On April 19th, infamous actor turned singer Meesha Shafi took the media world by storm by publishing a sexual harassment statement against international “rock star” Ali Zafar.
She wrote; “I have been subjected, on more than one occasion, to sexual harassment of a physical nature at the hands of a colleague from my industry: Ali Zafar […] It has been an extremely traumatic experience for me and my family […] I feel betrayed by his behavior…”
Several other women came forward with similar allegations against Zafar thereby dividing the internet. Zafar later responded to Shafi’s contentions and filed a 1 billion rupee suit against her for defamation. The case demanded Shafi to not only retract her statement but also issue a public apology to restore him to his former glory. Catering to the above, a session’s court met on Monday in Lahore. Both the musicians were present. However, things did not entirely work out for Shafi.
She was asked to submit a response to Zafar’s suit by July 5th.
Zafar was allegedly defended in court with his lawyers stating that the allegations made by the female musician were purely baseless. He also blamed Shafi for soiling his image globally.
As a result of this, Shafi was asked in the session to pay the required billion to restore the damage inflicted upon Zafar’s rapport with his fans and industry.
This demand was put forward by advocate Rana Intizar Hussain. She was also commanded to refrain from making any further derogatory remarks about Zafar on any media platform – print or digital. The court now awaits Shafi’s response. However, Shafi’s lawyer, Nighat Dad took to Twitter to voice her opinion;
Defamation law applies when it’s a lie, truth is a defense to defamation! In this case it’s being used as a silencing tool. Women who came out with their stories and harassment claims are on the right side of history and they are the ones making history! https://t.co/QCqMjFeC8M
— Nighat Dad (@nighatdad) June 25, 2018
Just so you all know Meesha has filed sexual harassment case against AZ several weeks ago, it’s pending before the relevant forum and proceedings are taking place. Under the Anti workplace harassment law proceedings are supposed to be confidential, so wait and watch this space.
— Nighat Dad (@nighatdad) June 25, 2018
In a world where a young son of a famous lawyer can stab his classmate 23 times in broad daylight only to be acquitted, it comes as no surprise that Shafi’s side of the story was preemptively dismissed.
The reaction of the court has sparked another debate claiming Shafi should’ve known better than to expect justice from a country that feeds on misogyny and is run on patriarchal prejudice.