Fighting toxic talk
Published October 20, 2024
DAWN
I HAD to step outside social media silos to understand what was happening in Lahore, because my trusted sources — ie, this newspaper and other legacy outlets — were reporting on student protests while information about the alleged rape seemed muted. On social media, meanwhile, things were alarming, even horrific. No rape was as possible as the cover up of one. I wanted to create a timeline myself to make sense of things — this is before The Current published a very good explainer — namely, had a rape occurred?
While student protests and police brutality have continued across Punjab, there’s more clarity, at least for me: a young woman and her family’s name have been dragged through the mud, and they will likely have to spend the next few years explaining that she/their daughter was not raped. Students who are braving police violence are being used for political point-scoring. No one believes the government, and likely won’t even if Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz pursues criminal cases against those who spread misinformation, as her administration seems to be doing. Minds have been made up across the political divide.
Welcome to this age of disinformation — with dangerous consequences.
Let it be clear that misinformation about this case was spread at a dizzying speed. Investigative journalist Umar Cheema, who was one of the first to report there was no rape at the said college, tweeted a video of a woman claiming to be the rape victim’s mother on Friday evening. She tells her followers on TikTok what happened to her daughter and asks them to call out the government and the news media for covering up the crime. After this teary-eyed confession, she posts her next video, wherein she is lip-syncing to a Bollywood song.
It’s easy to dismiss this woman as an attention-seeker but it’s the folks who believe it and share it that worry me more. According to Tom Buchanan, who wrote a paper on disinformation in 2020, those who deliberately create it do so “to deceive and mislead audiences for the purposes of causing harm, or for political, personal or financial gain”. People who then share it do so because it aligns with their worldview. Many, citing the sheer strength and effectiveness of a particular political party’s social media strategy, suspect its supporters of pushing news of this rape, saying they got the turmoil they wanted. Meanwhile, brave students will bear the brunt of police violence.
Whatever women say in this country is treated with suspicion.
Of course, a rape can occur on campus. Of course, parents would deny it. Of course, a guard or male school employee could be the harasser, CCTV footage could be deleted, the school administration could pressure and/or threaten students, the media could be involved in hushing things up. We have seen iterations of this play out plenty of times before. In this case, the police officer who told students to return to classes lest “something else” happen to them too is no different to the police officer asking why a woman gang-raped on the Motorway was driving alone at night.
We live in a country where whatever women say is treated with suspicion. I’m lying if I said I was raped, I’m covering up rape if I say I wasn’t. I’m telling the truth if I say a guard harassed me, I’m lying if I say an actor did. It is exhausting to be a woman in this country. Attitudes and policies deny us basic humanity. Digital platforms do not protect us.
Disinformation is a global threat and requires a global strategy and policies to quell it. However, misogyny threatens to unravel Pakistan’s core. Misogyny is being monetised, and it is being used to create divisions in society. It should be seen as as big a national security threat as terrorism. In fact, misogyny is terrorism. In August, the UK said it was planning to tackle misogyny as extremism. There are great concerns about incel culture in the West, promoted by the likes of Andrew Tate. Here, we elect men like Tate, invite them as state guests and fund campaigns for them to run for Oxford chancellor.
The government alone can’t fight the kind of disinformation this Lahore ‘rape’ case has shown. It requires parents and schools to teach media literacy classes from grade 1. And laws that don’t suppress civil liberties but punish those who spread false information. Not release them.
If not, I fear parents won’t want to send their daughters to colleges, women won’t want to stand for public office (given the disgusting hate campaigns they face) or report sexual harassment of violence due to the stigma. This will set us back decades. In 2022, Pakistan was the second worst country for women in terms of gender parity according to the World Economic Forum. Imagine sinking lower.
The writer is an instructor of journalism.
X: *@LedeingLady*
Published in Dawn, October 20th, 2024
I HAD to step outside social media silos to understand what was happening in Lahore, because my trusted sources — ie, this newspaper and other legacy outlets — were reporting on student protests while information about the alleged rape seemed muted. On social media, meanwhile, things were alarming, even horrific. No rape was as possible as the cover up of one. I wanted to create a timeline myself to make sense of things — this is before The Current published a very good explainer — namely, had a rape occurred?
While student protests and police brutality have continued across Punjab, there’s more clarity, at least for me: a young woman and her family’s name have been dragged through the mud, and they will likely have to spend the next few years explaining that she/their daughter was not raped. Students who are braving police violence are being used for political point-scoring. No one believes the government, and likely won’t even if Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz pursues criminal cases against those who spread misinformation, as her administration seems to be doing. Minds have been made up across the political divide.
Welcome to this age of disinformation — with dangerous consequences.
Let it be clear that misinformation about this case was spread at a dizzying speed. Investigative journalist Umar Cheema, who was one of the first to report there was no rape at the said college, tweeted a video of a woman claiming to be the rape victim’s mother on Friday evening. She tells her followers on TikTok what happened to her daughter and asks them to call out the government and the news media for covering up the crime. After this teary-eyed confession, she posts her next video, wherein she is lip-syncing to a Bollywood song.
It’s easy to dismiss this woman as an attention-seeker but it’s the folks who believe it and share it that worry me more. According to Tom Buchanan, who wrote a paper on disinformation in 2020, those who deliberately create it do so “to deceive and mislead audiences for the purposes of causing harm, or for political, personal or financial gain”. People who then share it do so because it aligns with their worldview. Many, citing the sheer strength and effectiveness of a particular political party’s social media strategy, suspect its supporters of pushing news of this rape, saying they got the turmoil they wanted. Meanwhile, brave students will bear the brunt of police violence.
Whatever women say in this country is treated with suspicion.
Of course, a rape can occur on campus. Of course, parents would deny it. Of course, a guard or male school employee could be the harasser, CCTV footage could be deleted, the school administration could pressure and/or threaten students, the media could be involved in hushing things up. We have seen iterations of this play out plenty of times before. In this case, the police officer who told students to return to classes lest “something else” happen to them too is no different to the police officer asking why a woman gang-raped on the Motorway was driving alone at night.
We live in a country where whatever women say is treated with suspicion. I’m lying if I said I was raped, I’m covering up rape if I say I wasn’t. I’m telling the truth if I say a guard harassed me, I’m lying if I say an actor did. It is exhausting to be a woman in this country. Attitudes and policies deny us basic humanity. Digital platforms do not protect us.
Disinformation is a global threat and requires a global strategy and policies to quell it. However, misogyny threatens to unravel Pakistan’s core. Misogyny is being monetised, and it is being used to create divisions in society. It should be seen as as big a national security threat as terrorism. In fact, misogyny is terrorism. In August, the UK said it was planning to tackle misogyny as extremism. There are great concerns about incel culture in the West, promoted by the likes of Andrew Tate. Here, we elect men like Tate, invite them as state guests and fund campaigns for them to run for Oxford chancellor.
The government alone can’t fight the kind of disinformation this Lahore ‘rape’ case has shown. It requires parents and schools to teach media literacy classes from grade 1. And laws that don’t suppress civil liberties but punish those who spread false information. Not release them.
If not, I fear parents won’t want to send their daughters to colleges, women won’t want to stand for public office (given the disgusting hate campaigns they face) or report sexual harassment of violence due to the stigma. This will set us back decades. In 2022, Pakistan was the second worst country for women in terms of gender parity according to the World Economic Forum. Imagine sinking lower.
The writer is an instructor of journalism.
X: *@LedeingLady*
Published in Dawn, October 20th, 2024
Women and change
Published October 20, 2024
DAWN
WITH their unwavering courage, Pakistani women have been challenging the odds and reshaping the country’s social and political landscape. Their increasing participation in political and rights movements, a testament to their bravery, can be read as ‘change is coming’.
The role of women significantly shapes the ongoing struggle against religious bigotry in the country. The images of police torture inflicted upon human rights activists, particularly on a young woman lawyer in Karachi, will be remembered. The visuals of Dr Mahrang Baloch, who was prevented from travelling to New York, added to the existing detestation of the government, which has been restricting freedoms in the country. She had been included in Time’s 100 most influential people of the year and was on her way to deliver a talk at a ceremony organised by the magazine. The significant participation of women in a jirga organised by the Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM) in Khyber district last week signals that silence is no longer an option, and women are becoming indispensable to the conduct of national affairs.
Change is underway, but its duration remains uncertain, as the perpetrators of oppression are still strong, especially given their solid institutional foundation and support from the power elite. However, recent developments offer a glimmer of hope that gender inequality is being challenged more structurally across the country. Many experts argue that the issue has gone beyond gender inequality, and reflects broader socio-political and cultural pressures that draw clear lines between the privileged elite and those who feel oppressed. It may also represent a silent transformation that has been unfolding for some time.
This shift is happening nationwide, including in Punjab, though the expressions of the change differ. When incidents of violence against women are normalised, and women haters justify such acts — perhaps by importing a misogynistic mullah to fuel damaging debates — the hysteria following allegations of a girl being raped in a Punjab hostel should come as no surprise. The youth in Punjab, influenced by recent events and the report of a sexual assault, are voicing their sentiments more than ever. Protests against extremism and movements advocating for rights in the other provinces are likely to have an impact in Punjab too. Amid political chaos and rising social discontent, misogynistic narratives propagated by certain religious factions are facing a backlash.
Many youth in Punjab have united behind a fair cause and are reacting against injustices that have become commonplace. Their unity mirrors reactions in other provinces and their increasing participation and prominent roles indicate that, with political awakening, social structures are also undergoing a transformation. The role of women in the political opposition, mainly the women in Punjab who are facing hardship, cannot be ignored. Women’s participation in politics in the province can be considered as part of the ongoing transformation.
Comprehending women leaders is always a challenge for the power elites.
Indeed, Pakistan has a history of women playing critical roles in politics and social development. However, most of these women belong to the upper classes, and their role has not triggered any significant transformation in society. Few women have emerged as universal symbols of courage and resistance, like the late Asma Jahangir. Now, the major difference between the two generations is that the new women leaders come from humble backgrounds, and socio-political circumstances have pushed them to act for change. These women have been supported by their communities, and their leadership has evolved organically. This gives optimism that the change will last long.
Comprehending women leaders is always a challenge for the power elites, who resort to their character assassination. The second argument, often used against women’s participation in social and political reforms, is taken from faith and culture. This approach creates hindrances. A combination of all these factors shows how power structures in Pakistan are inherently misogynistic; they don’t even change when women become prime ministers or chief ministers.
The PPP was recently being criticised for its brutal treatment of civil society, which was protesting against extremism. But this is not new for the ruling party of Sindh. Ruling elites always cater to the interests of the majority and those who are more powerful. The extremists are powerful in Sindh and have infiltrated the police, and the government is protecting their interests.
This is not limited to the PPP; all political parties are sympathetic to the establishment when they are in power. All major mainstream political parties sympathise with the oppressed and marginalised communities when they are in the opposition and face victimisation by the establishment. While sympathising with the marginalised, these parties sell their victimhood to gain power. Once in power, they deal with these communities and rights movements as the establishment wishes.
Rights movements may also reveal a tendency to ally with the establishment, as was witnessed recently when the Haq Do Tehreek in Gwadar compromised to secure a few electoral constituencies. Similar examples can be found in the PTM. However, the risk of compromise is reduced with a women leadership and its increased participation within right movements, as women leaders are seen as more dedicated to their cause and sound in the art of negotiation.
One may argue that women also actively participate in religious parties’ activities. This may be an encouraging thought, but such participation is mostly limited to attending the religious parties’ rallies and holding fund-collection drives. These parties hardly allow their women to lead from the front or take an active role in decision-making in party affairs. Secondly, their participation in religious and political activities remains mostly confined to protecting the social and political status quo.
Women’s role in the PTM is particularly critical. The fact that these women are facing multiple societal, political, and religious pressures as well as the TTP danger in their area cannot be underestimated: the banned group is the ally of the worst misogynistic regime — the Afghan Taliban. The resistance of these women is a beacon of hope not only for Pakistani but also for Afghan women.
The writer is a security analyst.
Published in Dawn, October 20th, 2024
WITH their unwavering courage, Pakistani women have been challenging the odds and reshaping the country’s social and political landscape. Their increasing participation in political and rights movements, a testament to their bravery, can be read as ‘change is coming’.
The role of women significantly shapes the ongoing struggle against religious bigotry in the country. The images of police torture inflicted upon human rights activists, particularly on a young woman lawyer in Karachi, will be remembered. The visuals of Dr Mahrang Baloch, who was prevented from travelling to New York, added to the existing detestation of the government, which has been restricting freedoms in the country. She had been included in Time’s 100 most influential people of the year and was on her way to deliver a talk at a ceremony organised by the magazine. The significant participation of women in a jirga organised by the Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM) in Khyber district last week signals that silence is no longer an option, and women are becoming indispensable to the conduct of national affairs.
Change is underway, but its duration remains uncertain, as the perpetrators of oppression are still strong, especially given their solid institutional foundation and support from the power elite. However, recent developments offer a glimmer of hope that gender inequality is being challenged more structurally across the country. Many experts argue that the issue has gone beyond gender inequality, and reflects broader socio-political and cultural pressures that draw clear lines between the privileged elite and those who feel oppressed. It may also represent a silent transformation that has been unfolding for some time.
This shift is happening nationwide, including in Punjab, though the expressions of the change differ. When incidents of violence against women are normalised, and women haters justify such acts — perhaps by importing a misogynistic mullah to fuel damaging debates — the hysteria following allegations of a girl being raped in a Punjab hostel should come as no surprise. The youth in Punjab, influenced by recent events and the report of a sexual assault, are voicing their sentiments more than ever. Protests against extremism and movements advocating for rights in the other provinces are likely to have an impact in Punjab too. Amid political chaos and rising social discontent, misogynistic narratives propagated by certain religious factions are facing a backlash.
Many youth in Punjab have united behind a fair cause and are reacting against injustices that have become commonplace. Their unity mirrors reactions in other provinces and their increasing participation and prominent roles indicate that, with political awakening, social structures are also undergoing a transformation. The role of women in the political opposition, mainly the women in Punjab who are facing hardship, cannot be ignored. Women’s participation in politics in the province can be considered as part of the ongoing transformation.
Comprehending women leaders is always a challenge for the power elites.
Indeed, Pakistan has a history of women playing critical roles in politics and social development. However, most of these women belong to the upper classes, and their role has not triggered any significant transformation in society. Few women have emerged as universal symbols of courage and resistance, like the late Asma Jahangir. Now, the major difference between the two generations is that the new women leaders come from humble backgrounds, and socio-political circumstances have pushed them to act for change. These women have been supported by their communities, and their leadership has evolved organically. This gives optimism that the change will last long.
Comprehending women leaders is always a challenge for the power elites, who resort to their character assassination. The second argument, often used against women’s participation in social and political reforms, is taken from faith and culture. This approach creates hindrances. A combination of all these factors shows how power structures in Pakistan are inherently misogynistic; they don’t even change when women become prime ministers or chief ministers.
The PPP was recently being criticised for its brutal treatment of civil society, which was protesting against extremism. But this is not new for the ruling party of Sindh. Ruling elites always cater to the interests of the majority and those who are more powerful. The extremists are powerful in Sindh and have infiltrated the police, and the government is protecting their interests.
This is not limited to the PPP; all political parties are sympathetic to the establishment when they are in power. All major mainstream political parties sympathise with the oppressed and marginalised communities when they are in the opposition and face victimisation by the establishment. While sympathising with the marginalised, these parties sell their victimhood to gain power. Once in power, they deal with these communities and rights movements as the establishment wishes.
Rights movements may also reveal a tendency to ally with the establishment, as was witnessed recently when the Haq Do Tehreek in Gwadar compromised to secure a few electoral constituencies. Similar examples can be found in the PTM. However, the risk of compromise is reduced with a women leadership and its increased participation within right movements, as women leaders are seen as more dedicated to their cause and sound in the art of negotiation.
One may argue that women also actively participate in religious parties’ activities. This may be an encouraging thought, but such participation is mostly limited to attending the religious parties’ rallies and holding fund-collection drives. These parties hardly allow their women to lead from the front or take an active role in decision-making in party affairs. Secondly, their participation in religious and political activities remains mostly confined to protecting the social and political status quo.
Women’s role in the PTM is particularly critical. The fact that these women are facing multiple societal, political, and religious pressures as well as the TTP danger in their area cannot be underestimated: the banned group is the ally of the worst misogynistic regime — the Afghan Taliban. The resistance of these women is a beacon of hope not only for Pakistani but also for Afghan women.
The writer is a security analyst.
Published in Dawn, October 20th, 2024
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