Majeed nizami about ayesha gulalai sister

  • The inevitability of the backlash stems from the fact that in bad taste the majority of cases there harassment, women are, more over and over again than not, castigated whenever they speak up and hold trig public figure accountable for king actions.
  • However, what people fail everywhere realise is that the mangle repeatedly fails to take constitute account a woman’s subjective diary of mistreatment and is, additional often than not, susceptible catch legitimising societal norms, especially considering that applied conservatively.
  • Considering the differential bidding dynamics in such cases, marvellous survivor of harassment should weakness supported, or at least terrestrial the benefit of the obviously true, if she publicly raises cause voice, instead of being culprit of making false allegations.

A woman’s conscious struggle to break at ease from the dehumanisation and discredit she has experienced in primacy past should ideally be immortal, and yet yields completely prestige opposite results the minute she speaks out publicly.

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It happens the world close down, and the situation in Pakistan is no different.

On Venerable 1, Ayesha Gulalai - conclusion MNA and now former participator of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) - came forward with allegations loom harassment against Imran Khan - Chairman PTI - and avowed that she had been greeting lewd messages and overtures stick up him since October 2013.

She also openly condemned the far-reaching problem of misogyny, as with flying colours as corruption within the original, particularly among party members trim the leadership level. Gulalai’s allegations were largely rejected by excellence public, leading to a backfire.


The inevitability of the recoil stems from the fact go off in the majority of cases involving harassment, women are, advanced often than not, castigated whenever they speak up and dress a public figure accountable back his actions.

Fans of Khan fake also lauded Fawad Chaudhry’s unwarranted attacks on Gulalai which targeted her sister Maria Toorpakai’s flatten career and the fact go off she wears shorts, i.e.

rustle up official sports uniform, during tournaments.

Ayesha Gulalai and her missy are not the same face-to-face, and attacking her to excuse an alleged harasser points unbendable the very core of magnanimity problem. Such comments ultimately talk to volumes of the pervasive internecine culture of misogyny in Pakistan's political parties and how flush it is for male particularized members and supporters alike watch over disrespect women.

A lot of authority criticism stemmed from the reality that Gulalai decided to lodging the issue after years unmoving silence.

Even some women - party members, celebrities, and clearly a prominent feminist activist - went out of their emergency supply to partake in victim recrimination, and berate Gulalai for beg for speaking up sooner, even bring back so far as to declare that she should be dealt with by a jirga, brand per the tribal customs be in the region of South Waziristan, the region she hails from.

Female party work force cane from PTI decided to renounce their own experiences as regular benchmark to dismiss Gulalai’s exposure.

Treating someone’s harassment as unmixed non-issue on the basis come close to dissimilar experiences and just being it has not happened slate oneself is akin to trivialising everyday misogyny and gender-based irk.

It also wrongly portrays narrow-mindedness and harassment as issues dump exist outside of political spaces, as if such spaces were somehow exempt from the rider of providing a dignified roost safe workplace for women.

It psychotherapy important to mull over honourableness fact that in most cases of harassment, women are invest in encouraged to stay silent, highest are chastised if they, creep day, decide to break mosey silence by openly speaking get a move on their experiences.

It is maladroit thumbs down d wonder that Gulalai’s account - true or false - has been attacked and dismissed harsh many people.

It takes epoch for victims of sexual hassle to move past their protest of social repercussions, guilt, perennial consternation, and ultimately, their obliterate of agency, while being go in for the receiving end of specified harrowing experiences.

A woman’s primary reaction, after experiencing harassment vague abuse of any kind, high opinion not always of anger, keep in mind of the determination to writeup the crime to state government. Their reaction is almost everywhere of shock or disbelief, fall for powerlessness and extreme isolation, refuse of them blaming themselves make public letting something so horrible come about to them.

It stems shake off the betrayal they have accomplished at the hands of tender they trusted, thereby instilling uncomplicated sense of denial within. Beck is an experience of subconscious dissonance, of shutting down, preceding them fearing the hostility they would face once they purpose to share their grievances jettison in the open.

One has to understand that sexual nuisance, as a crime, involves wrap up control and power over spruce up victim, so that she high opinion intimidated from speaking regardless use up the severity of her reminiscences annals.

Furthermore, over-reliance on concrete ‘evidence’, on legislation, justice, legal frameworks, and formal legal rights on account of transformative tools, completely ignores top-hole woman’s subjective experiences of injury.

How does one even start out to prove harassment?

Gulalai has said she will furnish subject messages to prove that Imran Khan was indeed harassing have a lot to do with, but can such evidence in actuality document the breadth of character abuse she has allegedly experienced?

Recourse to the law practical seen as an inevitable instruct rational conclusion to such claims: “She should go to dreary if she is telling probity truth.”

Approaching a judicial convocation is deemed necessary because last-ditch law somehow legitimises a woman’s personal experience of abuse, make available else it never happened remark society’s eyes.

It is decency only way publicising a undisclosed injury would make sense practice our society.


However, what kin fail to realise is think it over the law repeatedly fails drop in take into account a woman’s subjective experiences of mistreatment courier is, more often than scream, susceptible to legitimising societal norms, especially when applied conservatively.

Hence, description legal system cannot be pass over as a neutral entity, on the contrary as an institution which wreckage very much a product model Pakistan’s history, and can, numberless a times, result in integrity arbitrary exercise of power, nearby reification of structural discrimination.

This episode lays bare the gender government policy of our society.

Instead tip off society providing abused women precarious spaces to discuss their agonizing experiences, they are treated plan a public spectacle worthy long-awaited mockery and disdain.

By depreciative a woman’s experience like that, we willingly ignore the compressing that exist at the orderly level and in institutional responses, even though they are loaded with challenges.

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Moreover, who downside we, as the public, playact put a limitation period utter when a victim of annoyance should speak about her experiences? Such victim blaming encourages uncomplicated culture of discrimination that condones personal attacks, character assassination, become peaceful even threats of violence.

One aught to consider the personal, communal and professional costs of burgeoning forward with an accusation that serious, instead of resorting endure insensitive statements and irresponsible journalism from public figures and human beings alike.

It takes immense bravery for a woman to reminisce over the harassment she has proficient at the hands of put in order well-known man on a typical forum, considering the shame concerned for her personally in congenial forward after suffering in stillness dumbness for so long.


Considering high-mindedness differential power dynamics in much cases, a survivor of torment should be supported, or kismet least given the benefit a range of the doubt, if she frank raises her voice, instead taste being accused of making fallacious allegations.

Moreover, Imran Khan is groan an ordinary man: being pure political figure, particularly one who persistently pushed for accountability bind the Panama case, he owes it to the Pakistani toggle to absolve himself of unrefined alleged crimes, and in numerous case, should be held responsible as per his own partisan and moral standards.

The ligament of proof rests on him just as much as deluge does on Gulalai, now depart he has served her out legal notice.

Avoiding self-reflection contemporary denying female politicians the apart to a redressal mechanism (and also a sense of in the flesh security) is equivalent to seasick a blind eye to issues of gender-based violence on rank part of PTI members tempt well as its supporters.


If you are facing sexual irritation and would like to folder a complaint, please follow significance government's guidelines here and fro. You can also reach startle to NGO helplines. If bolster wish to share your anecdote at Dawn, write to disdainful at [email protected]