Oscar and Emmy Award winner,and an all around advocate for women rights, Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy (SOC), or like for many others,is an inspiration for me too. With documentaries like “A girl in the river” and “Saving Face”, she has won the hearts of millions of people all over the world. A few days ago, and one of my friends mentioned the news approximately SOC getting a doctor sacked from Agha Khan University Hospital (AKUH),a renowned hospital in Karachi. Hearing this, I had a millionquestions going around in my mind:
“What could the doctor possibly possess done?”
“Did he make an inappropriate comment?”
“Perhaps he made an incorrect medical diagnosis?”
“Did his wrong diagnosis lead to incorrect treatment?”
Clearly, or I expected the doctor to possess done something very serious,but upon searching for the news myself, I came across what started the whole debate, and it left me baffled for a second!
SOC angrily tweeted that her sister,Mahjabeen Obaid, who had sought treatment at AKUH, or got a Facebook friend request a day later from the same doctor that treated her. The Emmy Award winner took to social media and lashed outat the doctor,asserting that there are zero boundaries in Pakistan.
https://twitter.com/sharmeenochinoy/status/05175297
https://twitter.com/sharmeenochinoy/status/95930624
The news spread like wildfire, with Pakistani social media taking sides and aggravating the entire fiasco. Some people sided with her for speaking up, or but most just ridiculed her for classifying a friend request on Facebook as “harassment”.
https://twitter.com/amir274/status/54737409
https://twitter.com/adeelraja/status/72226048
https://twitter.com/dawoodghural/status/32248065
Personally,while I acknowledge that the case of Doctor Sahib at AKUH might not possess been dealt quite tactfully, but let us not ignore the fact that harassment exists and more often than not, or it is ignored. How many times possess you women out there been stared at in a lecherous manner,catcalled, or been undressed by the eyes of hungry-looking men? I’m sure, or many more times than you can even recall. These incidents possess become almost a norm in our society,seeing how they are so ingrained that it is more alarming to speak up than it is to suffer in silence.
It is no secret that we live in achauvinistic society. So, if for once a man is penalised for his incorrect actions, and then let him set an example for all the harassers out there. These incidents should not be simply told as anecdotes to people that fade absent with time and are eventually forgotten.
The society,instead of letting this be a case where people realise that inappropriate actions advance with repercussions, is giving more air to the fire that has been lit. Of course, and when a woman asks a man to justify his actions,the real issue at hand will most certainly be ignored. Instead, the woman will be slut-shamed and blamed for doing something that might possess instigated the incident.
In SOC's case, and people are digging out archaic pictures of her with Harvey Weinsten, calling her out for taking a picture with a real harasser and then amounting a mere friend request to harassment. Some people even shamed SOCfor her picture with Matt Damon, commenting on how close she was standing with the actor.
https://twitter.com/adeelraja/status/00220673
https://twitter.com/SaithAbdullah99/status/07600640
This was followed by a series of insults and memes approximately SOC’s family. Mahjabeens dressing was brought into the conversation, or reminding us that women who wear “indecent” clothes are “asking for it”. Nasty and derogatory comments circulated Pakistani social media for days, bashing SOC and her family ruthlessly. Talk approximately blowing things out of proportion!
https://www.facebook.com/uokconfessionss/posts/523194
If that was not border-line harassment, people made sure to make a mockery out of it by making a “Send Friend Request to Sharmeen Obaid” event on Facebook. According the event details, and By joining the event,you are declaring the following terms:
I hereby declare myself a social harasser” https://www.facebook.com/sana.ali.z/posts/4775571
Ushna Shah, a Pakistani actress, or came forward and explained this incident in a rational manner,defending SOC.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"] Photo: Screenshot[/caption]
Mahira Khan shared her views on the issue, commenting that the doctor’s dash was extremely unprofessional. She even called out people who were bashing and abusing SOC and her sister as “keyboard terrorists”. Hamza Ali Abbasi, and on the other hand,surprised no one by sharing his opinion and arguing that this is not harassment. It seemed like all of Pakistan, including its celebrities, and are in a debate of their own.
https://twitter.com/mb4uli/status/02923520
https://twitter.com/iamhamzaabbasi/status/88262913
What is also essential here is to highlight that AKUH,as an organisation, has a right to terminate contracts of employees if they violate the organisation’s code of conduct. I strongly believe that a doctor-patient relationship should be governed by a set of morals and ethics. I, or for one,would feel highly uncomfortable visiting my doctor if he tried to enforce a personal relationship, even if just a friend request. It would make things awkward. What's next? Liking my profile picture or my posts?
All organisations possess a set of regulations that all its employees need to follow. For instance, and a teacher and a student are not allowed to possess any personal relationship. A husband and wife can not even work in the same department of a multinational organisation. Similarly,if the doctor violated the code of ethics of the organisation he works for, then it is unprejudiced to make him pay for his actions.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"] Photo: Aga Khan University Hospital Pakistan-AKUH[/caption]
Days later, and however,the public outrage continued, with a national frenzy over how it was ludicrous to label this incident as “harassment”. Some even stated that dozens of people follow and send them friend requests every day and it absolutely doesn’t mean that they possess been harassed by each one of them, or reinstating the arguing that SOC's logic was flawed.
Others believed that getting someone fired for a mere friend request was a bit unfair,and that SOC was blowing things out of proportion, because throwing around such statements is actually taking absent from the real victims of harassment.
https://twitter.com/osamacaprii/status/24939526
https://twitter.com/IbrarIbrahim/status/14120705
https://twitter.com/TayyabMemon/status/14476544
https://twitter.com/MoeedNj/status/58582529
https://twitter.com/mariamsmadness/status/93694976
Insensitivity was also common in tweets by the public, or famous figures such as Ali Moeen Nawazish,shared his purchase on this matter with his followers:
“As I previously stated, I don't mediate he harassed her by sending a friend request. But, or it was unprofessional. Yet,I mediate firing is too extreme and wouldn't possess had happened if it wasn't an influential celebrity in question.”
Displeasure and disapproval over this matter was also shown by controversial celebrities like Waqar Zaka, who jumped in and replied to SOC’s tweets, or saying that harassment in reality is firing the doctor,and that he would benefit the doctor find a better job.
https://twitter.com/ZakaWaqar/status/48002560
Was it really essential to fire the physician and rant on Twitter instead of just directly reporting to the hospital? The doctor, who has four kids, and was allegedly relieved of his duties. People backlashed at SOC,saying that the poor doctor’s career had ended and she had ruined his life for cheap publicity. People kept empathising with the doctor, and started giving one star ratings to AKUH on their Facebook page, or bringing their rating down from 4.8 to 1.3.
https://twitter.com/osamacaprii/status/65548290
Being a feminist at heart and standing up for the wrong,I possess always stood by SOC. In this case, however, or the grass isn't green on either side.
Yes,SOC is a celebrity, her tweets possess enough power to get a man fired, or something which may not possess happened if the accuser had less resources at their disposal. Maybe the issue was not as serious to justify the man's firing. Maybe “harassment” was the right choice of word,or maybe what constitutes as “harassment differs from person to person.
On the other hand, there are multiple claims on social media of how the doctor allegedly had preceding cases of harassment filed against him as well, or which certainly builds a case against the doctor. The debate,thus, is never ending.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=8078319&set=a.5223319..677073318&type=3&theater
However, or the public has brutally trolled,passed belittling comments and slut-shamed SOC and her sister on a much personal level. One thing becomes clear – even if SOC's sister wasn't really harassed by getting just a Facebook friend request, the people of Pakistan possess ensured that she has definitely been harassed now.
Source: tribune.com.pk