Talal Chaudhry called out for on-air sexist remarks about PTI leader
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Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari on Wednesday condemned PML-N leader Talal Chaudhry's sexist and derogatory remarks about Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) leader Kanwal Shozab on a live television show.
In a tweet posted today, Mazari said: "Talal [Chaudhry] and his cohorts including [Khawaja] Asif abuse women in and out of parliament and don't have the moral courage to apologise."
The minister was referring to an exchange that took place between Chaudhry and Shozab on 24 News HD programme DNA, which aired on November 4. During the programme, the PML-N leader resorted to inexcusably crude and sexist language when Shozab told him off for interrupting her.
A visibly angry Shozab called him out on his remarks and asked the host to tell the PML-N leader to let her speak. Chaudhry, however, continued to pass misogynistic remarks. At one point, when Shozab told him to "learn to respect women", Chaudhry said: "First learn to act like one."
A clip of the exchange was shared on Twitter by current affairs analyst Mosharraf Zaidi, who called Chaudhry "a regular offender" and termed his language "sick".
This is not the first time Chaudhry, who was last year sentenced for contempt of court, has passed sexist remarks about fellow politicians. Earlier this year, his derogatory remarks about prime minister's aide on information and broadcasting Firdous Ashiq Awan had drawn ire on social media.
In 2016, Minister for Human Rights Mazari herself had been subjected to derogatory remarks by PML-N leader Khawaja Asif, which she referenced in her tweet. Asif, who was in the government at the time, had used an offensive term for her on the floor of the National Assembly when she raised questions over a speech he made about load-shedding in Ramazan.
When she, along with her fellow politicians, protested against his language, Asif had refused to apologise. Then speaker Ayaz Sadiq had shifted the blame onto Mazari, asking why she hadn't stopped speaking after the insult was directed at her. However, Sadiq had later ordered Asif's words expunged from the record.
