Celebrities and other prominent figures are divided following a Lahore court's verdict in the defamation case between Ali Zafar and Meesha Shafi, a split clearly reflected in the wave of opposing reactions across social media.
On Tuesday, the court ordered Shafi to pay Rs5 million in damages to Zafar, a case that originated from sexual harassment allegations she made against him in 2018.
The ruling has drawn strong criticism from many, including actor Iffat Omar, who voiced her support for Shafi and highlighted the repercussions faced by those who have spoken out. "So the final verdict from the session court of Meesha Shafi vs. Ali Zafar defamation case came out. I was not only a primary character witness, I knew both families and both children very closely. If I took a side, it was with 100% certainty and belief," she stated in a social media post.
Linking the verdict to broader consequences, she alleged that people were “silenced, pressured, bought and scared”.
The entire support system is broken, Omar said, adding that it was not just Shafi’s loss.
Similar concerns were raised by journalist Sabahbano Malik, who shared a personal account to stress her point.
“A few years ago I was approached by a TV channel to do an entertainment industry focused talk show. On the very first day for the interview I walked in on about 4-5 men going through my Instagram profile casted on the TV on the wall. They quickly closed it but – ick.”
She went on to talk about victim blaming and said, “Women are not safe here. And even if that court did the most unsurprising thing they could do as a Pakistani court - punish a woman, I’m still proud and inspired as hell that women stood ten toes down for the truth. For each other. For what they believe in.”
“Men have no proof they did not harass or grope us. Men will always be trusted,” she said and questioned standards of evidence, writing, “How do I prove to you that the man who assaulted me in a crowd did? You want video? You want me sporting bruises to prove that I fought?”
