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Political opposition doesn't have to be at the expense of women and trans people, Salman Ahmed

Political opposition doesn't have to be at the expense of women and trans people, Salman Ahmed

Previously, shameful slurs were restricted to ministers and men in power, but recently, even artists are picking up on the trend.
Updated 15 Jul, 2020

In Pakistan, politics is a highly gendered sport, much like a room full of proud men boastful of their masculinity, where there aren't enough women present. In the rare cases that they are, women are at the receiving end of direct and indirect insults and shameful stereotypical slurs.

Previously, this courtesy was restricted to ministers and men in power; but recently, even artists are picking up on the trend.

Salman Ahmed, guitarist from rock band Junoon took to Twitter with a morphed picture of Bilawal Bhutto Zardari — one that shows him with long nails, trendy hoop earrings, and drenched in loads of makeup.

This is not the first time that Bilawal has been mocked in this manner. With the current number of 1.9K likes on the tweet, we are reminded of how prevalent this kind of thinking is.

The common practice of when politicians use female salutations to name-call him, or use words like "chakka" and "Bilawal Sahiba", as apparent attempts to imply that he is not fit for his job.

Such an approach gives out the collective message that we believe femininity and androgyny are mock-worthy to begin with and thereby normalise and further the disenfranchisement of these groups.

We are a country heavily plagued with domestic violence and honour killings. Where our trans communities are forced to live lives that they wouldn't want to. In such a scenario, where these groups are so disempowered, why can't political opposition be done without it being at their expense? Why do women and trans people have to bear the brunt of derogatory insults casually thrown around by men?

This is disappointing, not because Salman Ahmed is a renowned musician, but because he is a grown man. And it is sad to see this refusal to acknowledge the insensitivity and intolerance that comes with putting women and trans people down, only to show some kind of political opposition.

If one wants to criticise a politician, by all means, it can be done on the basis of the politician's capabilities, performance, sincerity and service towards their work and their nation — not by making terrible, demeaning so-called jokes on their physical appearance, their accent or their gender - and we can definitely do better than perpetuating the cycle of discrimination and violence against women and trans people.

Comments

Bitter Truth Jul 15, 2020 05:01pm
Don't know why bigotry flourishes among PTI supporters, no matter how mature they seem to be. Probably it's their leader who inspires them.
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Syed Irfan Ali Jul 15, 2020 05:15pm
Disgusting! Didn't expect this from an educated singer like Salman Ahmad who has been living in the USA for decades - a society supposedly more sensitive to issues like gender equality etc. Shame on Salman Ahmad. You've lost my respect totally.
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Mukhtar Khan Jul 15, 2020 05:23pm
Political opposition doesn’t have to be at the expense of ANY ONE, should be for the betterment of all citizens
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Ukasha Rajpoot Jul 15, 2020 05:30pm
That is a direct attack on PPP
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Akhtar Banbhan Jul 15, 2020 05:44pm
Great piece. That was too degrading by this sufi singer.
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ruknani Jul 15, 2020 05:50pm
Sad part is he never showed any remorse or deleted the tweet.
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Shamrez Jul 15, 2020 06:54pm
Shame on salman ahmed. It seems these people will never grow up. Mean and mediocre!
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Laila Jul 15, 2020 08:35pm
Our politics and celebrities are rampant with intolerance, misogyny and hate. Just look at how politicians have called female politicians using various slurs and derogatory names. Name calling is so common in our society. Even among some settled abroad, apparently. Why can't people be tolerant? Bullying Bilawal or anybody like this is so childish. Grow up.
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Imtiaz Ali Khan Jul 16, 2020 08:26am
Come to Sindh I will show you what Billawal (No Bhutto) Zardari and his fellow family members along with his father has done. Interior Sindh is a mess of mega corruption in every corner even hospitals are hot bed of infections, schools have cattle tied in the rooms, many places it's so bad that people don't know how to keep basic hygiene. I don't want to make fun of anyone as we all have emotions I agree with the writter, us Sindhis are naturally secular 1947 no Sindhi hurt fellow Sindhi, but one thing is for sure these folk like convicted criminals like Zardari and his family sure needs to be punished already we Sindhis have rejected them in the heart of so call PPPzardari Larkana. Inshallah we will kick them out like the rest of our Pakistani brothers and sisters have done. I'm a Sindhi I know what I'm talking about friends #nomorezardari in Pakistan along with his family wake up friends we can't go on like this in Sindh specially or Pakistan in general.
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Lateef Jul 16, 2020 09:30am
@Ukasha Rajpoot I think it is indirect
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Ali Rehman Jul 16, 2020 10:05am
This man calls himself a Sufi, Shame on you...
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TZaman Jul 16, 2020 02:43pm
This shows Mr. Salman's mental and creativity level. Too degrading even to write about.
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Amjad Jul 16, 2020 03:25pm
The day you join PTI you lose sense of decency
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Furrukh Rao Jul 21, 2020 04:53pm
Salman is right this is common in US so he is doing the same while many Journalists who live in US are still in their basements crying with anger and writing against Salman. Go get outside take some fresh air.
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