ISLAMABAD – Pressure mounted Friday against Pakistani singer AliZafar after he was hit with a sexual harassment allegation by a leadingactress in the first high profile “#metoo” accusation in the staunchlypatriarchal country.
The allegations were trending across social media in Pakistan after popularactress Meesha Shafi posted a lengthy message on Twitter, accusing Zafar ofphysically harassing her on “more than one occasion”.
“This happened to me despite the fact I am an empowered, accomplished womanwho is known for speaking her mind!” read the statement.
Zafar denied the accusations, threatening legal action against the actress.
“I intend to take this through the courts of law, and to address thisprofessionally and seriously rather than to lodge any accusations here,” hewrote on Twitter.
Following the accusation, other high-profile voices were quick to lendtheir support.
“No woman goes public with allegations like this just for fun. Obviouslyyou spend no time listening to women when they talk about how widespreadharassment is in our society,” tweeted Pakistani novelist and columnistBina Shah.
Zafar has dominated the music charts in Pakistan for nearly two decades andhas also starred in a number of films including Bollywood satire “Tere binLaden” which translates as “Your Bin Laden”.
The #MeToo and #Timesup campaigns have gone global since allegations ofsexual misconduct by Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein were publishedlast October, sparking an avalanche of accusations against other powerfulmen.
However, the movement has been slow to catch on in Pakistan, where womenhave fought for their rights for years in a patriarchal society whereso-called “honour” killings and attacks on women remain commonplace.
In a report released earlier this week by watchdog Human Rights CommissionPakistan, the group said violence against women remained troubling, with5,660 related crimes reported in the country’s four provinces in the first10 months of 2017.
In August, firebrand opposition leader Imran Khan was also hit withallegations of sexual misconduct by a female lawmaker who accused the famedcricketer of sending obscene text messages and promoting a culture ofsexism within his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party.
He later denied the allegations. – APP /AFP