On Sunday, April 3, 2021, Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan, while addressing the public, stated that the increasing rape cases in Pakistan were the outcomes of obscenity and growing influence from Hollywood and Bollywood. Khan’s opinion drew ire from different factions of the society since they were equal to victim-blaming. Upon this statement, his former wife and a British celebrity, Jemima Goldsmith presented with contradictory comments and criticized him for his speech in which he mentioned that immodest dressing was one cause of rape.
Other than that, the public also didn’t appreciate what he said during the conversation. They started bashing the PM for his words claiming that obscenity is the only big reason behind rapes in the country.
What Made Jemima Goldsmith Slam Khan?
During a live Q-A session with the public, khan was asked to enlighten the Pakistani public regarding the government’s strategies against the growing cases of sexual assault in the country. As an answer, he stated that the increased number of rape cases was because of growing obscenity in our society. He mentioned that not everyone has the willpower to take control of their sexual desires. The temptation gets stronger when a woman doesn’t cover her body. Also, in order to support his stance, he referred to the western culture, Bollywood, and India’s situation in terms of sexual harassment due to vulgarity. To stop this, women should cover their bodies.
PM’s answer didn’t please any audience but had adverse effects as many people along with Jemima Goldsmith felt disappointed by his harsh words. People came up with examples of Zainab murder case and other such brutal incidents in which minors were the victims. They questioned if all these kids faced sexual assault only because they had dressed immodestly.
How Did Jemima Goldsmith React?
The British screenwriter and producer, Jemima Goldsmith firmly contradicted his former Husband’s response. She mentioned that the man she used to know, had a different perspective. His belief was to put a veil on man’s eyes to protect women. She also quoted a Quranic verse “Say to the believing men that they restrain their eyes and guard their private parts.” Quran 24:31” to let the leader of Ruling Party, Pakistan Tahreek-e-Insaaf know Islam’s way of protecting women.
In addition, some people stated that no matter how unsafe women feel, individuals with specific status and power will not stop preaching about how women should control themselves. A few went down the memory lane and recalled when the globally popular Pakistani Islamic preacher, Tariq Jamil blamed co-education for increasing rape cases in the country. They opined, that victim-blaming needs to stop, and implementation of actions against the criminals should become the priority.
Public Couldn’t Disagree More with Imran Khan
As far as the public is concerned regarding the rapes and assault cases in Pakistan, their trust in the authorities is getting shattered day by day. Previously, CCPO Lahore Umar Sheikh blamed the victim for the Sialkot motorway rape incident. Now, the prime minister himself has taken the podium to preach about women being the reason behind sex crimes.
Not only Jemima Goldsmith but many people on social media disliked what the Prime minister stated during the talk. They stressed upon the point that Imran khan should educate himself that those who rape children and women are not doing it because of their uncontrolled desires but due to sickness of mind.
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