New Delhi: Pakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has a habit of degrading women for political traction. He is being called out for his recent misogynist remarks against women leaders of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf.
Asif called the women PTI senators “the remains and ruins of Imran” and pointed toward Senators Zarqa Suharwardy Taimur, Sania Nishtar, Falak Naz Chitrali and Fawzia Arshad. He said, “this is the garbage left behind” by Imran Khan, “which has to be cleaned”.
Asif made the controversial comments while responding to allegations made by parliamentarians on the bulldozing of bills. He was referring to the manner in which bills were passed in former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s tenure.
Following this, the women lawmakers got up from their seats and demanded that he take his words back.
PTI leaders decried and condemned Asif’s remarks. “Absolutely shameful! Clearly all this is an attempt to depoliticise women in the country. Khawaja Asif and whole PMLN are constantly targeting women of Pakistan as usual,” PTI tweeted from its official Twitter handle.
Absolutely shameful! Clearly all this is an attempt to depoliticise women in the country. Khawaja Asif and whole PMLN are constantly targeting women of Pakistan as usual. https://t.co/O2oBOsmfmM
— PTI (@PTIofficial) July 25, 2023
Dr Zarqa Taimur, a PTI member, reportedly had two of her clinics in Lahore sealed on Wednesday. She tweeted, “this is a link of the same political revenge that my party and people associated with it are enduring.”
“This is not the first time!” pointed out Absa Komal, anchor for Dawn.
Also read: Pakistan just can’t let the Ahmadiyyas live. It’s destroying their places of worship now
An unfortunate leader
Asif had called the PTI chief whip Shireen Mazari a “tractor trolley” during a National Assembly session in 2016. Even while submitting an unconditional apology in the parliament for it after a year, he another woman leader a “dumper”.
“A misogynist who has no respect for women, unfortunately, holds the office of Defence Minister of Pak – has once again made shameful remarks against women members of Parliament,” Maleeka Ali Bokhari, an ex-lawmaker tweeted. She also questioned Pakistan’s Federal Minister of Climate Change and Environment Sherry Rehman’s silence.
Rehman condemned the remarks in a tweet later on. She is known to be vocal about her opinions on the right to expression and religion. But she fuelled the outrage against her silence on Asif’s remarks when a video she was seen smiling behind him while talking to Federal Minister for Commerce Naveed Qamar.
Rehman later tweeted that she regrets not intervening during Asif’s speech. She said she was sharing points with her colleague and “did hear a tail end, but thought it was the usual political match against each other, not specific to women at all.”
“Of COURSE I was not smiling at the remarks,” Rehman added.
Honestly, I’m sorry I was sharing some points on the passage of our National Adaptation Plan with a colleague in the National Assembly yesterday instead of listening to the noise outside House business in Parliament. I would have intervened to stop women Parliamentarians from…
— SenatorSherryRehman (@sherryrehman) July 27, 2023