Friday, May 29, 2020
#Pakistan - Zara Abid - Slut-shaming the deceased — A new low for Pakistani society
It was not long enough that those brave “keyboard” warriors turned to their favourite warzone – the social media – to slut-shame the deceased model. Various internet trolls started sharing the late model’s Tik Tok videos and started arguing over her character – such is the ignorant mindset of our nation. The model went on to be targeted for her career with various low-grade bloggers and media outlets using her pictures, which would help them get more reach – muckraking had reached its abysmal zenith. Just mere hours after her death was confirmed, the high and mighty self-proclaimed “intellectuals” of the internet stood up to decide whether the deceased model will be going to heaven or purgatory based on her work. Some degenerates even went on to compare her with a prostitute, showing how messed up and twisted minds some people of our country have.
Pakistani workplaces are becoming a den for those beasts that prey on women, making earning livelihood a living hell hole
However, this is not the first time a celebrity has been slut-shamed by our ‘intellectual’ internet trolls. Recently, Turkish actress Esra Bilgiç who plays Halima Sultan on the show uncovered the dull, yet diverting, side of Pakistani fans as they went on to preach her Islam on her clothes and poses. The image evoked remarks like “For what reason are some Turkish and Pakistani on-screen characters following Western culture?” and “I loathe you in the wake of seeing this image Halima Sultan.” That’s not all, many even compared her on-screen persona to something that they anticipated from her, all things considered. The “humble and honourable” woman figure of speech was rehashed, suggesting that that is how she should lead her life. There were likewise long passages about how she ought to imitate the character she played on screen and that she would look much better in twelfth-century clothing over the “western” garments she wears in her own life. Hurling accusations and slut-shaming celebrities have become somewhat of a pastime hobby for our citizens.
A few years from now, actress Mahira Khan was also accused and criticised similarly. We all live in a country where almost 20 per cent of the population is a smoker but one cigarette seemed to be the heaviest – the one that Mahira Khan smoked. The actress was violated when pictures of her sharing a cigarette with Indian actor Ranbir Kapoor spread like wildfire all across the internet. Social media influencers took this opportunity and further fueled the already ignited lighters in a move to get more clicks. Flocks of internet trolls had broken Twitter with hashtags relating to Mahira Khan’s incident and people started to call her un-Islamic at what she wore and on why she was smoking. When will people understand that they don’t own a celebrities personal life? This also highlights another grave and obscene trend of workplace harassment. Pakistani workplaces are becoming a den for those beasts that prey on women, making earning livelihood a living hell hole. This is a global issue but in a third world country like Pakistan, where women rights are poorly protected, harassment cases are rising exponentially within our country. In a nutshell, the patriarchal system and the discriminatory attitude of male-dominated society towards professional women may be the reason behind workplace harassment.
These are the issues that spark up the rape culture and the toxic mindset of our male society. The ease to which harassment can take place in our society is an indicator of how the rape culture can mushroom out throughout the country. Special initiatives have been taken at the state level such as the introduction of the Harassment at Workplace Act 2010 and establishing the Office of Women Ombudsperson. Yet, it’s a mammoth task for our society to evolve such a congenial environment where females won’t feel shy to raise their voice for their rights.
Sermonising on what we have seen from the plethora of twisted men harassing women and slut-shaming them, who declare a woman to be characterless just so that she can’t spread her wings properly in a society. What a low opinion Pakistani man must have of Pakistani women if this is what’s going through their minds. No wonder they feel they must control every action, police every movement, otherwise, Pakistani women would break free and run around uncontrollably, destroying what’s left of society. A survey carried out by the Thomson Reuters Foundation ranked Pakistan as the third most dangerous country in the world for women, after Afghanistan and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Ignorance is not always a bliss and sometimes it’s important to take a stand. Here the government is also to be blamed for taking no such actions in helping to make a safer country for our women. No major laws have come forth in recent years that could help these women to stand on their own feet. However, our government is too busy with more ‘important’ issues perhaps.
Covid cases in Pakistan cross 64,000 with 2,636 new patients, death toll climbs to 1,317
The authorities conducted 11,931 coronavirus tests during the last 24 hours, taking the number of tests done so far to 5,20,017. Pakistan’s coronavirus cases on Friday reached 64,028 with 2,636 new patients while the death toll climbed to 1,317 after 57 people lost their lives in the last 24 hours, the health ministry said.
The Ministry of National Health Services reported that 25,309 cases were diagnosed in Sindh, 22,964 in Punjab, 8,842 in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, 3,928 in Balochistan, 2,100 in Islamabad, 658 in Gilgit-Baltistan, and 227 in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
On the positive side, the ministry said, 22,305 patients have been recovered so far from the virus.
The authorities conducted 11,931 coronavirus tests during the last 24 hours, taking the number of tests done so far to 520,017.
Meanwhile, a senior journalist died on Thursday due to the coronavirus in Peshawar, making him the first media casualty of the virus in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.
And two employees of Radio Pakistan, including a studio engineer and a veteran news reader, died due to the coronavirus.
The trajectory showed that the number was steadily going up with authorities fearing a rise in cases in the wake of the easing of lockdown before Eid which was observed in the country on Sunday.
https://theprint.in/world/covid-cases-in-pakistan-cross-64000-with-2636-new-patients-death-toll-climbs-to-1317/431615/
#Pakistan #PPP - Sherry urges govt to wake up, save farmers from locusts attack
“This will be economically devastating for us as agriculture accounts for 20% of GDP and 65% of the population live and work in agricultural areas. The fact that the locust attack in Pakistan may wipe out livelihoods and worsen food security, should be enough to wake the federal government from its deep slumber to help the farmers,” she said while urging the federal government to help the farmers who were badly affecting with the locust attack on their crop.
Sherry Rehman said around 38% of Pakistan is now a breeding ground for the desert locusts and more than 140,000 acres of crops have been damaged in Pakistan alone since last April.
Considering these grim reports, she said it is surprising that the federal government has not come up with an effective policy to tackle this issue. “Sindh is the most vulnerable to this new locust invasion and can lead to a potential loss of Rs451 billion, which, is approximately 70% of Sindh’s budget but the federal government has still not launched a spraying drive in Sindh and nor PM Khan has taken any action despite CM Sindh’s request,” she said.
She said Sindh government has been reporting issues to the federation for a year but as always there was no response from them.
She said as this issue comes under the domain of the Federal Ministry of National Food Security, particularly the Department of Plant Protection, provinces require federal government’s assistance in addressing this issue. “Instead the federal government is falsely claiming that the situation has been handled and they have done aerial sprays but the Sindh agriculture minister has proved that in the last 6 months, no area in Sindh has been sprayed,” she said.
Sherry Rehman said since it is the federal government’s responsibility, CM Sindh had asked for the provision of 6 aircraft, ultra-low volume (ULV) sprayers, pesticides and lambda cyhalothrin emulsified concentrate in sufficient quantities, besides human resources in the form of field teams. “But what we got was just an old aircraft and a pilot which had been deployed for combatting locusts in Sindh and Balochistan. We are still waiting for the federal government to provide 5 more aircrafts and pesticides for locust control in the province before the harvest of Kharif crops,” said the senator.
She said the PPP was the first one to talk about the locust invasion and President Zardari also highlighted it in the Parliament last year but the federal government did not pay any heed to it. “The damage has been done and it should serve as a wakeup call for the federal government to take action as it will amplify mass hunger,” she added.
The senator said this is a crisis in the making due to its impending threat to our food security and warrants immediate measures by the federal government. “The affected areas need to be sprayed on urgent basis as our mango, cotton, onion, chilly, tomato and other crops have already been destroyed which could have been easily prevented had the federal government been swift in their response,” she said.
Discussing the way forward, she said, “Early warning, early response, and inter-provincial collaboration are critical elements for battling the locust invasion. NDMA must assist provinces in setting up an early response system and a National Action Plan on the new locust invasion must be created”.
“60% of our population is already facing food insecurity and if this current crisis is not controlled in time, the results will be devastating. It is high time that they step up and take responsibility as this issue pertains to the federal government. It will be the federal government’s fault if the country faces a famine due to their negligence and incompetence,” said Sherry Rehman.
https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/664721-sherry-urges-govt-to-wake-up-save-farmers-from-locusts-attack
#Pakistan - #PTI is a bunch of corrupt elements
Deputy Information Secretary Pakistan Peoples Party
Parliamentarians Palwasha Khan has said that the sugar report is a source embarrassment for selected PM Imran Khan because there are name after name of sugar thieves in this report who belong to PTI.
https://www.ppp.org.pk/2020/05/29/pti-is-a-bunch-of-corrupt-elements-palwasha-khan/
Palwasha Khan in a statement said that the special assistant without any reason, Shahbaz Gill is issuing statements just to cover up this shame of Imran Khan. She said everyone involved in sugar scandal is a close confidant of Imran Khan and if he has got guts then arrest Jahangir, Tareen, Asad Umar, Razzaq Dawood, Usman Buzdar and Khusro Bakhtiar. She said that no army of Goebbels can defend Imran Khan and his corruption through his front men.
Palwasha Khan said that the people who have been living for years on donations cannot run this country and they can only embezzle more from the people’s pockets. Everyone knows that the PTI is a coterie of corrupt elements, she concluded.
https://www.ppp.org.pk/2020/05/29/pti-is-a-bunch-of-corrupt-elements-palwasha-khan/
Imran Khan has left the nation on the mercy of Covid-19 and locust, Nafisa Shah
Dr. Shah said that PTI has come into power as a destructive force in Pakistan. Due to failed economic policies of this PTI government, country’s economy is at the edge of annihilation. She said that Shibli Faraz is trying to hide inabilities of Imran Khan by criticising Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.
Secretary Information PPPP said that PPP expresses concerns over the decisions of the federal government. She said that according to reports testing for Covid-19 is not up to the mark and measures are not being taken for controlling Covid-19. The locust is playing havoc for the growers all over the country. The selected government is in confusion as usual on locust issue.
There is different statement of ministers about lockdown. On one hand Dr. Mirza says that there may be need of lockdown and on the other Shibli Faraz says that there will be no lockdown. Dr. Shah asked the government to stop playing with the lives of the people of Pakistan. This incompetent and failed government is trying to blame the people for the spread of pandemic. The shops are closed for three days in Punjab and if this is not lockdown then what the lockdown is, she asked. The measure which is right for Punjab, how can it be wrong for Sindh, Dr. Shah concluded.
https://www.ppp.org.pk/2020/05/29/imran-khan-has-left-the-nation-on-the-mercy-of-covid-19-and-locust-nafisa-shah/