Quite recently, a short snippet of a video went viral from a talk show, where women’s rights activist Tahira Abdullah gave a brief, but impassioned explainer on what feminism truly is to a panel of men that included Khalil-ur-Rehman Qamar.
This is so powerful ! Should be played on repeat everywhere, specially the Legislative assemblies pic.twitter.com/eDY71FjzJb
— Chair-man (@godfatheriv) January 20, 2020
Her explainer was met with appreciation, for she beautifully summed up the very core of what feminism stands for.
https://twitter.com/ManalFaheemKhan/status/1219007820844163073?s=20
https://twitter.com/ZindagiAzabHai/status/1219435706948505601?s=20
However, Khalil-ur-Rehman Qamar could not be convinced.
He became defensive and angry at the explainer, stating that he does not believe in equal rights for men and women. He then tone-policed Tahira Abdullah, and went on to aggressively state that women cannot “steal” rights from men. When asked to explain the same, he stated that it was another debate for another day.
A video of this display of aggression has also gone viral, and people are angry at Khalil-ur-Rehman Qamar for his take on feminism.
How do you say "incel" in Urdu? pic.twitter.com/1gQY2CBu6M
— Fahad Desmukh (@desmukh) January 20, 2020
People called him arrogant.
#khalilurrehmanqamar is so arrogant and shows his gender biased mentality.
— 𝔼𝕒𝕣𝕝𝕪 𝔹𝕚𝕣𝕕 🇵🇰 (@KhaOmm) January 20, 2020
Others tried to correct the idea that women wish to “steal” from men.
https://twitter.com/ayshasiddique_/status/1219272463864991744?s=20
People could not tolerate his vibe.
https://twitter.com/Rameel44580966/status/1219261546339143686?s=20
i lose 5 years of my life every time i hear him speak
— deep rest (@izzalllgood) January 20, 2020
People believed that a “product of the patriarchy” cannot fully fathom feminism as a concept.
Produce of patriarchy will never ever ever understand what she said to him.
— Zahid (@zahidqta) January 20, 2020
What a shame he thinks men give and women receive. He forgot we give birth but what we fail to do as mothers – is to put such men in their place by making them lark what it’s like to respect women.
— Amu Yednap (@vagabondamu) January 20, 2020
Some even questioned why people still watch his dramas.
but why does the whole world then flock around to watch his shit dramas? https://t.co/0swLupXFE6
— sarah.jpg (@sarahkaasarah) January 20, 2020
While it’s great that the conversation around feminism has begun in Pakistan, women cannot be shut down by men each time they voice their need for equal rights. Men can support the movement by speaking up for other men and their rights in times of turmoil – an occurrence that is yet to be observed.
What is your take on this? Let us know in the comments.
