Back in August, Ayesha Gulalai accused Imran Khan of sending inappropriate text messages to her. Everyone remembers how that story went down. From accusing Gulalai of being a liar and attention-seeker, to dismissing Imran Khan for being a “playboy”. Both of the personalities were dragged through mud without actual sensitivity and attention being paid to the alleged harassment allegation and any sort of care to actually investigate the matter.
International media, just woke up to that incident between Ms. Gulalai and Mr. Khan
After receiving inappropriate text messages from a prominent politician, this lawmaker accused him of harassment. pic.twitter.com/ALIzPUJxAG
— AJ+ (@ajplus) November 21, 2017
Singer Quratulain Balouch came upon that coverage and was quick to respond to the video by calling Imran Khan an asshole
To be fair to her, given the angle that the coverage took, anyone with an iota of reasonable understanding of the current circumstances our world is going through and the sensitivity to how harassment and gender-dynamics have become topics of worldwide attention, would react the way QB did.
Imran khan has become an asshole https://t.co/afJyCaCyQ6
— Quratulain Balouch (@Quratulainb) November 21, 2017
And people were quick to point out that she was going to receive a lot of hate for the “A” word
So right but the amount of abuse you'll receive now ?
— Sheikh Wajahat (@_SheikhWajahat) November 21, 2017
She responded by saying
That’s just a glimpse into what women go through everyday. Keep it coming!
— Quratulain Balouch (@Quratulainb) November 21, 2017
And then the obvious happened, Twitter was aghast after she called out Imran Khan like that
Mahira khan has special message for you on this post. pic.twitter.com/U6fSQH2sG2
— sameer (@Sameer_nrd) November 21, 2017
A dead person was dragged into this incident to dismiss Quratulain’s statement
After Qandeel Baloch. Another Baloch seeks attention on the name of Imran Khan. Sorry you don't deserve it.
— Farhan K Virk (@FarhanKVirk) November 21, 2017
What a load of Rubbish. If you want to be biased abt someone without any evidence, you better be prepared for the backlash.
Oh! and please dont play the women victim card— Usman ?????? (@Usman) November 21, 2017
— Ù…Øمد ذیشان عمران (@m_zeeshan_imran) November 21, 2017
There were many who claimed that she said it just to get attention
She just wants attention. Ganay tou chal nai rahay
— Bilal A.Salimi (@BilalSalimi91) November 21, 2017
Jab itna bana bana ke gayein gi tu kaise chalein ge gaanay
— Usman ?????? (@Usman) November 21, 2017
Others talked about how great of a politician Imran Khan is and does not deserve to be talked about like this
Which can’t be denied but at the same time, allegations of harassment need to be taken seriously, both ways.
Yes he's because he has sacirified all his personal happinesses for fools like us , founded Asia's best privare cancer hosp for poor people of Pakistan , founded Namal College for Poor people giving Degree of Bradford !!
— Ayesha Imranist ✨ (@AyeshaaImranist) November 21, 2017
Some asked her to get her facts rights
Either you have not been following the news properly or you are a blind follower of whatever this woman is saying. I respect you a lot. Kindly come out of your hibernation and get your facts straight, before passing such lewd statement on a respectable person.
— Huma ?? (@hitbyreality) November 21, 2017
How could you believe. Till GE2018 more allegations expected. Actually real ass holes & morons loose their moral values to compete Khan on political grounds. Madam.
— Survivor (@rrazzaki59) November 21, 2017
Gulalai claims IK is in touch with the Taliban, threatened to throw acid on her, is behind the Labbaik group shutting down Isb, claimed he wanted to marry her. She is a pure bullshitter and nothing else. AJ got this story wrong.
— Waleed (@DaFinalVerdict) November 21, 2017
People are also trying to block QB from Twitter
I request all to block, report & boycott @Quratulainb for abusing Imran Khan & supporting Ayesha Gulalai. She does not deserve the respect which she has got so far.
— Ali Raza (@AliRazaTweets) November 21, 2017
But there were some supportive voices too
Idk the truth behind the #AyeshaGulalai situation but if a country that claims to be islamic doesn't respect their women, their not islamic at all
— ℳalik ♚ (@uzzi9milli) November 21, 2017
The nation can't deny that Imran Khan is sexual predator. You can't silence voices. More power to @Quratulainb for raising voice for a victim of harassment !! #AyeshaGulalai
— Aisha (@aisha_mansha) November 21, 2017
Among them was Gulalai herself thanking international media for brining up the story
Thanks Aljazeera team for highlighting the issue. Women face harassment everywhere. They are blamed & shamed once they speak out. Because of this culture women victims don't come forward. This has to change!
— Ayesha Gulalai (@AyeshaGuIaIai) November 21, 2017
However, in the midst of all this debate let’s not forget
It is good to see women of this country taking a stand but, while it is important for women to stand in support of the fellow women, they, or anyone, for that matter, must not resort to using vile language. Abuse will not take us anywhere, it will only make matters worse and ruin the chances of people actually accepting dissenting views.
Also, if you’re interested around the gaali culture, here’s something interesting for you: