It’s a delightful world we live in where media leaks make everyday living quite colorful. First it was Jonathan Pie of UK television beautifully losing it on camera and consequently giving us the f***ing news.
Now, the honorable mention goes to one of our very own – Waseem the Awesome Badami.
The highlight of this week for me was Waseem Badami’s epic outburst during his show, 11th Hour on ARY News, when PTI’s Fayaz-ul-Hassan Chohan very rudely referred to Marvi Memon as ‘Basanti’ and then, went on to defend his comment. After warning Chohan to stop acting like the insecure misogynist that he is and failing to get any cooperation from him, Badami boldly cut off Chohan’s microphone.
“I will not tolerate any derogatory remarks about any woman on my show!” stormed Badami.
I’m swooning here over this daring attitude. Seriously, is he running for any seat anywhere? I’ll vote!
This isn’t the first time a talk show guest has resorted to demeaning female opponents for no particular reason other than the unfortunate fact that we as a society simply do not respect women. At all.
The proverbial chador of honor is, of course, spread far and wide to cover all mothers, daughters, sisters and wives but only till said women are willing to suffocate under said chador. Just wait until one of them says a word that displeases the men in charge. Or even fail to do assigned duties, like making gol rotis, satisfactorily. Punishments ranging from verbal abuse to physical assaults resulting in death are easily handed out as needed without any repercussions whatsoever. Also, this chador is only extended to women of the clan/family. Women that aren’t your bahu, beti, maa, behn etc are somehow exempt from respect that must be theirs simply by virtue of being women.
If one was to glance over social media and the sort of language used there for women in public light, it will be quite evident how much the men (and women) of our nation love to insult women over mere differences of opinion.
Whether it’s Reham Khan who is constantly a soft target for anti-PTI or too acutely pro-Khan sentiment; or Mawra Hocane who simply said she wanted to watch a controversial movie; or our dear Malala Yousafzai who just has ‘an ugly face’ (one who said that deserves a special kind of pity for being so bored and unoriginal), it is clear that public figures of Pakistan who also happen to be women merely by a twist of nature are thrashed to no end simply because they have dared to be out there.
Recently, a writer friend of mine was demonized for posting socio-political views that apparently stepped on a lot of toes. Since, she was a woman, her critics thought it fit to slander her across Facebook not by attacking her opinion on issues they disagreed with but by posting pictures from her personal profile and commenting upon how she looks and dresses.
Yes, after all, resorting to personal attacks and insults is the pinnacle of true intellectual enlightenment.
At such times, these trolls also conveniently forget what ‘Islam’ says about behaving with women. At such times, when they’re dishing out invectives by the mouthful and attacking their victim for her faulty upbringing and quoting holy verses as well to knock sense into their opponent, the fact that all this truly reflects on their own upbringing that couldn’t possibly have been anything but unhealthy gets a little too obvious.
Just because the woman you’re arguing with is not your mother or sister or daughter or wife doesn’t mean she doesn’t deserve your respect as a human being, and the only reason you would insult her is because you are incapable of knowing any kind of respect yourself. Cliché but makes complete sense: a man who treats you like a princess must’ve been raised by a queen.
Real men do not insult women.
Waseem Badami was perhaps the last person I expected to storm out so magnificently, not because he isn’t a gentleman but simply because he really is too gentle. The soft spoken sweet tempered anchor person who always has a pacifistic attitude in everything he ever hosts lashed out at the best moment when one needed to do exactly what he did – shut up a crude man and reminded him that his misogynist tantrum had no place in a civilized setting.
Total fangirl moment here! Well done, Mr. Badami.
I hope the train doesn’t stop here and continues to deliver similar parcels where needed, and yes, plenty talk shows need this kind of anchoring. It is high time that we take this bull of misogyny by the horn and slaughter it.
That’s one qurbani our nation needs immediately.