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Former information minister Fawad Chaudhry took to X on Tuesday to give Pakistan’s women some career advice: don’t join the police force.

Quoting a post about Islamabad Chief Traffic Officer Kainat Azhar Khan, he questioned why women were opting to join the police. Chaudhry added that “Most of them are completely useless as cops, also it’s terrible career choice even otherwise.”

The reaction was understandably intense, with journalist Hamid Mir telling Chaudhry this was “male chauvinism” and that he had seen the “same kind of Pakistani men bowing down in front of female diplomats”.

Chaudhry countered, saying he meant competent women should become scientists or entrepreneurs “instead of wasting talent for lust of power” as in his opinion, “cops don’t need to be very capable”.

But evidently most people did not see it that way. Many netizens asked why half of Pakistan’s population should stay away from an important profession.

Others said the minister had disrespected CTO Khan, who was doing her job like any other civil servant.

One user asked Chaudhry if he had any research to back his claim of women not being effective police officers.

Another wondered aloud what a world without women in the police force would look like and how terrible it would be for women as a whole.

Some netizens challenged the minister’s question with another question: why did he become a politician?

Whether it be Khan, Shehrbano Naqvi or Amna Baig, Pakistan’s women have made strides in policing as they have everywhere else. In such times, it’s understandable people aren’t happy with someone trying to put down hard-working women over the internet.