Our Chief Justice’s comments have landed him in quite a pickle with the Women Lawyers Association. To provide some evidence and context, Chief Justice Saqib Nisar used something similar to the following quote by Winston Churchill in public:
“A good speech should be like a woman’s skirt; long enough to cover the subject and short enough to create interest.”
Here’s the video of the remarks made by the Chief Justice:
"Speech should be like a woman's skirt, it should not be too long that one loses the interest and neither too short that it doesn't cover the subject," this is the top judge of Pakistan, Saqib Nisar. #footinmouth pic.twitter.com/SWzq2uHaQj
— Naila Inayat (@nailainayat) January 20, 2018
Obviously, this started making rounds on social media. People had varying opinions on our Chief Justice’s remarks.
Some considered this a “foot-in-mouth” moment.
a woman's skirt,
" this is the top judge of Pakistan, Saqib Nisar. #footinmouth pic.twitter.com/7bkHsBePKY https://t.co/JPscWwPopO— dinesh saini (@dinesh_dhamrait) January 21, 2018
Wow CJP great knowledge about length of women skirt?♂️”Speech should be like a woman's skirt, it should not be too long that one loses the interest and neither too short that it doesn't cover the subject," this is the top judge of Pakistan, Saqib Nisar. #footinmouth
— Syed S Khuram ✍️ (@Alluring_Will) January 21, 2018
Others expected an apology.
Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar compared the length of a speech to length of a woman's skirt. #ApologizeCJP
— ajmalshabbir (@ajmalshabbir) January 21, 2018
Additionally, some even called out the underlying sexist mentality.
CJP speaks
Speech should be like a woman's skirt, it should not be too long that one loses the interest and neither too short that it doesn't cover the subject," this is the top judge of Pakistan, Saqib Nisar.
The Sexist mindset prevails everywhere. pic.twitter.com/jNgBJuzBih
— shaista خونی لبرل (@seenmeen1) January 21, 2018
However, mostly, people seemed to be on his side.
Criticism only for the sake of criticism. Do you know the idioms can enhance the effect of speech? and bring audience in a lighter mood to digest some bitter truths.
— M. Zubair Nawaz (@mazin4864) January 20, 2018
I mean, people were actually defending him.
People crying about Justice Saqib Nisar's "skirt" statement in his speech. IT IS NOT HIS QUOTE AND IT IS NOT A BIG DEAL -_- Plus i think less than a quarter pakistani women wear skirts on a regular basis so it cant be related to lol
— M_Ali_Sadi (@M_AliSadi) January 21, 2018
It's an old quote. Read it in Reader's Digest 25 odd years ago: "Speech should be like the skirt of a girl, long enough to be protective and short enough to be attractive. This gentleman is from that generation."
— Rajneesh Dhawan (@rajnishdhawan15) January 20, 2018
Samaa TV even held a poll where 61% of the 686 participants thought it was “witty and funny.”
CJP Mian Saqib Nisar’s recent remarks at an event in #Karachi comparing the length of a speech to that of a woman’s skirt were#SamaaPoll
— SAMAA TV (@SAMAATV) January 21, 2018
However, more seriously, the Women Lawyers Association wrote a formal letter, talking about how offensive the comment is. Here’s a copy of the same:
The letter, too, has started making rounds on social media platforms.
It highlights how it’s “disappointing to hear the highest judicial authority” “using women’s bodies to illustrate a point about public speaking.” The letter also outlines how this is a setback in a profession that is male-dominated, to begin with.
Statement from the Women Lawyers Association re the words spoken at the recent Judicial Conference. @omar_quraishi @NadeemfParacha @Xadeejournalist @ZarrarKhuhro pic.twitter.com/YTcMGLBZes
— Eman (@EmanChamdia) January 22, 2018
The letter is capped off with the expectation that such mistakes will not be made in the future. Let’s hope the Women Lawyers Association’s wishes are honored. Moreover, let’s hope this comment doesn’t do the expected damage. After all, it’s already hard enough being a woman.
What are your thoughts on this? Let us know below.
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Cover image via: tribune.com.pk