Images

Meesha Shafi calls out Saba Qamar for 'validating' harassers while asking others to call them out

Meesha Shafi calls out Saba Qamar for 'validating' harassers while asking others to call them out

The singer told Qamar to "hold yourself accountable" for supporting predators rather than making "holier than thou" statements
27 Jul, 2021

Singer Meesha Shafi has called out actor Saba Qamar for "supporting and giving space to" known sexual harassers after Qamar recently posted a message on Instagram asking her male followers to stop enabling sexual predators.

The actor had requested her followers to "call out men in your circles with predatory behaviour" in light of the torture and murder of Noor Mukadam. Many women have taken to social media since the killing to raise their voice against sexual predators.

Shafi posted an Instagram Story to share Qamar's message to her followers against sexual harassment and commented, "This is what epic hypocrisy looks like, ladies and gentlemen."

In the posts that followed, Shafi offered her followers more clarification and context on the matter. "A lot of you are asking for context out of genuine curiosity and need to understand," she wrote.

"Partying with, supporting, giving/sharing space, validating, endorsing and doing frivolous Instagram Lives with known sexual harassers and then putting out holier than thou statements about calling out predators is literal hypocrisy."

The singer said her followers might have "missed that this happened or have forgotten".

"The victims and their trauma can't miss it or forget even if they want to," she wrote on. "They can't miss it because they feel it in their hearts. In their gut. In their mental health. In their nausea. In their daily lives."

Addressing Qamar, Shafi said, "You don't get to say this [call out sexual predators] without first holding yourself accountable for your own enabling actions and words defending and supporting predators after survivors have shared their experiences against all odds."

Comments

IK Jul 27, 2021 12:04pm
It’s getting ugly now. Let the real issue take its course.
Recommend
Awaen..!! Jul 27, 2021 12:06pm
Well pointed out Meesha.
Recommend
Mahmood Jul 27, 2021 12:15pm
Always playing the female victim's card! As is these women have nothing better to do in life but constantly engage in belittling each other - sheer sign of jealousy and insecurity. Please find something more worthwhile in life to do - like Nobility of Purpose - to make a name for yourself and earn the respect you crave.
Recommend
Iqbal Hadi Zaidi Jul 27, 2021 12:41pm
I am obliged to ask very simple, important and baffling question which Dawn has ignored 4 times for reasons best known to Dawn and not me or you prove me wrong which you simply cannot I bet on my life. Why former ambassador Shaukat Mukadam who is a Muslim like me allowed his daughter Noor Mukadam to befriend with the killer? Does Islam allow males and females to meet each other alike? If the answer is no then Noor parents must curse none but themselves to loose their daughter. I believe they had met many times before but something went wrong to the extent that he killed her in his house. Had ambassador disallowed Noor and she had not gone to him Noor had been living with envoy even today. I advise all my compatriot parents both within Pakistan and overseas like me that they must learn lesson and they should not allow their children to intermix alike so that do not meet such a horrible fate unless they profess in Mera Jisim Mairi Marzi which I condemn. zaidi.formerdiplomat@hotmail.com
Recommend
nk Jul 27, 2021 12:56pm
Both may be very talented as media projects but unfortunately both are very controversial in their thinking and how they present themselves
Recommend
Umar Jul 27, 2021 01:07pm
Meesha Shafi has become a very bitter women.
Recommend
M. Saeed Jul 27, 2021 01:19pm
Meesha is not a person to be taken seriously after her so many negative reactions to her own gender. After wasting so many years on her failure to prove her harassment stories, she must be given an eye shut.
Recommend
Umair Jul 27, 2021 01:24pm
It's obvious that Meesha is pointing to Ali Zafar while conveniently forgetting that she failed to prove any of allegations against Ali. why should ali be labelled as a harasser just based on word of meesha
Recommend
funnyman Jul 27, 2021 01:37pm
Exactly Meesha, how DARE any one try to say anything to stop violence against women when the same REFUSED to blindly follow accusation DISPROVEN in court. Allegation made by someone who RAN TO CANADA when asked to give evidence, had her OWN WITNESS refuse to support allegation in courts. ALLEGED UNPROVEN Sexual Harassment is EXACTLY the same had CHOPPING OFF A WOMAN'S HEAD AND KICKING IT ACROSS THE FLOOR. Talk about opportunistic attention seeker. Next time a woman is beheaded, lets not do anything since not everyone blindly followed one woman's UNPROVEN account of ALLEGED HARRASSMENT.
Recommend
Lota Jul 27, 2021 01:41pm
Who is she referring to? Is it Ali Zafer? Was he not declared innocent by courts?
Recommend
usman Jul 27, 2021 02:25pm
@Iqbal Hadi Zaidi Balance in everything is important. We want to be liberal but want to reach the max level of liberalism. Our religion taught us everything and told us a difference of being liberal by avoiding the negative implications of extreme liberasism. Balance is important and education and parents are responsible to teach and explain their kids about the limits of being a liberal.
Recommend
Ali Jul 27, 2021 02:28pm
Meesha Shafi seriously need to calm down and not further create a mess out of nothing. Just because she has some addiction of expressing unwarrted agression here n then, dsnt gives her the liecense to drag any one into the grinder and villify them. Its pure ultra narcissism here.
Recommend
ST Jul 27, 2021 02:31pm
Meesha is just a bully I guess
Recommend
Zafar Jul 27, 2021 02:52pm
@Iqbal Hadi Zaidi bro which planet you living on, you want us to hide our daughters and women, isolate them in fear of predators ? This is not a solution, it’s not even a fix it is called being a coward, it’s typical of Muslim men to curse their daughters and women for the sicknesses of men in our society, why don’t you teach you women to be brave and fight injustice where ever it maybe, let’s all sane men fix our society create a safer place for our children and stand up to these animals that go around looking like humans.
Recommend
Zubair Jul 27, 2021 03:13pm
How does Mesha define ‘ known harassers’? Anyone that she labels as a harasser?
Recommend
Kashif Baloch Jul 27, 2021 03:28pm
Can these two not be given so much precious media real estate? Do we really need to hear this? They can easily email each other, and let the press cover important news such as Delta variant and other public interest affairs.
Recommend
opinion Jul 27, 2021 03:46pm
@Iqbal Hadi Zaidi, hang few and all predators will fall in line. Too much of brain storming will not be required then!
Recommend
Badtameez Kudi Jul 27, 2021 04:16pm
Meesha has attacked her own kind.
Recommend
Chrís Dăn Jul 27, 2021 04:50pm
@Iqbal Hadi Zaidi Ehatever may be the background situation- murder can not be justified.
Recommend
Jaredlee007 Jul 27, 2021 04:58pm
These women are least bothered about real issues of women. They are stuck in their past and are full of pessimism. At tines they are like narcissists. Stay away from them or you'll lose your mental sanity.
Recommend
Hesus Oieway Jul 27, 2021 06:23pm
Meesha meesha meesha - just stop it already. We all know your line from reluctant fundamentalist.
Recommend
Fus Jul 27, 2021 06:41pm
@Iqbal Hadi Zaidi what a shallow comment. There are number of supposedly " good Muslims" killed in Pakistan every year, who should we blame then? It is exactly this mentality to blame a girl that causes such episodes. She can live with whoever she likes, she can wear whatever she desires, she can be religious or not, but no one has right to touch or hurt her.
Recommend
Alishba Jul 27, 2021 06:53pm
@Mahmood There is no victim card when its woman who are getting molested, raped, beheaden, threatened daily, not male adults. Men just dont want to acknowledge these facts, so deflect with such frivolous excuses shaming woman victims.
Recommend
Zulfiqar Jul 27, 2021 07:56pm
@Iqbal Hadi Zaidi you are making a few valid points, some not so much but mostly the way you’re conveying them creates confusion in the mind of the reader.
Recommend
N_Saq Jul 27, 2021 09:11pm
Meesha is nothing but attention seeker.
Recommend
Ali Mehdi Jul 27, 2021 10:21pm
@Iqbal Hadi Zaidi I really couldn’t believe I was actually reading such an outdated comment. Don’t you think women study with boys n work together. Don’t you see they could have so many reasons to go to each other’s homes to study or to socialize. What’s wrong with you.
Recommend
Gp65 Jul 28, 2021 05:46am
@Iqbal Hadi Zaidi Blaming the victim?According to you, Noor and her parents are guilty for her murder because she met the boy. The boy is not at all guilty for murdering Noor? Strange logic.
Recommend
FAZ Jul 28, 2021 09:01am
@Iqbal Hadi Zaidi Every women has right to chose her partner. But 3 years of literally living together is even questionable by the so called liberal standards. And dating a known offender adds to the fact that why did she indulge in a relationship anyway!
Recommend
Laila Jul 28, 2021 01:23pm
@Lota no he was not declared innocent. She failed to prove her caw, which means she did not provide enough evidence to support her accusations in which she case a court will dismiss the case. This does not mean a person is found innocent. Just that the guilt has not been proven. Legally there is a difference between being declared innocent by the court and having allegations thrown out due to insufficient evidence. This has taken place during the meetoo cmpign when most victims came forward too late and without evidence. Sexual harassment and rape oftens doesn't take place in front of people or recorded. So it's not easy to prove. Impossible unless you have it on tape, witnesses or any recorded/signed confession.
Recommend
Sajjad Jul 28, 2021 02:21pm
@Laila - So you mean anyone who is "alleged" will carry the burden of the crime for his whole life until proven innocent? Meesha might be the victim but she did not pursue the case and left a mark on someone's life . She had all the support from Media and metoo movement so she could have at least fought a little.
Recommend
Humayra Jul 28, 2021 06:59pm
Saba Qamar has more class in her pinky than Meesha would ever have in her whole body.
Recommend
Gfg Jul 29, 2021 01:35am
Why is meesha still in Canada?
Recommend
Lota Jul 29, 2021 04:10pm
@Laila This is absurd. Pardon me for sounding anti feminist, but this will set a trend that would be dangerous for women. You remember the case of professor who committed suicide in lahore because some students accused him of harassment and later could not prove it. Not many men will prefer taking their own life in that case but act very impulsively.
Recommend
Faisal Jul 29, 2021 09:52pm
@Laila does 'innocent until proven guilty' mean nothing to you? And I say this as a meesha supporter
Recommend