KARACHI: Ever since the nominations for the Lux Style Awards (LSA) 2022, Pakistan’s most prestigious awards, came out this week, its management has been receiving flak from woman musicians, including Meesha Shafi, who have expressed their sorrow and surprise over the "erasure" of women from the Music category.
The LSA management released nominations for the categories of Television, Film and Music on October 18, but it came to the surprise of many as there was no female musician on the list of 82 nominees in the Music category.
The nominations were released on the LSA website, which is currently down for "maintenance" purposes.
“I’m just as surprised and confused as any reasonable person should be at the erasure of women from the nominations,” Shafi told Arab News on Saturday.
“Our music industry is one that has continued to produce stellar musicians across genders so these nominations beg the question: why are only the women not being recognised? Why are they being kept on mute? What is the justification for this exclusion?”
Shafi said she was saddened to witness what could only be described as "discrimination."
"Perhaps the bias is so deeply embedded in the subconscious now that misjudgements such as these continue to be made despite the community expressing its reservations in the past," she said.
Other Pakistani woman musicians who have voiced their disappointment over LSA nominatons on their social media accounts include Zeb Bangash, Momina Mustehsan and Maria Unera.
The LSA management denies the allegation of discriminating against women and says these were not nominations but "submissions" it had received.
“The list does not reflect any bias or preferences at the end of the platform as it is based on the submissions they received via email, portal and phone calls from general public,” LSA Manager Farishteh Aslam told Arab News.
"The whole idea is to make it more transparent and democratic."
Aslam said nominees would be shortlisted on the basis of these submissions.
But an Instagram post on the official handle of the Lux Style Awards labelled the list as "nominations." The post was taken down after the controversy as the awards management now claim it to be "submissions."
Aslam said TV, film and music celebrities do not submit their profiles, but their PR companies, publicists and producers send it on their behalf.
"Ask Meesha if she had submitted her portfolio," the LSA manager said.
Shafi called the explanation given by the management "disappointing."
"It denies the reality of what woman musicians have experienced in the wake of LSA’s exclusionary nominations. It’s true that I do not submit my portfolio or endorse the LSA with my attendance because of problematic and politically incorrect stances they have taken in the past, but these issues are bigger than any personal issues," she told Arab News.
“I did not speak on this for myself at all. I spoke up on behalf of an entire demographic. I did my research and am personally aware of artists who are on the list without submitting anything as well as artists who submitted their work and are not on the so-called submissions list.”
Music duo, Talha Anjum and Talhah Yunus of 'Young Stunners,' have been nominated in numerous categories, both as a band and individually.
“They [Young Stunners] asked us to send in submissions so we did,” Aleena Naghman, CEO of Crimson Artist Management and PR Company that manages the band, told Arab News.
Speaking to Arab News, Shae Gill of ‘Pasoori’ fame said she did not submit anything, but found it disappointing that the LSA management "ignored" some amazing woman artists.
“I did not submit anything, but that’s also because I just started this year and it’s okay that I’m not a part of that list,” she told Arab News.
"But it is disappointing that they ignored such amazing and talented female artists that have been in the industry for so long. It just goes to show how underappreciated women are in general."
