ISLAMABAD: Pressure mounted Friday against Pakistani singer Ali Zafar after he was hit with a sexual harassment allegation by a leading actress in the first high profile “#metoo” accusation in the staunchly patriarchal country.
The allegations were trending across social media in Pakistan after popular actress Meesha Shafi posted a lengthy message on Twitter, accusing Zafar of physically harassing her on “more than one occasion.”
“This happened to me despite the fact I am an empowered, accomplished woman who 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 this professionally and seriously rather than to lodge any accusations here,” he wrote on Twitter.
Following the accusation, other high-profile voices were quick to lend their support.
“No woman goes public with allegations like this just for, fun. Obviously, you spend no time listening to women when they talk about how widespread harassment is in our society,” tweeted Pakistani novelist and columnist Bina Shah.
Zafar has dominated the music charts in Pakistan for nearly two decades and has also starred in a number of films including Bollywood satire “Tere bin Laden” which translates as “Your Bin Laden.”
The #MeToo and #Timesup campaigns have gone global since allegations of sexual misconduct by Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein were published last October, sparking an avalanche of accusations against other powerful men.
However, the movement has been slow to catch on in Pakistan, where women have fought for their rights for years in a patriarchal society where so-called “honor” killings and attacks on women remain commonplace.
In a report released earlier this week by watchdog Human Rights Commission Pakistan, the group said violence against women remained troubling, with 5,660 related crimes reported in the country’s four provinces in the first 10 months of 2017.
In August, firebrand opposition leader Imran Khan was also hit with allegations of sexual misconduct by a female lawmaker who accused the famed cricketer of sending obscene text messages and promoting a culture of sexism within his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party.
He later denied the allegations.
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For days, people had rallied online to find him, amplifying García’s call by sharing video of an interview she had given to local media. Photos of Boro, a medium-sized black dog with white eyebrows, went viral alongside phone numbers for García and her family. Spanish television broadcasters and newspapers covered the search.
García, her sister and the dog had been traveling Sunday by high-speed train from Malaga, their hometown in southern Spain, to the capital Madrid, when the tail of their train car jumped the rails for reasons that remain unclear, and smashed into another train.
The collision killed dozens and injured more than 150 people. Rescue crews helped García and her sister out of the tilted train car. That’s when she briefly saw Boro before he ran. She spoke to the cameras with a blanket draped over her shoulders and a bandage on her cheek after Spain’s worst rail accident in more than a decade.
“Please, if you can help, look for the animals,” a limping García told reporters at the time, choked up and holding back tears. “We were coming back from a family weekend with the little dog, who’s family, too.”
On Thursday, she had a bruise beneath her eye but, with Boro back by her side, also a smile plastered across her face.
“Now we have him and we have him for all our life,” García told reporters. “Now let’s go home, buddy.”
#MeToo hits Pakistan as allegations mount against leading singer
#MeToo hits Pakistan as allegations mount against leading singer
- Actress Meesha Shafi posted a lengthy message on Twitter, accusing singer Ali Zafar of physically harassing her on “more than one occasion”
- “No woman goes public with allegations like this just for, fun," tweeted Pakistani novelist and columnist Bina Shah
Recovery of missing dog Boro brings hope after Spain’s train crashes
- On Thursday, forest firefighters in southern Spain found the black-and-white pooch
- Photos of Boro, a medium-sized black dog with white eyebrows, went viral
MADRID: After back-to-back fatal train crashes sent shock waves through Spain, some good news arrived on Thursday: Boro, the missing dog, was found.
Days earlier, Boro’s owner Ana García issued a desperate plea to help find him after the dog bolted Sunday in the aftermath of the high-speed train crash in southern Spain that killed at least 45 people. García, 26, and her pregnant sister were traveling with Boro on the train that derailed.
On Thursday, forest firefighters in southern Spain found the black-and-white pooch, and posted images that showed García with one of her legs in a brace embracing Boro. Sitting inside a car, she spoke to reporters.
“Many thanks to all of Spain and everyone who has got involved so much,” she said. “It gave me great hope and we’ve done it.”
The search for Boro appeared to provide Spaniards something to hope for amid the week’s tragedy, and ultimately something to celebrate.
For days, people had rallied online to find him, amplifying García’s call by sharing video of an interview she had given to local media. Photos of Boro, a medium-sized black dog with white eyebrows, went viral alongside phone numbers for García and her family. Spanish television broadcasters and newspapers covered the search.
García, her sister and the dog had been traveling Sunday by high-speed train from Malaga, their hometown in southern Spain, to the capital Madrid, when the tail of their train car jumped the rails for reasons that remain unclear, and smashed into another train.
The collision killed dozens and injured more than 150 people. Rescue crews helped García and her sister out of the tilted train car. That’s when she briefly saw Boro before he ran. She spoke to the cameras with a blanket draped over her shoulders and a bandage on her cheek after Spain’s worst rail accident in more than a decade.
“Please, if you can help, look for the animals,” a limping García told reporters at the time, choked up and holding back tears. “We were coming back from a family weekend with the little dog, who’s family, too.”
On Thursday, she had a bruise beneath her eye but, with Boro back by her side, also a smile plastered across her face.
“Now we have him and we have him for all our life,” García told reporters. “Now let’s go home, buddy.”
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