Talal Chaudhry made remarks against Firdous Ashiq Awan for her looks and he’s being called out

Slandering and mockery are the pride and glory of Pakistani politics. No political drive is ever complete without one politician poking jokes at their rivals, regardless of how personal and unethical they may be.  While we see derogatory remarks being thrown at politicians all the time, targeting female politicians and making sexist jokes is extremely common and equally terrible.

Our very own Prime Minister Khan was recently caught making a sexist joke against Bilawal Zardari, chairman of rival PPP

#PrimeMinisterImranKhan's sexist remarks about @BBhuttoZardari are extremely poor in taste and quite unbecoming of a Prime Minister. This is wrong on so many levels. pic.twitter.com/c7Kl8SwnmM

— Ali Salman Alvi (@alisalmanalvi) April 24, 2019

Khawaja Asif of PML N has infamously made a snide remark about Shireen Mazari in the parliament, IN HER PRESENCE

And yet, we look up to these individuals as the face of our nation and consider them to be our representatives. To much of your dismay, another PML-N leader is back at it again.

This time, Talal Chaudhry made a terrible joke about Firdous Ashiq Awan like it’s no big deal to joke about someone’s looks

This is the attitude which needs to be condemned, why women are being used as a tool to show disrespect in every manner, some ethics must be learnt. @Dr_FirdousPTI is a strong woman in this male dominated society . pic.twitter.com/Iw0s2NiMST

— Asma Shirazi (@asmashirazi) May 22, 2019

Honestly, this entire mockery culture is very problematic and toxic and every political party is responsible for it

Politics is politics. The people in the parliament and members of various political parties have the right to comment in any way whatsoever on the performance and capabilities of their rivals and other members of the parliament. They can mock them for their inefficiency or even degrade them for their false promises or corrupt practices. Commenting on things which are personal and not work-related, things like: appearance, personality, personal life, etc., is hitting below the belt.

Moreover, this behavior goes onto show, and further strengthen the belief eroding our society, that it is always okay for a man to mock and degrade a woman. Firdous Ashiq Awan is a woman in authority, fulfilling her duties. Every person, like Talal Chaudhry, of the state, has the right to comment on her ability to fulfill those duties. We can nag, complain, and even call her out for her inefficiencies. What we cannot do is make fun of her or make sexist remarks at her.

This toxic political system in Pakistan is feeding the already problematic misogynistic culture in our society, something which the female counterpart of Pakistan is struggling to bring an end to. This blatant display of badtameezi by Talal Chaudary goes onto prove that, once again, men will remain oblivious to of the fact that they are supposed to respect women and keep their sexist ideologies under the wraps in order to promote a progressive Pakistan. Women, like men, deserve the same level of respect and are, in no way, inferior that they should stand such petty acts.

People on social media are fuming over this immature behavior of Talal Chaudhry

At times I wonder why we citizens of Pakistan and masters of the corrupt politicians ,whom not only we pay graciously but also tolerate their ill doings,disloyalty and corruption,tolerate nonsensical comments and remarks of their cronies too.Talal Ch's trash is latest in the list

— Shaista Javed (@shaistajaved89) May 22, 2019

Glad to see people calling out Talal Chaudhry for this.

Shame on @PML_N_Official for having goons like Talal Ch.#MisogynisPMLN

— saeedkhan (@saeed_yousafzi) May 22, 2019

“Talal Ch” was also one of the top trends in Pakistan at the time this post was published

People have been pinpointing how PML-N has a history of misogyny and mockery, which is true.

It’s also true for all political parties, to be honest.

They did not even boycott Javed Latif for one day for what he said.
Talal ch statement is nothing compared to Javed's.

— Ubaid Shafi (@ubaid_4) May 22, 2019

The long list of their mockery for the female counterpart has been prominent for decades, tbh.

Talal Ch. is a face of #PMLN.
From leadership to a junior Patwari, the language they speak for Women since 80s and 90s was never criticized by Liberal and Feminist brigade of Pakistan.
Be is Benazir or a common woman, PMLN has nothing but Filth for Women. https://t.co/1LpNWnO0E9

— hassankhan (@hassankhan_kh) May 22, 2019

People are now demanding strict action against Talal Chaudhry.

Just shame??? He should be not only permanently banned from politics but also his party leader and mentor @MaryamNSharif a female herself must offer unconditional apology for his shameful remarks. Plus all TV channels must boycott him. https://t.co/d7BHqam0Ml

— Khawar Ghumman (@Ghummans) May 21, 2019

These people represent us on a national and international forum. If they are not held accountable for their actions and words, there will be no precedence set for the future generations to look up to and the country will continue to suffer at the hands of such regressive mindsets.

PTI’s official page and a handful of their prominent figureheads have taken to Twitter to voice their discontent, also

About time media houses ban people like Talal Ch, Abid Sher Ali or Javed Latif from their shows for objectifying women. Also about time parties who claim to be standing for women empowerment call PMLN out for its misogyny instead of having iftar parties with them#MisogynistPMLN

— PTI (@PTIofficial) May 22, 2019

Talal Ch never lets us down in showing that he is absolutely classless. He keeps reminding us of his upbringing & where he comes from..clearly when one thinks of him the word ‘gutter’ comes to mind.

— Sayed Z Bukhari (@sayedzbukhari) May 22, 2019

People are also calling out PPP and other parties, who stand for women empowerment and equality, for supporting PML-N

PTIofficial About time media houses ban people like Talal Ch, Abid Sher Ali or Javed Latif from their shows for objectifying women. Also about time parties who claim to be standing for women empowerment call PMLN out for its misogyny instead of having iftar parties with them…

— وطن یار 🇵🇰 (@naumantariq2011) May 22, 2019

The society in Pakistan is extremely fragile and vulnerable at this point in time. Women are fighting for their rights and for equal and fair representation in the society. In crucial times as of today, having people like Talal Chaudhry, who have reasonable influence and say in the country, pass such remarks will only worsen the already problematic and misogynistic system corroding our country.

An apology from Talal Chaudhry to Firdous Ashiq Awan is yet to surface and we hope that the party’s administration will take stern action against such remarks, especially now that a woman, Maryam Nawaz, is in a leadership position at the head of the party.

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Cover image via: @Dr_FirdousPTI / Twitter and dawn.com