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Verna actor Haroon Shahid thinks it's okay to joke about violence against women

Verna actor Haroon Shahid thinks it's okay to joke about violence against women

Yes, the same guy whose debut film was about a rape survivor seeking justice
Updated 03 Aug, 2018

Clearly, Pakistani men don't seem to understand that violence against women of any kind is not a laughing matter.

The latest to think it's funny to joke about assault is musician/actor, Haroon Shahid. Yes, the same guy whose debut film (Verna) was about a rape survivor vehemently seeking justice.

Shahid quoted a tweet about journalist Gul Bukhari being slapped with a shoe, adding "A couple from my side as well please. Mein maroon ga to #MeToo hojai ga! (If I hit her, it's become a #MeToo issue)"

When blogger and writer, Mahwash Ajaz tried to school him on how it wasn't funny, he only got more defensive, relaying that he really dislikes Gul Bukhari, who calls IK a cocaine addict (so somehow that makes what he says okay?)...

He only made things worse when he tried to brush off his comment as "light-hearted" and nothing more than a "bad joke":

During Verna promotions, Shahid said in an interview that #MeToo "is an issue that needs to be talked about as much as terrorism or corruption needs to be talked about. However, in light of recent events, I feel we tend to take things in the wrong direction, so we need to be very careful with how we address these issues."

This is how careful he's being, by trivializing the movement.

While he played an ally in Verna, it seems that empowering women is not something Shahid is concerned with off-screen.

Update: Shahid has published multiple "apologies" on his Twitter since:

Comments

dilkhan Aug 03, 2018 06:31pm
Mahwash Ajaz have said all in one sentence "Typical PTI mindset" and she is 100% right.
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M. Emad Aug 03, 2018 06:40pm
The majority Pakistani men think it's okay to joke about violence against women.
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s khan Aug 03, 2018 11:01pm
nothing that perpetuates or insinuiates violence against women is a joke..it shows only the mindset of the person and their background. it shows me that education and civility were lacking in the family of the individual "joking"around.
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