Momina Mustehsan is one of the biggest stars to have come out of Pakistan, in the past year. She has been everywhere from our television sets and radios to our billboards, and the world can’t seem to get enough of her. It seems like everything Momina touches goes viral. However, the Internet is a dark dark place, and it gets darker for people like Momina. Imagine being a) A girl and b) A girl with enough star power to take on most things. That alone makes people uncomfortable, and they make no effort to hide that discomfort as they sit behind their keyboards to make people feel bad about their lives. Something similar happened to Momina today, but she wasn’t having any of it.
What started it off was a tweet by Salman Ahmed (@sufisal) where Momina Mustehsan was singing alongside him
when an 18 yr old @MominaMustehsan sang Ghoom Tana with me in @nyuniversity , I knew she was going to be the next Nazia Hasan of #Pakistan https://t.co/PcNLZAmvGn
— salman ahmad (@sufisal) August 29, 2017
From then on, it was tweet after tweet trying to police Momina over how a woman should be outside of her house
Women (equal) rights cover Boldness to certain right limits than women empowerment leads to disturbances 🙂
— Abdur Rahman Qureshi (@abdurshy) August 29, 2017
After Momina replied to this particular gentleman, others popped in, but Momina didn’t hold herself back from replying to these ‘men’
I don't know what you mean by boldness. Empowering women means to give them the rights they deserve, which are equal to those enjoyed by men https://t.co/lXaFgLww3N
— Momina Mustehsan (@MominaMustehsan) August 29, 2017
There was talk of the limitations set on women
Right should give them their rights but there are some limitations in Islam so women shouldn't cross. But mostly women's love to cross.
— saqlain abbas (@saqlainrajpoot) August 29, 2017
But this time, she wasn’t having it
Sure,there are limits.But those limits exist for men too.Forgetting them is as good as crossing them.Can one claim men love crossing limits? https://t.co/4dG3vOUl13
— Momina Mustehsan (@MominaMustehsan) August 29, 2017
And of course what is a Twitter argument where a woman is not called cheap or vulgar?
in pakistan u will find a chaos abt women rights,thy think there women is cheap or vulgar her she gets rights and there she get naked#scared
— EJ (@EJ98559248) August 29, 2017
But….
Rights & morality are two SEPARATE things.Everyone deserves to get their rights.What they do with them is their choice,right/wrong-man/woman https://t.co/a2XjZuL3FV
— Momina Mustehsan (@MominaMustehsan) August 29, 2017
‘Men Are Better: A Trilogy’
If anyone would benefit from equal rights in urban Pakistan – that would be the male population. Separate female queues, skip the queue 1/3
— Zain Habib (@Zain_Habib) August 29, 2017
Special 'family' entries, more tolerance and respect when on road, when dealing in govt offices and much more! Where do men get all this?2/3
— Zain Habib (@Zain_Habib) August 29, 2017
True female empowerment is required in rural Pakistan. The 'social feminists' need to step outside their bubble & raise voice for real probs
— Zain Habib (@Zain_Habib) August 29, 2017
A social feminist herself, Momina felt the need to step in and kinda made us all proud with the truth bombs
No offense, but separate queues exist not to facilitate women to reduce wait time but mostly to protect them from harassment https://t.co/MClxUjSvil
— Momina Mustehsan (@MominaMustehsan) August 29, 2017
There were questions that arose
We single guys are not allowed to enter in shopping mall in lhr i mean what the heck is this will you raise our prob too? @MominaMustehsan
— Mutie Ahmad (@MutieAhmad) August 29, 2017
And were answered…
Very good point. Maybe this requires self-reflection: wht do majority single men generally do in malls? Sad tht all men pay price for it tho https://t.co/zjCsJ28Wwh
— Momina Mustehsan (@MominaMustehsan) August 29, 2017
Momina also had some questions of her own
Does a woman walking on the road deserve to be cat-called? A man can go out alone for a jog. Tell me honestly:can a woman do the same in PK? https://t.co/q2gmZ7qDzr
— Momina Mustehsan (@MominaMustehsan) August 29, 2017
LITERALLY, this is ONE of the rights a woman deserves. The RIGHT to walk on the street the same way a man can. How is this against morality? https://t.co/SwRPMuqdiH
— Momina Mustehsan (@MominaMustehsan) August 29, 2017
1) Why do those women need your "permission"? Goes to show how much u respect them. They have their own will and identity. You dont own them https://t.co/Cwu7RJxfI6
— Momina Mustehsan (@MominaMustehsan) August 29, 2017
2) unkay bahir janay say apki izat kharab kaisay hoti hai? :/ You dont trust them? or is it because u know how women are generally harassed? https://t.co/Cwu7RJxfI6
— Momina Mustehsan (@MominaMustehsan) August 29, 2017
While we wait for answers to the questions that Momina has put forth to the public, there are people pouring in their support for her and the stand she’s taken
@MominaMustehsan is digesting people on TL without belching. Boy o boy pic.twitter.com/tTRIn4DG83
— Amanuensis (@amansrvstv1) August 29, 2017
Apni aurtoun aur dunya ki aurtoun pey rehm kar aur apney aap ku ghar mein bund kar
— Shahbaz Taseer (@ShahbazTaseer) August 29, 2017
It's nice seeing a celebrity go toe to toe with troll's
— . s a a d . (@sadzzilla) August 29, 2017
SAY IT LOUDER MOMINA ???? https://t.co/EKH52gSV9X
— swetha (@DreamAndLife_) August 29, 2017
omg desi men are losing their shit lol fragile af rip momina's account
— sasto (@nebulousme_) August 29, 2017
@MominaMustehsan woman deserve every cent of respect ! Doc , eng , musician , hard worker , skill artist and above all Goddess :
— kabeer ladha (@kabirladha) August 29, 2017
Thank you for existing, Momina. What do you think of the Twitter showdown between Momina and the trolls who thought they could take her down?
Cover image via The Quint