Pakistani Twitter has blown up with conflict as Khalil ur Rehman Qamar, writer of drama ‘Mere Paas Tum Ho’, continues to make headlines due to his arrogant behavior and lewd remarks against women.
On Tuesday 3rd March, KRQ appeared on a television show with an activist Marvi Sirmed. Both were expected to share their thoughts on Aurat March 2020 instead they started sharing thoughts about each other.
Social media users gave a mixed opinions on the matter but as the nature of argument goes, each party had its flaws at individual level.
Offensive remarks by Khalil ur Rehman Qamar
Tempers were flared as the two got into an argument over a slogan which is causing a lot of misdirection for men and women both. #MeraJismMeriMarzi is a bold slogan by women to raise their voice against sex offenders.
There is a need for this slogan because the government and other appointed authorities are not doing their job properly with regards to minimizing or transforming such offenders.
Anyway, Khalil Ur Rehman Qamar referred to the slogan as vile rather than bold. As he was making an argument, Sirmad interrupted to explain why she thought that the writer’s opinion was problematic.
Instead of observing the interruption, KRQ enraged and threw seriously offensive comments at Sirmad. The issue with Qamar’s comments was that they were abusive towards women not only Sirmed. In fact, he validated the need of Mera Jism Meri Marzi. Qamar said, “Mein Aap k Jism py Thookta bhi Nhi” which means I don’t even spit on your body; this implies that Qamar thinks soul purpose of a woman’s body is to serve a man and it is still a man’s discretition to decide what to do with it.
It was not only Mahira Khan who condemned Khalil ur Rehman Qamar despite working in drama Sadqay Tumhary which was written by him. Many celebrities came forward to demand that Qamar should apologize for his offensive comments that was disrespectful.
People even called out Qamar’s hyocrisy for talking about women and Islam on screen but objectifying them on screen.
On Defending Mera Jism Meri Marzi
Problem is that people are not understanding what the slogan “Mera Jism Meri Marzi” means. Most of the folks probably think that jism (body) has to do with something vulgar and indecent. This very interpretation of the slogan also exposes how people think of the “body” of a woman in a disrespectful manner.
Opposing Mera Jism Meri Marzi (My body my choice), implies my body your choice…
There are countless reasons why there is a need to support this slogan.
Those Who Opposed Marvi Sirmed
As it happens on most of the debates on gender related issues the divison among Twitter users on this Khalil ur Rehman Qamar vs. Mari Sirmed matter was clear. But a look at the tweets reveals that Marvi had more haters than Khalil for an obvious reason that former who is a human rights activist is also a political analyst. She has been known for her fierce opinion and dissent on political matters. Therefore, those who didn’t agree to Marvi on her stance on politics also came forward to support Khalil not knowing what disservice they were doing to the cause of women.
For this they digged deeper into Marvi’s account and selectively shared his replies where she also used abusive language to give a shut-up call.
It took some time for the people to review where they stand. Mahira Khan tweeted again to dismiss her support from second party as well. It was not about supporting Marvi Sirmed or Khalil ur Rehman Qamar. It was more of supporting the plight of women who face hatred and get objectified merely on the basis of their gender.
Further, Marvi’s tweets where she appears to be foul mouthed also have context. A look at her timelines shows that it is so rare for her to not recieve hatred or abusive response on her dissent. Given such situation it is inevitable for her to keep this calm. Still, one can’t defend someone’s abusive response only because they are also prone to use such language.
It is clear from the TV show that KRQ and Sirmad are not able to debate on a civil level. They do not seem collected or qualified enough to be having this discussion does paving way for the distraction from actual matter which deserves an attention.
How long are we going to fight?
This discussion has prompted social media users to indulge in conflicts of their own. The reason is that this slogan #MeraJismMeriMarzi triggers everyone differently. It really depends on the way a person look at things.
Some women also do not agree with Sirmad’s attitude in front of a discussion panel. Sirmad had a chance to glorify women, and their achievements and she blew it.
As a result, a very arrogant man was able to gain social media support.
There are countless number of similar tweets that support Khalil ur Rehman Qamar’s abusive response. It is quite shameful to support abuse in any circumstance.
Men and women are not going to achieve anything until they are united. With Aurat March 2020 so close, did we really need this shenanigan to distract us from our core objectives?
