- Not much impact?
The MeToo movement has gained mainstream momentum across the globe after actress Ashley Judd accused media mogul Harvey Weinstein of sexual harassment in 2017. Since then, countless women – in some cases men – from every walk of life have come forward to name and shame their harassers on multiple social media platforms with the hashtag #MeToo. Unsurprisingly, the hashtag swiftly caught the eye of the media and eventually brought the topic to the forefront for discussion.
Social media has quickly become the vehicle of public-driven movements where anyone can engage in any narrative and make their voice heard. People no longer have to rely on media houses to get their word across or opinion heard. This has been exceptionally beneficial in the MeToo movement where victims, who had initially remained quiet, found the courage to speak out, following other posters.
The MeToo movement has shown the potential to introduce considerable change in the society while addressing the conversation, it can be said that it failed to gain the same momentum to expose the men and their predatory behaviour.
Unfortunately, while it has impacted change largely in the West and even in our neighbour India when actress Tanushree Dutta accused veteran actor Nana Patekar of sexual harassment, Pakistan has fallen short to take heed.
Despite Pakistani women coming forward with their traumatic experiences on social media and elsewhere, their testimonies are not being taken seriously. Not only that, women in our society are either blamed or given the cold shoulder when it comes to talking about sexual assault, highlighting the age-old misogyny in our society. Moreover, in most cases people refuse to believe the accusations; it seems like Pakistan still has a long way to go to make sure the number of sexual assault cases decreases.
From high-profile cases of Ayesha Gulalai to that of Meesha Shafi, it was noticed that women stepping forward with their respective stories did not prompt reactions from the government or any organisation, making the whole issue look trivial.
Pakistan needs to open up to the idea that these things happen and will continue to happen unless something is done about it. Women will continue to suffer and those speaking out will either be mocked by trolls or criticised
Although these cases did manage to stir up the society and ring a bell of danger, there was no discussion about how to probe the allegations: Gulalai’s case was brushed off, while in Meesha’s case, both parties are back in business with legal proceedings continuing at the backbench.
Every story that is being shared as part of the movement is said to receive a humiliating backlash, not just in Pakistan, but in India as well.
The only difference is, in India, this movement despite numerous apologies has started breaking careers at an unimaginable extent. However, it is still termed ‘modest’ in comparison to the US where such allegations have led to prison sentences, criminal charges and so forth. Nonetheless, in Pakistan, we continue to blame, troll and threaten the victim, instead of bringing about a change in the society. Stories continue to circulate on social media, mostly on the lines of gossip here. As of recent, Faisal Edhi was one of the accused and so was comedian Junaid Akram, who unlike Faisal faced multiple accusations. The accused have simply shrugged this off and denied the allegations, following which it seems like the end of story.
At this point, it would be irrational to say that the movement has failed in Pakistan. Although the development of the stories has been slow, those boys and girls who were previously hushed as children have now been morally uplifted. Not only that, in this part of the world, speaking out still comes at a price, women who are asked to provide ‘evidence’, in most cases fail to do because providing substantial proof is not easy. Moreover, it is also seen that siding with the accused is prevalent in the society, without asking them to provide evidence to prove their innocent, whereas a victim is humiliated and subjected to memes and trolls if there is no solid proof to support their claims. This proves that the movement will only progress if we let it and take proper action.
Pakistan needs to open up to the idea that these things happen and will continue to happen unless something is done about it. Women will continue to suffer and those speaking out will either be mocked by trolls or criticised for not saying something earlier.
A wave of change is awaited where the cloud of shame that still hangs over the issues of harassment would disappear. One needs to realise that it takes a lot of courage to speak up in such a society over issues as sensitive as this. Victims need to be supported and given justice. It is the time people finally wake up and stop criticising the victims and taking action against the perpetrators.
