Here we go again. Now Serene Air is making small talk awkward by asking deeply personal questions from its customers. This time around Maria Memon was on the other end, so of course, she called them out. Turns out it might not be what you think.
While traveling via Serene Air, the television news presenter Maria Memon was asked on a flight:
“Are you married?”
Hello @SereneAirPak !
Is there a new SOP to ask your female passengers if they are married?
My husband , who was standing right next to me, didnt get asked about his marital status?
What does a woman’s marital status got to do with her travelling?— Maria Memon (@Maria_Memon) December 16, 2019
This doesn’t seem to be ‘unheard of protocol’ for the airline based on how others reacted.
For its part, Serene Air reached out to the anchor and apologized:
We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience. Kindly inbox us your flight details.
— SereneAir (@SereneAirPak) December 16, 2019
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Marvi Memon reveals how she was specifically singled out with that question because she’s a woman. Meanwhile, her husband who was with her, was not asked this question. Many others pointed out that at least Maria Memon received an apology.
Just because it happened to a media person, Serene Air apologized on social media, nothing more than that. I agree on Why don't they simply issue a warning to their staff rather than just apologizing here? 🤔
— Captain Planet (@HNK2019) December 16, 2019
Seriously…can't believe that!
Seems like staff is untrained…— Sobiah Qureshi (@SobiahQ) December 16, 2019
Women do not want to be asked personal questions.
Shameless question. Must never be answered. It should be noone's business to ask personal questions like marital status, religion or age. Unfortunately here right to privacy has no value
— Wajih Abbasi (@wajih_abbasi) December 16, 2019
That’s when it was pointed out this isn’t exactly the first time. All Pakistani airlines do this.
This happens again and again, and you always respond with the same. Why is there no notification being issued to your staff? Why does this only seem to be happening on Serene?
— Nida Kirmani (@NidaKirmani) December 16, 2019
It's not only serene. Airblue has same question to ask
— Sara Ashraf (@SarazCh39) December 16, 2019
Actually there’s a good reason why this question is asked.
Someone pointed out this is in fact, a cultural constraint, just not in the way we think. Maybe Pakistani airlines aren’t trying to make women uncomfortable. Maybe they’re trying to gauge out who to ask the question that actually matters;
“Are you pregnant?”
https://twitter.com/Vexel21/status/1206528961548828673
The reason airlines need to ask this is because flying actually affects unborn babies. In fact, women aren’t allowed to board planes in their third trimester. For that, the airline needs to know first if you’re even pregnant. They usually ask if you’re married first, because Pakistani culture demands more sensitivity.
https://twitter.com/Dr_hateem/status/1206599531804200962
They probably want to know if a passenger is pregnant by asking their marital status lolz. That’s a desi way 🤔
— طہرین اکبر (@TahreenAkbar) December 16, 2019
Bcz 6+ months pregnants arer not safe for flight. Is it ok to ask directly"ma'am are you pregnant?" From any oversized grl who isn't married yet … don't become hurdle in rules and regulations support them journalist cry all time no law, but also cry when they have to follow.
— Kapoor Sb (@Big_Kapoor) December 16, 2019
Then there were people pointing out since Serene will just apologize, there was no need to tweet it out.
You should take it as compliment as you might be looking very young.Always think positive.Anyway I condemn this Maria should not happen
— Javaid Ahmad (@JAVSPECIAL) December 16, 2019
https://twitter.com/zulqarawan/status/1206528592462544896
https://twitter.com/asim_121/status/1206548861822685185
Maybe asking the pregnancy straight up would save everyone the hassle. That’s why people cracked a joke or two about this.
Nikah Namay naal le ke jaya karo loko! 😂😂😂
— ~ما نی~ (@Mani__SJ) December 16, 2019
What kind of society is this
— rafia maroof (@RafiaMaroof) December 16, 2019
May be her captain wanys to know😛😛💍
— 💙جگا🪓 (@Jaga_punjabi) December 16, 2019
Yaar… . . .banda line maar raha ho ga. 😉
— Nadeem Shah-Pak. 🇵🇰 (@shah2u) December 16, 2019
Reshta bejta hoga .
— saim (@placesnew799) December 16, 2019
https://twitter.com/tajlangah/status/1206620351456788481
Maybe match making is her part time job. Just saying..
— Aryan (@AdmetusV) December 16, 2019
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Then there were the really bad jokes….
https://twitter.com/AmberArif86/status/1206561369883062272
For the safe side…first ap sy material status pocha jata ha…or passengers ko cooperative hona chahiye…agr crew ny poch b lia tha tu kia prblm ha…or company ko is pr action ni lyna chahiye crew k lye kue k vo apni duty kr rhi ha…but pochne ka method mayb thk na ho pak airline nii sb me pocha jata…or form fill krwaya jata..got it
On the other hand while everyone joins Maria’s bandwagon, perhaps its also prudent to think why the question was asked in the first place. Maybe they want to seat someone, maybe its for database, maybe something else.
while i strong support the ideology of feminism but we cant be just blunt about our reactions without knowing the background. Ugh!! who in the world would read this comment but thats my two cents worth