Much like the rest of the world, the South Asian community is also working on women-centric film and drama. Yet, famed writer Khalil-ur-Rehman Qamar can’t wrap his head around gender equality.
The Kaaf Kangana director is under fire for saying;
“Women should rape men if they want equality,”
While Bollywood is catching on with films like Mission Mangal, Pakistan’s Oscar entry Laal Kabotaar featured a female protagonist.
ALSO READ
Eshal Fayyaz Becomes The Butt of the Joke Over Her Accent [Video]
Some people just cannot seem to swallow that the tide has changed. Amid the debate around Khalil-ur-Rehman Qamar’s recent misogynistic remark, netizens brought up how this has been a key element of his write-ups. This time around the chauvinism was blatant
“If you wish to strive for equality then kidnap men as well. Rob a bus, gang rape a man, so that I can understand what you [women] mean by equality.”
Those unnecessary slaps. And most importantly mehwish going back to humayun at the end despite all the shitty things that he'd done to her. Fawad khagga was such a toxic character.
— ibad // (@isyedibad) October 31, 2019
For example, just his recent offering Mere Pass Tum Ho followed a beautiful woman Mehwish that leaves a dotting husband Danish for a richer man Shahwar. Research actually cuts down the stereotype, with evidence women leave abusive marriages. Lawyer Aliya Malik told Reuters domestic violence was one of the most common reasons for divorce.
A 2011 Thomson Reuters Foundation poll found some 90% of Pakistani women experienced domestic violence at least once. Yet there are still men that don’t see the point of equal rights and equal opportunity.
In fact, his statements just further emphasized his firm belief in gender-based myths. Shame is a socially induced sentiment. We feel shame when shamed for something by our community.
“I’ve observed when a married woman cheats, she doesn’t feel ashamed at all. The reason behind her not feeling guilty is because she has been backed by another man. When an unmarried woman cheats, she feels guilty … But when a married man betrays his wife, he feels guilty. He feels embarrassed.”
Of course, netizens didn’t appreciate this blast from the archaic past.
Khalil ur Rehman Qamar is a proper misogynist. He claims that when a woman cheats she’s very confident.
What world does he live in? In the subcontinent where women are killed in the name of mere suspicion over character, he has the audacity to believe this.
Ridic.
— Mahwash Ajaz 🇵🇰 (@mahwashajaz_) October 30, 2019
Ya'll so busy in drooling over the deep lafazi that you don't notice how regressive Khalil Ur Rehman Qamar's scripts are.
— ✍️ (@AimmySays) October 26, 2019
The reason I never liked his dramas. Honestly I don't get the hype surrounding his scripts. Even deep lafazi can't change that. His dramas are so regressive and women in his dramas are always portrayed as heartless, selfish creatures which is so wrong.
— r (@bookstea14) October 27, 2019
YES. I have said this a lot of times that Khalil-ur-rehman qamar has shitty scripts in which women are always portrayed as villians when as a society, we have already oppressed women beyond their strength. Loug wese hi aurton ko gold diggers kehte hain, ab aur bakwaas hogi.
— Aleezeh Fatimah (@dalchawalorrone) October 26, 2019
Some pointed out how most Pakistani television content has that same prejudiced tone. No wonder television is a dying art.
https://twitter.com/sanarites/status/1189558853240799232
Khalil ur rehman Qamar types are present in almost every channel, film company or studio, fashion world, styling, media houses, post production, music industry, we all know it. It shows in our films morning shows News Tv dramas. Darkness is fed openly by creeps. Its all True!
— jami-ازار (@jamiazaad) November 1, 2019
In the end like most of Khalil-ur-Rehman Qamar’s conversations, it boiled down to why people shouldn’t criticize Mere Pass Tum Ho. Even then he singled out women on this point.
“Women should not criticise “Mere Pass Tum Ho” because women themselves have ridiculed men.
The man didn’t stop there he went on to elaborate on how all women are not women for him. Khalil-ur-Rehman Qamar was clear a woman to him ‘is loyal or she’s not a woman‘.
“Like it or not, I don’t call every woman a woman. To me, the only beautiful trait a woman can possess is her loyalty and her modesty. If a woman isn’t loyal then she is not a woman.”
ALSO READ
Acknowledging Male Rape, Osman Khalid Butt Stands With Jami
Of course, no misogynistic exchange is complete without a dig at #MeToo.
“Someone to try me under #MeToo, I won’t care about that either,”
Then there was the argument of male advocates for women rights are just catfishing.
“Rather than figuring out your own rights, you’re only asking your part from men’s rights. That’s never going to happen!”
Khalil-ur-Rehman Qamar then gloated about how he’s never getting canceled.
“The most one of these feminist groups can do is chant slogans against me, tweet a few thousand tweets but that’s it! Women can’t do anything else.”
https://twitter.com/ayeshakhalid7/status/1190006151594872832
https://twitter.com/imahashah/status/1189931342978539520
via The Current
I think he is right…In k words achay nai hain but point of view to thk hai.unhon sab khawateen k bary main to nai kaha aisa..bay hya orton k bary main hi kaha hai to ye to blkul sahi hai…I agree with him