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Tag: social media

  • Usman Mirza case: Stop blaming the victim

    Usman Mirza case: Stop blaming the victim

    A harrowing video recently went viral on social media in which a man, Usman Mirza, was seen harassing and assaulting a young couple. He had a few male accomplices with him, and he was also armed. Mirza beat up the couple, stripped them, and subjected them to sexual assault. Pakistani women on social media came out in support of the young couple and also voiced how unsafe and insecure they feel in a society full of misogyny and violence.

    Following an uproar on social media, the police arrested Usman Mirza and his accomplices. The police also reached out to the couple to record their statement. According to media reports, the couple recorded their statements separately under Section 161 of the Criminal Code. The incident took place last year in November and the couple was blackmailed by the culprit; they ended up paying more than a million rupees to Mirza. This was clearly not an isolated incident as more videos have been found from the mobile phones of the arrested men. It shows that this gang of criminals has been indulging in such nefarious activities for quite some time now.

    Prime Minister Imran Khan has taken notice of the case. The Islamabad police chief briefed PM Khan on the case yesterday. Thankfully, the police have so far been extremely responsible and have not indulged in any victim-blaming, unlike the Motorway gang rape case where CCPO Lahore’s comments about the rape survivor were atrocious, to say the least. SSP (Investigations) Atta-ur-Rehman appeared on a few TV talk shows and actually talked about why such incidents are not reported by victims and survivors due to social taboos. Unfortunately, we still have people in our society who think the victims are somehow at fault instead of holding the culprits solely responsible for their crime. Just last month, PM Khan made a controversial statement in an interview where he said that if women wear very few clothes, it will have an impact on the men unless they are robots. And today, in a now-deleted tweet, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) lawmaker Hina Butt said that while beasts Usman Mirza should be condemned but is it not necessary that we teach our boys and girls why they become targets of such beasts. “Our youth should also introspect their own behaviour.”

    One wonders why the young couple should introspect when they were the victims and not the perpetrators of a despicable crime. In fact, those who are busy blaming and shaming innocent victims should be introspecting instead. Such attitudes do not just make victims and survivors more insecure but are extremely triggering for those who have faced sexual harassment, assault, and rape. Why is it that ‘honour’ is always linked to a woman in our society? Why is it that instead of empowering women, even empowered women end up blaming the victims of abuse? Why is it that everything depends on how a woman was dressed or where she was or who she was with or at what time she went out? Why? We need to uproot this deeply embedded misogyny from our minds. We need to make our women feel secure. We need to make our laws stronger and implement them so that these survivors have trust in the justice system and also in our society so that they do report such harrowing incidents instead of staying quiet due to expected backlash. When we start pointing fingers at the victim, we end up empowering the criminals, the perpetrators of violent crimes. Stop this trend. Enough is enough.

  • Twitter calls out PML-N’s Hina Butt for blaming the victims

    Twitter calls out PML-N’s Hina Butt for blaming the victims

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) Hina Pervaiz Butt took to Twitter to comment on the Usman Mirza case. She ended up blaming the victims instead in a now-deleted tweet. In a harrowing video that went viral on social media, Mirza was seen torturing, harassing, and assaulting a young couple in Islamabad along with his accomplices.

    Hina Butt tweeted, “Why do young people go out and become victims of people like Usman Mirza?” She added that we also need to educate our children on why they become targets when they go out.

    Twitterati reacted to Butt’s tweet and called her out for blaming the victim.

    Natasha Kundi, a writer wrote, “According to her [Hina] young people go out and deliberately become victims …. so basically young people shouldn’t go out!”

    Lawyer Reema Omer said Butt’s take was no different from CCPO Lahore’s comments. She tweeted, “Why can’t we focus on criminal acts of the perpetrators instead of lecturing victims?”

    Singer and UNODC Goodwill Ambassador, Shehzad Roy, tweeted, “It is true that the oppressor should be severely punished, but it is very inappropriate to criticise the oppressed.” Roy further said that it is akin to blaming victims of a robbery by saying that the locks were not strong enough so it is their fault.

    A Twitter user showing his disapproval with PML-N’s leader’s statement compared her stance with CCPO Lahore Umar Sheikh’s comments in the Motorway rape case where he had blamed the victim.

    Journalist Zeb Aslam tweeted, “There is next-to-no difference between this and IK’s statement linking “modesty” and rape…a point that I hope both PMLN and PTI supporters can appreciate before leaping to defend their chosen leader.”

    After the backlash, Hina Butt deleted her tweet.

  • Ghana Ali hits back at multiple trolls for her husband Umair Gulzar

    Ghana Ali hits back at multiple trolls for her husband Umair Gulzar

    Ghana Ali married Umair Gulzar in May 2021, the duo have been expressing their love for each other on social media. Recently the Saraab actress recently posted a picture with her husband which received polarizing comments from her fans.

    The Sangdil diva hit back at the trolls who passed derogatory comments on her husband.

    Ghana will be seen next in a Pak-Turk film, Gawah Rehna with Emmad Irfani.

  • VIDEO: Bride wears crown made of golgappas

    VIDEO: Bride wears crown made of golgappas

    A South-Indian bride wore a crown and garland made of golgappas on her wedding day to profess her love for her favourite street snack. The video that has gone viral with 4.8 million views was shared by the bride’s make-up artist.

    PEARLS Beauty Lounge & Academy posted a video on Instagram with the caption: “Many congratulations to my pretty bride Akshaya and my groom Abhishek. This make-up was done at 3 AM and this video was shot at 3 PM. Looks pleasant and flawless finish without any patches on her skin.”

    “Indian marriage games are truly a traditional and essential part of the Indian wedding extravaganza,” the caption further reads.

    Read More: Groom’s mother beats him with chappal during wedding ceremony

    The video also shows a tray full of golgappas in front of the bride.

  • Court directs judicial officers to avoid using social media

    Court directs judicial officers to avoid using social media

    The Lahore High Court (LHC) has issued a code of conduct for judicial officers across Punjab, directing them to avoid using social media, reports Dawn.

    The instructions come days after Justice Muhammad Ameer Bhatti took oath as the 51st LHC chief justice.

    The court has taken notice of those displaying misconduct and asked officials to adhere to the given instructions.

    “A judicial officer is supposed to lead a reserved social life, therefore, he should avoid using Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and such other social media applications,” the order said.

    It also barred judicial officers from being included in “unofficial WhatsApp groups” and other “social media modes”, along with sharing of “privileged” information. The use of mobile phones during court hours, apart from during intervals, was also prohibited.

    “Keeping and displaying a blue light on an official or private vehicle of any judicial officer, or putting green plates on private vehicles shall also amount to misconduct and shall be strictly dealt with.”

    It added that judicial officers were bound to strictly observe punctuality and wear an official uniform.

    The court warned that if a judicial officer is found violating the instructions issued, strict disciplinary action will be taken and the misconduct would also be added to their personal file, which will be considered during the time of their promotion.

  • Muslim women for sale: Images uploaded to an auctioning app in India

    Muslim women for sale: Images uploaded to an auctioning app in India

    The Editors Guild of India on Wednesday said it was deeply concerned that images of Muslim women were put up “for auction” online and shared via social media in a derogatory manner, reports Scroll. in, a digital news platform in India.

    Images of hundreds of women were uploaded via an auctioning app called “Sulli Deals” on Sunday, The Quint reported.

    “Sulli” is a derogatory term used to refer to Muslim women in India.

    The app, which was uploaded on repository hosting service GitHub, has been taken down by the platform after outrage on social media.

    Journalist Fatima Khan, tweeted, “How is this acceptable? What will be the punishment, if any, meted out to the people who made this list?”

    “Muslim men are lynched, Muslim women are harassed and sold online. When will this end?” added Fatima.

    Meanwhile, Pilot Hana Mohsin Khan filed a first information report in the case for putting women “on-sale”.

    “I’m resolute and firm in getting these cowards to pay for what they have done,” she said in a tweet. “These repeat offenses will not be taken sitting down.”

    The Editors Guild raised concerns about the misuse of digital and social media platforms to harass women journalists. “This vile attack is symptomatic of underlying misogyny in some sections of the society, especially against Muslim women as well as those who have been outspoken critics of the current government,” it said.

  • Sajal Aly and Azaan Sami spotted at a mall for the shoot of Ishq-e-Laa

    Sajal Aly and Azaan Sami spotted at a mall for the shoot of Ishq-e-Laa

    Co-stars Sajal Aly and Azaan Sami Khan have been spotted at a local mall while shooting for their forthcoming drama, Ishq-e-Laa. The much awaited drama also stars Yumna Zaidi in a parallel role.

    Riding high on the success of his last venture, Dushman E Jaan, director Amin Iqbal has managed to pull off a casting coup by getting on-board a stellar cast in his upcoming biggie. Powerhouse performers Sajal and Yumna are the leading ladies of this ambitious project, penned by the veteran writer, Qaisera Hayat of Alif Allah Aur Insaan fame. It features debutant Azaan as the leading hero, along with Adnan Samad Khan of Ehd-e-Wafa fame.

    The shooting is going on full swing and the drama is expected to release later this year.

  • Video of Police Head Constable carrying differently-abled woman wins hearts

    A video of Head Constable of Multan has gone viral on social media in which he can bee seen carrying a differently-abled woman on his shoulders to take her inside the office of Ehsaas Kafalat Programme situated in Shujabad tehsil of Multan.

    The differently-abled woman had come to receive money from the the Ehsaas Kafalat Programme.

    https://twitter.com/CpoMultan/status/1412094791580590080

    As per details, a cash prize for the Constable has been announced by The City Police Officer (CPO) Multan. In addition to that an appreciation certificate will also be given to the officer for his kind gesture.

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  • ‘Hum Style Awards under water hoga’: Memes break the internet

    ‘Hum Style Awards under water hoga’: Memes break the internet

    The 5th Hum Style Awards were held in Lahore on July 4, 2021. The event was a star-studded affair. While we all were enjoying pictures and videos from the event, some people were busy filling our social media feeds with memes.

  • Man acquitted of blasphemy charges killed by a policeman

    Man acquitted of blasphemy charges killed by a policeman

    A policeman in Sadiqabad killed a man with an axe who was acquitted of blasphemy charges after spending almost three years in prison, BBC Urdu reported.

    According to the police, the accused had recently joined the police and was under training to become a constable. Rana Mohammad Ashraf, SHO of Sadiqabad Saddar Police Station, told the BBC that the policeman had turned himself in to the police after killing a man named Mohammad Waqas.

    “He told the police that he had been planning to kill Muhammad Waqas since 2016 but at that time he had gone to jail.”

    In 2016, a man named Muhammad Waqas was arrested on allegations of sharing blasphemous content on social media. A court had sentenced him to imprisonment in 2017. But the High Court had recently absolved him of the charges while hearing his plea against the lower court’s decision.