After singer-cum-actor Meesha Shafi accused popular singer, Ali Zafar of sexual harassment, more women have approached with comparable assertions today.
Makeup artist Leena Ghani tweeted in support of Meesha Shafi and wrote: “Ali Zafar's behaviour shows a clear lack of respect for women. Inappropriate contact, groping, sexual comments should not fall in the grey area between humour and indecency.
Thank you @itsmeeshashafi for your courage and your bravery. It’s never easy. But that should never silence us. I am in total solidarity with you. You are not alone in this because #Metoo #TimesUp #WeBelieveYou pic.twitter.com/hkQ61bqnFH
— Leena (@Leena_Ghani) April 19, 2018
Maham Javaid a LUMS Alumni, depicted an experience her cousin had with the vocalist and lauds Meesha Shafi for advising her that women stories ought to be voiced out. She took to Twitter and wrote
So @itsmeeshashafi's brave sharing of her experience reminded me of a story about @AliZafarsays from many many years ago, when Ali Zafar tried to kiss my cousin and pull my cousin into a restroom with him. Luckily my cousin's friends were there to push Ali Zafar off https://t.co/kBQbBiwyFP
— Maham Javaid (@JMaham) April 19, 2018
A Twitter user by the name of Sofi asserted that a volunteer was molested by Ali Zafar amid a raising support occasion in Washington DC. She said that this is really sad when he came to Washington DC for SK fundraiser I had high school volunteer crying in a bathroom because he molested her.
In spite of the fact that Pakistan's celebrities have remained to a great extent mum on the issue, Osman Khalid Butt and Urwa Hocane have tweeted in the help of Shafi.
Osman Khalid Butt supported Meesha Shafi and wrote: “A woman breaks her silence about abuse, withstands character assassination & further abuse on social media, her story turns into memes and tone-deaf jokes that trivialize the issue, she fears ostracization - but sure, she did it for the cheap publicity.”
Later, actor Maya Ali posted a lengthy message on Instagram in support of Ali Zafar saying she respects Ali and we shouldn’t judge anyone’s character" until the truth comes out.
"I’m not here to say who is wrong and who is right or who did what and who didn’t... Let’s say, I haven’t known him for long, but I have been working with him since once year, we shot our film in Lahore and then we were all together in Poland to shoot the rest of the film and I never ever got any kind of that vibe from him," Maya said.
She added, “When we were on set or in any restaurant with the whole team he would always make sure that he was sharing these moments with her... I am not judging anyone nor giving any clarification on anyone’s behalf, and we can’t judge the one side of a book... I respect this man Ali Zafar and want the truth to come out until then we shouldn’t judge anyone’s character.”
The #MeToo and #Timesup campaigns have gone viral worldwide since assertions of sexual unfortunate behaviour by Hollywood maker Harvey Weinstein were published last October, starting a torrential slide of allegations against other capable men.
Be that as it may, the development has been ease back to get on in Pakistan, where women have battled for their rights for a considerable length of time in a man-centric culture where alleged "respect" killings and assaults on women stay typical.
In August, Pakistani politician Ayesha Gulalai Wazir accused cricketer star-turned opposition leader Imran Khan of sexual harassment. She said Imran Khan began sending her “inappropriate” text messages in 2013, including sexual intimations and propositions to see him alone, and that he persisted after she rebuked him.
Earlier pressure mounted against Pakistani singer Ali Zafar after he was hit with a sexual harassment allegation by a leading actress in the first high profile "#metoo" accusation in the staunchly patriarchal country.
The allegations were trending across social media in Pakistan after popular actress Meesha Shafi posted a lengthy message on Twitter, accusing Zafar of physically harassing her on "more than one occasion".
"This happened to me despite the fact I am an empowered, accomplished woman who is known for speaking her mind!" read the statement.
Zafar denied the accusations, threatening legal action against the actress.
"I intend to take this through the courts of law, and to address this professionally and seriously rather than to lodge any accusations here," he wrote on Twitter.
Following the accusation, other high-profile voices were quick to lend their support.
No woman goes public with allegations of rape, harassment, molestation without knowing full well that she will be blamed. If she finds the courage to do that anyway, she deserves support and a fair hearing.
— Bina Shah (@BinaShah) April 20, 2018
Remember that #MeeshaShafi could tell her story because she is privileged in certain ways: she's married, has strong family support, is an established artist.
— Hamna Zubair (@hamnazubair) April 19, 2018
If it's difficult for her to speak out imagine what a younger, greener artist has to face?
I mean who wants to be in the limelight and be abused by countless men and women who have internalized patriarchy? Meesha Shafi doesn't owe any explanation to anybody but shes doing the rest of us a favour by warning us of Ali Zafar's behavior #MeeshaShafi #MeToo #AliZafar
— Manal Faheem Khan (@ManalFaheemKhan) April 19, 2018
I've heard of Ali zafar stories from my friend, when he did concert in her college and I haven't believed back then but I think she was telling the true stories. #AliZafar #MeeshaShafi
— Natasha Ali (@natashaali803) April 19, 2018
Ali Zafar threatened #MeeshaShafi with a law suit. Meesha chose to name & shame him publicly. There’s a reason why women decide not to go to the courts.
— Tooba Syed (@Tooba_Sd) April 19, 2018
I have decided to get a GoPro embedded in my skull, so every instance of catcalling, ogling and harassment is documented for 'evidence' #IBelieveYou #MeeshaShafi
— Bibi Ansari (@CurlyIntentions) April 19, 2018
Zafar has dominated the music charts in Pakistan for nearly two decades and has also starred in a number of films including Bollywood satire "Tere bin Laden" which translates as "Your Bin Laden".
The #MeToo and #Timesup campaigns have gone global since allegations of sexual misconduct by Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein were published last October, sparking an avalanche of accusations against other powerful men.
However, the movement has been slow to catch on in Pakistan, where women have fought for their rights for years in a patriarchal society where so-called "honour" killings and attacks on women remain commonplace.
In a report released earlier this week by watchdog Human Rights Commission Pakistan, the group said violence against women remained troubling, with 5,660 related crimes reported in the country's four provinces in the first 10 months of 2017.
In August, firebrand opposition leader Imran Khan was also hit with allegations of sexual misconduct by a female lawmaker who accused the famed cricketer of sending obscene text messages and promoting a culture of sexism within his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party.
He later denied the allegations.