Ali Zafar’s defamation circus sets dangerous precedents
Earlier this week, a famous Pakistani singer-songwriter and actor, Ali Zafar, walked into a courtroom accompanied by his entourage and attorneys. The location was the Lahore High Court, and the day, as is normal for days in late June, was hot. The purpose of this particular spectacle was to record a statement about his version of events regarding sexual harassment allegations made against him by singer Meesha Shafi a year ago.
The original sexual harassment case, which blew up all over local media was (unsurprisingly) dismissed by the magistrate citing a loophole and lack of evidence. As was visible by the length of the statement that Zafar gave on Monday, and the relish he took in it, this was his own stage.
Some may remember, the singer is suing his accuser, Meesha Shafi, for defamation, alleging that she made false accusations intended to harm his life, career and reputation.
That a parade of witnesses shows up to record statements before the court alongside gaggles of supporters (so far, exceedingly in support of Zafar), has been going on for some time.
A few months ago, Kanza Javed, a witness named in the case, came to testify before the court, obediently declaring all of Shafi’s allegations false and unfounded. In the coming weeks, other witnesses gathered by Zafar are likely to appear, with the same hoopla surrounding them and with accounts that likely match Zafar’s account.
All of this goes to show two things.
First, that while a woman’s account is summarily dismissed and not permitted to progress beyond its very initial proceedings, a powerful man is granted a bona fide audience to present his version of events.
Second, it shows the power and confidence of a man like Ali Zafar, who, after Shafi’s case was dismissed, wanted to make sure it continued to be in the news by filing his own defamation case, knowing full well that the long drawn-out proceedings of the court would ensure he had ample opportunities to repeat his version of events over and over again.
He knew that most people unfamiliar with the court’s procedures would begin to believe the story constantly repeated on national television.
Then there is the classic “attention-seeker” accusation often made against women who point the finger at powerful men.
As nearly every Pakistani woman knows, making a sexual harassment allegation, particularly against someone powerful, is hardly the way to win a popularity contest here.
Rafia Zakaria
One of the primary allegations that Zafar and his lawyers make in the suit is that Shafi made her allegations because she wanted to further her own career by ensuring that she received a lot of attention.
As nearly every Pakistani woman knows, making a sexual harassment allegation, particularly against someone powerful, is hardly the way to win a popularity contest here. If anything, a woman who makes the allegation is scrutinized, heaped with abuse, labeled a trouble-maker, and treated as someone suspect. A sexual harassment case is the worst thing that can happen to a woman’s professional reputation. This is despite the much touted Prohibition Against Workplace Discrimination Act of 2010, which, while criminalizing harassment, provides no tools at all for making it stop.
The defamation lawsuit that currently underway insists that Zafar faced monetary and personal losses because of the negative attention garnered by the case brought against him by Shafi. But for months, he is the one dredging up details of the case and producing a circus of witness statements and court appearances. So much so, that the statement he recorded this week was so long it will require another hearing to complete recording.
Sexual harassment at work and in public places is a reality familiar to Pakistani women. The worst offenders are men who imagine themselves to be above the law and above reproach, their power making it impossible for any woman to go public about being harassed.
Even as laws are passed, no mechanisms are created to ensure that the law gets social, logistical and cultural support. No efforts are made to provide resources that will train court and law enforcement personnel. No efforts are made to ensure that the women who do make complaints do not lose their jobs or positions and are physically safe in their work environments. Even worse, no effort is made to educate the public about the prevalence of the problem and how powerful men routinely treat women like trash.
The consequences of this apathy are before us all. Even while the sexual harassment case against Zafar was summarily dismissed, the defamation case has not only been allowed to proceed on unconvincing evidence, but is becoming a circus in which he is both hero and victim.
The message to all Pakistani women who currently suffer or will suffer sexual harassment is simple: you will be maligned if you complain. Unless the government intervenes and begins to ensure that this does not happen, it will always be solely the accused’s version of events that is permitted to publicly prevail.
– Rafia Zakaria is the author of “The Upstairs Wife: An Intimate History of Pakistan” and “Veil.” She writes regularly for The Guardian, the Boston Review, the New Republic, the New York Times Book Review and many other publications.
Twitter: @rafiazakaria
