Meesha Shafi Opens Up On Being Sexually Harassed By Ali Zafar!
The #MeToo campaign has rightfully empowered a lot of women to come forward and express what they had been keeping silent about for a long time. However, the depth of things that have come to surface has become hard to fathom.
Meesha Shafi, a woman who we see synonymous to be an empowered, accomplished female has opened up on a very touchy subject. Meesha, in a recent Twitter post, has claimed to have been sexually harassed by colleague and fellow singer, Ali Zafar!
Sharing this because I believe that by speaking out about my own experience of sexual harassment, I will break the culture of silence that permeates through our society. It is not easy to speak out.. but it is harder to stay silent. My conscience will not allow it anymore #MeToo pic.twitter.com/iwex7e1NLZ
— MEESHA SHAFI (@itsmeeshashafi) April 19, 2018
Even though Shafi and Ali Zafar both maintain a very strong and respectable front, an accusation like this is the first to come from within the Pakistani industry. Though Ali Zafar is unavailable for any comment at the moment, Meesha Shafi in a statement has shared,
“When the incident happened, the very first person I told was my husband. Shortly after that I spoke about this incident to someone on my team, and one of my friends.”
Adding further about her anxiety related to opening up, Shafi said, “It shouldn’t be this difficult to speak out when one is in the right. As parents, we tell our children to speak up if somebody touches them inappropriately and that it is never their fault. So why is it this hard to do the same? One shouldn’t have to be this brave to report sexual misconduct. I’ve had support around me, I consider myself an empowered woman, and I still had such a hard time with this decision. By speaking up I hope I’m able to break this chain of hesitation that holds us back from speaking up. I’m doing this not only for myself, but also for people who might be watching me, especially young women, who have the right to enter any professional or communal space without fearing harassment.”
