Jemima coming at Imran Khan for his terrible opinions
It is no secret that Pakistan is a deeply misogynistic society. Men have found it easier to blame women for all things that they’ve themselves done wrong. Men have also found it easier to police women and their bodies than try to check their own behavior when it has come to cases of rising sexual violence. In a society like this , it is no surprise when the top leadership says similarly misogynistic things but thanks to so many women activists, the time is now gone when such comments were made without retribution.
Recently, the Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan was asked about the rising cases of rape in Pakistan and he decided to blame it on fahaashi
Prime Minister @ImranKhanPTI: Obscenity caused increase in divorce rate in UK. Delhi became the rape capital because of obscenity in Bollywood films. pic.twitter.com/rfqIvG47IM
— IndSamachar News (@Indsamachar) April 7, 2021
Naturally, people were pissed off at his reductive argument
Although it isn’t surprising that a man who has continued to make misogynistic statements and be hypocritical about the dichotomy of his personal life and public opinions, people were quick to point out that such statements by the Prime Minister of the country will embolden misogynistic rhetoric even further.
Instead of making effective policies and implementing them to stop rape like public hanging or castration. Imran khan has once agained left this matter to parda. Do parda or get raped , what kind of mindset is this ? 1/3 pic.twitter.com/AQELGbbcKN
— Palwasha binte inam 🇵🇰 (@PBItweets) April 6, 2021
So when @ImranKhanPTI goes abroad, does he ask the women around him to cover up so he doesn’t get tempted to rape them? Or are foreign women worthy of self control?
— sohniyeh (@sohnianika) April 5, 2021
Women, children and sexual minorities already suffer and statements like these coming from the Prime Minister don’t serve in any way to help make this country a safer place for them.
People tried to educate Imran Khan about his terrible opinions
Even usual fans of the Prime Minister were disappointed in his statement and his deeply misogynistic ideology when it comes to sexual violence in Pakistan.
Prime Minister Imran Khan needs to enlighten himself more about the complexities of sexual violence against children and females. Rape of children is not a sexual act, it's a sickness of mind. Rape of women is not about sexual pleasure, it is a sick inhuman display of power. 1/2
— Mehr Tarar (@MehrTarar) April 4, 2021
One such person is Jemima Goldsmith who is disappointed in the words of Imran Khan
Jemima, the former first wife of Mr. Khan, was quick to slam the troubling words that he uttered.
“Say to the believing men that they restrain their eyes and guard their private parts." Quran 24:31
The onus is on men. https://t.co/StkKE3HIPM
— Jemima Goldsmith (@Jemima_Khan) April 7, 2021
Not only that, Jemima went on to share how the Imran Khan she knew was a completely different man
I'm hoping this is a misquote/ mistranslation. The Imran I knew used to say, "Put a veil on the man's eyes not on the woman." https://t.co/NekU0QklnL
— Jemima Goldsmith (@Jemima_Khan) April 7, 2021
Of course, fans of the Prime Minister were quick to give clarifications to Jemima about what Imran Khan really meant
Media is quoting him wrong. He talked about vulgar things being shown and I think women are being misused. Women has very high status and respect in our religion.
— Rashid (@Hrcolorful) April 7, 2021
But many were thankful to her for speaking up about the terrible choice of words Mr. Khan had made when he shared his opinions LIVE on NATIONAL TELEVISION
Oh my God I was so pissed off when I heard this. My parents were at my place when it aired on the news and I lost it. Women, girls, children are raped and molested no matter wtf they wear, and no one should be taking religious advice from this gentleman anyway.
— rabia O'chaudry (@rabiasquared) April 7, 2021
It’s no secret that Imran Khan is not a progressive person, at least when it comes to gender dynamics in this country. His statements time and again, his association with alleged harassers, his Government continuing to ignore sexual violence are all evidence as to what he truly may believe in, as a person. One had hopes that he would probably learn to keep his personal opinions separate from his public office and do the right thing.
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Cover image: dawn.com / Mohammad Ismail via Reuters