During a TV talk show this Friday, June 10, Pakistani Senator Hafiz Hamdullah verbally abused Marvi Sirmed, an analyst on the program and a human rights activist, even threatening the woman with rape. Hamdullah, a representative of the religious political party Jamiat-i-Ulema-i-Islam Fazl (JUI-F), has spoken abusively on live television to political opponents before.
Shortly after the program was recorded, Sirmed wrote about the experience on Facebook, triggering an uproar, and leading to a police report and calls for Senator Hamdullah to be prosecuted:
Ironically, the incident took place while taping a show dedicated to the debate in Pakistan about so-called “honor killings” (the practice killing of a relative, especially a girl or woman, who is perceived to have brought dishonor on the family) and the silence on the issue from the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII)—a 20-member constitutional body, created in 1962, that provides non-binding advice to the government about the religious aspects of the law and society. The CII has also been faulted for failing to acknowledge violence more generally against women.
The Council of Islamic Ideology recently came under criticism for drafting legislation that would permit husbands to “beat their wives lightly.” Hamdullah, incidentally, chairs the Senate’s Religious and Interfaith Harmony Committee.
On the TV show, panelist Barrister Masroor suggested insultingly that CII Chairman Cleric Maulana Sherani and Senator Hamdullah were “pee k soey hue hain’” (sleeping after becoming intoxicated). Masroor went on to criticize the CII for condoning violence against women. The anchor then turned to Sirmed and asked for her opinion about the CII's position on women's rights and its failure to condemn honor killings. Sirmed sided with Masroor, enraging Hamdullah, who began shouting. The argument escalated to such a degree that Hamdullah ultimately threatened Sirmed with rape.
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Originally Posted by Warwithin
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