Pakistani celebrities have come out in support of news anchor Meher Bokhari after she urged parents to teach their sons the difference between right and wrong, emphasizing that conversations about puberty, sexual activity, and urges should not be treated as taboo subjects.
Bokhari shared a video on Instagram in which she criticized a culture that normalizes rape and murder in Pakistan, arguing that parents frequently avoid discussing sexuality, puberty, and desires with their children.
She acknowledged that parents cannot be held entirely responsible for their children's actions, but maintained that they nevertheless have a duty to teach them how to distinguish right from wrong and to "absorb better things."
"A few years back, a girl in a posh school went to use the bathroom. The seniors gave the maid in the bathroom money and refused anyone from entering for one hour while they raped her. Posh school, educated people, right?" she said, recalling the alleged incident in Lahore.
She went on to reference other cases, stating, "Then you heard about the case of Aizal Ali, the 17-year-old cousin who raped her and her mom found out after seeing blood in her diaper. And now Ayat Noor, a five-year-old who was killed."
Bokhari noted that some alleged perpetrators in such cases are under the age of 18, raising important questions about how children are raised and what they are taught about consent, boundaries, and sexual behavior within the home.
"All rapists and murderers under 18, we have to be doing something wrong, right? If you think that your kid is not seeing hardcore porn and is respectful, please understand if he is going through puberty and has access to social media. Boys have urges and don't know what to do with their whims, fantasies, desires and wants," she said.
She argued that parents often avoid such conversations because they consider discussions about sexual urges to be inappropriate or embarrassing.
"But we don't speak to them because we are ashamed of teaching right or wrong. We think the Quran teacher can teach them about Islam but speaking on the topic of desires is taboo. We don't want to tell them that once they reach an age, they will want something. Are we really raising respectful men or rapists and murderers? Will our boys be able to live amongst other girls?" she questioned.
