Pakistanis are ordering legal action against their actresses for wearing revealing clothes.
I read many hate comments under a video that criticise the dressing of actresses at Lux Style Awards. I gathered a list of myths from those comments with my response.
Myth number one: "Those actresses are ruining the name of Pakistan by wearing short clothes."
Reality: Wrong. Except Pakistanis, no one else criticise Pakistani actresses for wearing short clothes. I never heard a white person criticise Pakistani actresses for wearing short clothes. They are ambassadors of glamour, fashion and entertainment not religion or modesty.
Osama Bin Laden ruined Pakistan's name not actresses.
Honour killings ruined Pakistan's name.
British Pakistani grooming gangs ruined Pakistan's name by raping 1400 white under-aged girls in 16 years using drugs. 30 Pakistani men were arrested in 2018.
And we are talking men here not actresses.
Myth number two: "Pakistan's PM said he will ensure Sharia law, then why are actresses wearing short clothes."
The Saudi Prince has 22 wives. Is that halal?
Is the business of alcohol in Pakistan halal?
When PM spoke about Sharia law, he was referring to politics. He was talking about corruption and money laundering. He didn't refer to women's dressing or personal lives.
When it comes to politics, western countries are more moral since they don't do corruption and money laundering, that's why their countries are rich.
Despite being a Muslim, I don't support Sharia law. The punishment of fornication is 100 lashes in public. The punishment of adultery is being stoned to death after getting buried up your shoulders. The punishment of robbery is hands being chopped off.
Not to mention false blasphemy cases in Pakistan like one of Asia Bibi.
An Iranian actress called Leila Hatami got jailed for 10 years and sentenced to public flogging of 50 lashes over a french kiss at the Cannes festival with a 80 year old man.
Female university students filed a case against her.
A British woman in Dubai was jailed for 5 years for kissing her partner in public.
Muslim woman filed a case against her.
Saudi female campaigners are still in jail getting lashed, electrocuted and starved for campaigning for women's rights to drive with UN ambassador called Meghan Markle. One campaigner was her best friend.
One woman in Egypt was jailed for uploading a youtube video where she was in her shorts.
Another case was filed on an actress for wearing a revealing dress.
Myth number three: "Actresses who wear short clothes cause god's wrath that then causes poverty."
Poverty has nothing to do with god becoming upset with women's dressing.
Poverty happens because of corruption and money laundering.
Load shedding happens because people steal electricity.
God didn't tell politicians to do corruption and money laundering.
God didn't tell humans to steal electricity.
Therefore, it is man's fault not god's wrath.
God is against robbery of country's budget, tax money and electricity.
Pakistan's three former prime ministers are in jail for corruption and money laundering.
One called Zardari did corruption and money laundering of 400 billion rupees.
One called Nawaz Shareef did corruption and money laundering of 300 billion rupees.
One politician of people's party did corruption of 442 billion rupees, yet the judge allowed him to go abroad during the trial and he didn't get arrested.
400 billion + 300 billion + 442 = 1142 billion rupees. Imagine, if that amount was spent on the nation. Imagine, if that amount was used to end poverty or to end country's debt. Or to give 24/7 electricity. Or to help people get hospital treatments for free? Or to help children go to school? This is what happened with country's budget and tax money.
One politician was selling drugs. He was given a life sentence during elections but he bribed the police and is out already.
America is rich despite Kim Kardashian posting nudes on social media.
England is rich despite Fifth shades of grey.
Myth number four: "Rapes and harassment happen because actresses wear short clothes that inspires men to harass and rape to fulfill their sexual desires and lustful desires."
You can't even blame porn for that. You can't blame fifty shades of grey for that. You can't blame Kim Kardashian for that.
You can't even harass Kim Kardashian or rape a prostitute.
Myth number five: "These actresses are ruining our conservative culture and religious values."
They have no responsibility to "maintain" the conservative culture.
You can't force them to be conservative.
You can't force them to be religious.
In democracy, you can't force someone to follow a religion or culture or dress code.
In democracy, you can't shame westernised Muslim women.
You can't force westernised Muslim women to become religious.
You can't force liberal Muslim women to become conservative.
However, if Muslim women are shamed for being westernised, then do they really have a choice?
If they are shamed for wearing western clothes or for removing their hijab, do they really have a choice?
Are they being religious just to keep their community happy or to keep god happy?
Forcing doesn't always mean physically forcing someone. Shaming someone is also forcing. Trolling a Muslim woman on social media for wearing short clothes is forcing her to be religious. It is social pressure, peer pressure and stress. It is mentally and emotionally draining for Pakistani actresses to get trolled by thousands of religious Pakistanis who are shaming them for wearing short clothes. Those trollers use dirty language. It is bullying, harassment and emotional abuse. It can cause depression, anxiety or suicide. It makes an actress feel unsafe in public because some religious person will attack her for wearing short clothes in her movie.
They are actresses.
They are ambassadors of glamour, fashion and entertainment. They are not religious scholars.
If you are passionate about conservative culture and religion then watching item songs is probably not the best option. Listen to religious lectures and songs instead. YouTube is a free platform. You choose what you watch. If you don't like item songs because you are religious, then no one is forcing you to watch item songs on a gunpoint.
Religion is followed to make god happy not to "represent" your community.
Worship is done to make god happy not to "impress" your community.
Modesty is followed to make god happy not to gain "acceptance" from your community.
It is between human and god. Not between human and his community, when it comes to faith, worship and modesty.
You can't even force someone to become a Muslim.
Expecting an actress to be religious is ironic itself.
Double standards of East and West
You can't force someone to be conservative just because they live in a conservative country.
If I can't force someone to become westernised in a western country then I can't force someone to be conservative in a conservative country either.
If Hijab doesn't hurt anyone in western countries then western clothes don't hurt anyone in conservative countries.
If I can't force anyone to wear western clothes in a western country, then why does Iran force women to wear the hijab?
Hijabis who do ted talks should talk about Muslims shaming westernised Muslim women for wearing short and tight clothes. They should talk about Muslims blaming clothes for harassment and rape. They should talk Muslim trolling Muslim actresses for wearing short clothes. They should victim blaming and shaming, where a victim's character is judged using religion and culture. Victim blaming and shaming happens in all crimes be it honour killings, domestic abuse, forced marriages, acid attacks, rapes and harassment.
People are like "Why did she wear short clothes?"
"Why did she have a boyfriend or a male friend when she knew it is haram?"
"Why did she have a social media when she knows it's haram?"
"Why did she go against family honour?"
"Why was she disobedient?"
"Maybe she did something against the family honour"
"She is ungrateful for saying no to arranged marriage"
"Maybe, she is being forced into marriage because of haram relationship"
Myth number five: "It is our duty to stop evil- if actresses are wearing short clothes or having male friends and boyfriends then we have to stop them."
There is a difference between stopping evil and controlling people's lives and dressing.
Their dressing or personal life doesn't hurt anyone. It doesn't wound anyone. It doesn't cause anyone's loss. It is not illegal or a crime. It is not injustice. It is not a political, economic or a social issue.
We can stop crimes but not sins because god gave freewill.
We can do legal justice but not religious justice.
Evil acts include corruption, money laundering, bribery, stealing electricity, putting the country in debt, inflation, causing poverty and corrupt legal system.
In terms of social issues, stop female infanticide, honour killings, domestic abuse, forced marriages, acid attacks, rapes, harassment and flesh trade.
Every a gold shop gets looted in Pakistan. Every mobile phones are stolen. Every body murders happen over family property.
Millions are crying for legal justice but don't have money to hire a lawyer.
Millions can't safe their lives because they can't pay hospital bills.
Millions of innocent people are in jail because they are poor and rich criminals walk freely because they bribe the police.
There is a difference between symbolic evil and actual evil.
There is a difference between superficial problems and real problems.
We fight against racist tweets but not genocides happening in Burma, Palestine and Kashmir.
Western feminists fight against superficial problems like why girls have to wear pink and not serious crimes like female infanticide, honour killings, domestic abuse, forced marriages and acid attacks.
Pakistani social media star called Qandeel Baloch was killed in the name of honour by her brother for being provocative on social. Her brother was shamed for letting her wear short clothes. Pakistanis still justify her honour killing. Some say it was important to kill her to save conservative culture or other girls getting influenced. Some say it was god's punishment.
The domestic abuse of Asma Aziz was justified just because she was a party girl. She was forced to dance by her husband but Pakistanis shamed her for being a party girl. They shamed for getting divorced. They shamed for having a 6 month relationship without marriage. They shamed for dancing and for having male friends. They said it was against Islamic values. Even a female lawyer blamed and shamed her in a show called Qutab Online by saying, "In Islam, it is a sin to have male friends or boyfriends." The media released a video of her dancing to shame her for breaking Islamic values, for being a party girl. A female reporter failed to understand a party girl can refuse to dance just like a prostitute can say no.
Asians are against, "My body, My choice" movement because they think it is promoting western culture when it is just promoting human rights of westernised women living in conservative countries. It condemns honour killings and victim blaming and shaming.
Myth number five: "It is our duty to stop evil- if actresses are wearing short clothes or having male friends and boyfriends then we have to stop them."
There is a difference between stopping evil and controlling people's lives and dressing.
Their dressing or personal life doesn't hurt anyone. It doesn't wound anyone. It doesn't cause anyone's loss. It is not illegal or a crime. It is not injustice. It is not a political, economic or a social issue.
We can stop crimes but not sins because god gave freewill.
We can do legal justice but not religious justice.
Evil acts include corruption, money laundering, bribery, stealing electricity, putting the country in debt, inflation, causing poverty and corrupt legal system.
In terms of social issues, stop female infanticide, honour killings, domestic abuse, forced marriages, acid attacks, rapes, harassment and flesh trade.
Every a gold shop gets looted in Pakistan. Every mobile phones are stolen. Every body murders happen over family property.
Millions are crying for legal justice but don't have money to hire a lawyer.
Millions can't safe their lives because they can't pay hospital bills.
Millions of innocent people are in jail because they are poor and rich criminals walk freely because they bribe the police.
There is a difference between symbolic evil and actual evil.
There is a difference between superficial problems and real problems.
We fight against racist tweets but not genocides happening in Burma, Palestine and Kashmir.
Western feminists fight against superficial problems like why girls have to wear pink and not serious crimes like female infanticide, honour killings, domestic abuse, forced marriages and acid attacks.
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