Twitter slams Nida Yasir for asking insensitive questions from minor rape victim's parents

It's 2020, and Nida Yasir's Good Morning Pakistan is still making headlines for all the wrong reasons; with the host paying no heed to mending her ways or learning a thing or two about sensitivity, despite all the criticism she receives.

With recent protests surrounding the anti-rape movement and the attention they have been gaining, Yasir's appetite for ratings thought it was a good idea to invite 6-year-old rape victim Marwah's parents and probe them at length about the murder of their child.

"How did you recognise her? Oh, she was wearing the same trouser? How did you realise she had been raped?" were only a few of the insensitive questions she relentlessly posed, as the mother sobbed and the father struggled to recall the sequence of events and narrate them on national television.

Crossing all boundaries of empathy, the host then turned to two other male guests on the show, wondering aloud how rape victims can be identified after the crime - all in the presence of those parents whom she passed no condolences to, let alone words of comfort, or a physical gesture of support.

While popularly known to go to bizarre lengths to secure ratings for her show, the audience is more than furious this time, reaffirming that they will not tolerate such behaviour anymore.

Pemra, you listening?

Some poured in suggestions on how to reach the authorities

Mocking someone's misery is not entertainment

This has happened way too many times

We couldn't agree more

Following the backlash, Nida took to social media to apologise to her fans, captioned "please forgive me" on her Instagram handle.

"Some people think by calling Marwah's father, I asked some inappropriate questions that I shouldn't have. First of all i'm sorry," she began, before going on to say that it was not her, who, reached out to the family in the first place.

"We did not approach Marwah's family, instead they, through Sarim bhai approached us because they needed media support. When such cases garner media support, organisations work faster," the Good Morning Pakistan host went on to explain. "God is witness to the fact that I did not do the segment for any sort of TRPs."

"Right now, Marwah's family needed my support, the support of my channel and the support of my platform - and I called them here as my diligent duty. Trust me, only two days after the show was aired, Marwah's rapist was captured. The family gave me lots of blessings. Marwah's father is a daily wage earner, a rikshaw wala. It is because of our program that they received financial help too."

While Nida's apology understands the importance of why cases should be highlighted on social media, it does not reflect her own unethical behaviour. Instead, Yasir toots her own horn; praising her own efforts and platform, conveniently dodging the actual reason behind audience's criticism towards her.

Having the resources to help someone, does not give you a free pass to be insensitive towards their trauma, or ask them probing details about their grief on national television. While Yasir might have had pure intentions, asking a sorrowful mother and a broken father to narrate gruesome details about their minor daughter's death is inconsiderate, gruesome and crude - and no amount of financial help or media attention takes away from that fact.