What Jami has done is immensely brave, says Osman Khalid Butt

Actor Osman Khalid Butt has come out in support of Jami after the filmmaker came forward on Twitter with his own #MeToo account from 13 years ago.

OKB took to Twitter to speak on the matter, connecting it to not just victim blaming that is rampant in society, but also the concept of faux masculinity that attaches shame to men who have suffered sexual abuse.

"In a conversation over dinner three days ago, the subject of Jami and his recent horrific rape allegations came up. What was astonishing to me was that every man on that table freely admitted to having been sexually harassed in one way or the other: in classrooms, in public transport, in their own homes, in vulnerable moments; as children, as adults; by strangers, by men they trusted. Wherever on the spectrum it might lie, our bodies and our psyche have been violated," said OKB in his post on Twitter.

"We do not speak openly about the trauma inflicted upon us; we try suppressing the violence, the shame, the stigma – even though, as Jami says, the details remain etched in our DNA. I say ‘shame’, because in a society like ours, where sexual harassment is already under-reported, admitting that something like this happened to you makes you a lesser man."

"When the first signs of vulnerability make you fodder for mockery, how does one dare speak of such an ordeal, when you're most likely to be met with incredulity, when you're likely to be urged to stay quiet because of how it might reflect on your 'manliness, where you might be met with a homophobic reaction. Men are supposed to be tough. They should be able to resist. They should be able to protect themselves."

The actor went on to commend Jami, saying, "What Jami has done is immensely brave, especially knowing how the #MeToo movement in Pakistan has been met with such a ferocious backlash. I am so sorry you had to carry such heavy psychological scars for so long, Jami. Your story has resonated with so many men, men who are now finally ready to acknowledge the ordeals they went through, and see how they can prevent this from happening. It has given them strength."

OKB also had an important message to the men who have suffered from any form of sexual abuse but have stayed silent due to fear of mockery or shame.

"If you've ever been violated, you are not an inadequate man. Reach out to those close to you; seek professional help. It will be difficult, but it is so, so important," said OKB.

Other than OKB, Meesha Shafi, Angeline Malik, Mehreen Jabbar and Armeena Rana Khan have also expressed solidarity with the Moor director.

Jami's allegations

On October 20, Jami came forward with his #MeToo account and sent out a series of tweets in which he shared that the reason he has been such a staunch ally of the movement is because he's also a rape survivor.

"Why I'm so strongly supporting #MeToo ? Because I know exactly how it happens now, inside a room, then outside courts, inside courts and how a survivor hides, confides because I was brutally raped by a very powerful person in our media world," he wrote.

Talking about his own ordeal, Jami had also shared that he confided in his close friends about the media tycoon who had raped him but no one took him seriously.

"I froze, not sure why. Yes, it really happens and happened to me. Till this day, 13 years have passed, I curse myself. Why I didn't take his eyes out but I was so close to this guy, a friend, doing his mega shoots for his mega high-end books and museum launches etc. Maybe that's why my system shut down...or I couldn't believe wtf is going on," he shared.

"I told my few close friends but no one took it seriously. I told them so many times with the name of this tycoon but as if I'm a joker or something. Yes, high-end friends in media didn't do anything."