April 4, 2023

Bureau Report


LAHORE

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Member of the National Assembly (MNA) Shazia Ata Marri termed PPP leader Nabil Gabol’s remarks on women “unacceptable”, adding that the party has issued a show cause notice in this regard in a tweet on Monday, April 3.

This was stated in reply to a tweet by journalist and anchorperson Munizae Jahangir, who strongly condemned Gabol and urged the PPP for action in line with the pro-women ideology of the party’s former leader, the late Benazir Bhutto.

Similarly, on Tuesday, April 4, PPP Sindh president Nisar Khuhro issued a notice to Gabol, demanding an explanation within three days’ time and warning him of disciplinary action if he failed to provide a clarification.

In a now-viral clip from The Pakistan Experience Podcast, the PPP leader and former MNA stated that “There is a saying in [the English language]: when rape is imminent, just enjoy it” as an analogy for political opposition and victimization. Upon the host expressing his discomfort with Gabol’s remark, the latter reiterated that one must endure it if they are completely hapless, otherwise they will resist if they have any sense of shame.

In response to the clip, Bakhtawar Bhutto-Zardari took to Twitter to denounce Gabol’s statement, clarified that his views were his alone and did not represent the PPP.

“Misogyny has no space in our religion nor our party,” she wrote.

Other clips of Nabil Gabol’s insensitive views on women have since emerged, in which he jokes about picking up and making off with women that catch his eye.

Condemning the remarks, social media users called on the PPP for an actionable response.

The PPP’s women leaders and associates have been vocal in denouncing misogynist attitudes prevalent among male politicians, including leaders and members of their own party.

On November 25, 2017, Bakhtawar Bhutto-Zardari and Aseefa Bhutto-Zardari tweeted scathing remarks against Irfanullah Khan Marwat after he had announced that he had joined the PPP. The following day, Marwat denied his prior statement.

Marwat was accused of orchestrating the gang rape of a close friend of the late Benazir Bhutto on November 27, 1991, however, he was exonerated of all charges by a judicial tribunal a month later.

Awami Muslim League (AML) founder and chair Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad also famously earned the ire of then Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto during her first tenure, after passing derogatory remarks on her clothing.

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