The Shafi v Zafar battle has taken a new turn with the FIA cybercrime wing booking singer Meesha Shafi and eight others for running a smear campaign against star Ali Zafar with unfounded allegations of sexual harassment under the umbrella of #MeToo. Society and celebrities are still divided between supporting a good man falsely accused and standing behind a powerful woman gravely wronged; with each day the truth gets murkier as the victim label continues to change hands.
The controversy began almost two years ago, when on 9th April 2018, Meesha Shafi, via a tweet, publically accused Ali Zafar of sexually harassing her on ‘more than one occasion’. Upon Zafar’s outright denial she sought legal justice. However, her complaint was entertained neither by the provincial ombudsperson nor by the Governor of Punjab as she did not have an ‘employment relationship’ with the accused. Consequently, the matter lay outside the confines of the ‘Protection against Harassment of Women at the Workplace Act of 2010’ under which the complaint was filed. The verdict on Shafi’s defamation petition against Zafar was also stayed by the sessions court till the verdict on Zafar’s defamation case against her was released.
Zafar’s defamation suit seeks to claim one billion rupees in damages from Meesha for the agony suffered by his family and harm done to his public image as a result of her allegations. His FIR states that fake accounts were created to malign him which connects back to Meesha. The suspects named in his application were summoned on several occasions but failed to appear before the cybercrime wing resulting in criminal proceedings against them. Shafi was also unable to produce any witness affirming her sexual harassment allegations. Although the verdicts are yet to be determined, the latest development suggests the law lies in Zafar’s favour. Is he guilty? Is she lying? While the conspiracies are endless and redundant, the consequences are far-reaching. The Me Too movement has been rattled.
Although a campaign that garnered force in the US after a multitude of sexual abuse allegations surfaced against Hollywood bigwig Harvey Weinstein, #MeToo also gave voice to women in Pakistan. The shame attached to abuse had finally started to shed. Women began openly telling their stories and naming their abusers. It was made clear: no more. While the lecherous men still lived on unpunished, for once the burden of disgrace was finally shifting. The abusive men were immoral- not the women. Victims were able to become survivors. There was hope for change. But Meesha Shafi’s long-drawn downhill legal battle, has made a complete mockery of the movement once again rendering women powerless in a patriarchal society.
If a celebrity with a team of legal experts over a two year period cannot attain justice, ordinary women have less than little chance of success; speaking up about abuse is made superfluous. The message is clear: there is nothing to be attained from coming forward.
The shame is forced to resurface. It must be accepted that not every woman has the capacity to endure the backlash Shafi faced from Zafar’s supporters (both men and women): liar, manipulator, selfish and more were the kindest of words. Perhaps she did misrepresent what passed between them. But even if Shafi’s allegations are a sham, the fact remains that 93% of women in Pakistan have faced sexual violence (as per the Madadgaar National Helpline).
Women certainly can and have misused the #MeToo movement but the lies form a mole hill before a mountain of truth. Ali Zafar certainly doesn’t deserve the hate he received if the entire propaganda was created by Meesha for an ulterior motive. No innocent man should be slapped with the label of a sexual predator. Yet if the courts fail Meesha, they will also be failing every genuine victim of sexual harassment; no one will believe the next woman who speaks up against a powerful man. Justice it seems will be a cumbersome affair.
