to touch in her” when she asked him to keep the distance from her.
April 16, 2018
PTI Sindh lawmakers Khurram Sher Zaman and Dr Seema Zia threw bangles at the entrance of Sindh Assembly to protest against increased power cuts in Karachi and bad governance in the province.
December 29, 2017
Former president Pervez Musharraf urged PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari to act like a man and stop being a woman.
Bilawal had chanted “Musharraf qatil [killer]” during his mother and former premier Benazir Bhutto’s death anniversary at Gari Khuda Bux on December 27. In response to his chants, Musharraf said, “I would like to say to Bilawal, who is raising these slogans like a woman, that he should first become a man.”
November 15, 2017
Geo anchorperson Shahzeb Khanzada called out Pak Sarzameen Party (PSP) Chairman Mustafa Kamal for making sexist remarks on his show.
Kamal was discussing his rift with Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) leader Farooq Sattar on the current affairs talk show Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Ke Saath on Geo News.
During their conversation, the PSP chairman described Sattar's recent behaviour as "auraton kee tara rona dhona, chooriyan torna, cheel ki tarah chillana" (crying like a woman, smashing bangles, shrieking like an eagle).
Cutting the casual sexism short, the anchor said: "Apologies for the intervention, but it's not right to refer to women like that. Women are a powerful group. It's not right to refer to them like this. That's all, please continue."
However, instead of apologising for his remarks, Kamal took the defensive approach: "Thank you for correcting me. I agree with you. But with reference to what I was saying, you may know some strong women, I know some weak ones..."
"Men can also be weak," Khanzada replied with a laugh. "Anyway, we can continue our discussion."
June 13, 2017
Then defence minister and PML-N stalwart Khawaja Asif seemingly referred to PTI's new member Firdous Ashiq Awan as the party's "newly acquired dumper [truck]".
In a series of tweets, Asif seemed to ridicule the recent political defections to the PTI and compared the performance of then prime minister Nawaz Sharif with that of PTI Chairman Imran Khan.
"While [the] PM is making history through personal example, Imran Khan is collecting political garbage and taking the party [PTI] to gutters," Asif said, in a thinly-veiled reference to politicians who have switched loyalties to PTI.
Then, without naming anyone and supposedly taking aim at Mazari and Awan, the federal minister said the "tractor trolley and newly acquired dumper can be used for hauling political garbage...no additional effort/expense".
January 2017
PPP Sindh leader Imdad Pitafi had made sexist remarks towards MPA Nusrat Sehar Abbasi during a Sindh Assembly session, however, the latter ‘forgave’ him in the name of ‘tradition’.
Pitafi had called Abbasi, who belongs to PML-Functional, a ‘drama queen’ and then told her to “please come to my chamber, I will tell you” in response to her tough questions about his ministry and insistence he read the answers in English.
Apart from Pitafi, other PPP legislators were also thumping their desks in appreciation of his sexist comments. Even Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah kept mum.
Pitafi’s comments were widely condemned by other lawmakers, including PPP leaders such as Nafisa Shah and Bilawal Bhutto. The party even served him a show-cause notice.
However a few days later, a group of PPP women, led by MPA Shamim Mumtaz, accompanied Pitafi to Abbasi’s seat and draped an ajrak over her shoulder as an apology.
“Though it is unforgettable but he draped a chador, which is wrapped around the heads of sisters in the Sindhi tradition,” said Abbasi, during the assembly session. “I accept his apology on the condition that this practice is not repeated.”
June 11, 2016
A Jamiat-i-Ulema-i-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) senator used abusive language against female analyst and rights activist Marvi Sirmed during a television show.
The show aired on private television channel was debating recent honour killings in Pakistan when JUI-F Senator Hafiz Hamdullah got angry over Sirmed for what he believed was her support for a panellist's comments over a lack of reaction from the Council Of Islamic Ideology on these killings.
The argument between Hamdullah and Sirmed resulted in an exchange of hot words between the rights activist and the lawmaker.
The questionable language was omitted from the transmission. However, Sirmed in a Facebook post claimed that Hamdullah began verbally abusing her with the worst possible expletives and tried to physically attack her as well.
June 8, 2016
Then water and power Khawaja Asif came under fire by opposition lawmakers for making offensive remarks against PTI MNA Shireen Mazari during a National Assembly session.
During the session when she and some other lawmakers protested to Asif's speech on load-shedding during Ramazan, he pointed towards Mazari and said, "Someone make this tractor trolley keep quiet".
"Make her voice more feminine," he said, according to eyewitnesses.
