“Complete your prison term like a man, not weep like a woman”: When prison becomes a measure of manhood
From Imaan Hazir Mazari’s composed arrest to Asif Ali Zardari’s “complete it like a man, not weep like a woman” remark, the debate has shifted beyond politics to a larger question: Is endurance in prison a measure of masculinity — or a matter of rights?
12 Min Read
February 18, 2026
By Iqra Manzoor
LAHORE
When Imaan Hazir Mazari stepped out of the court premises, she looked as if she knew she would be arrested.
Heavy contingents of police were already stationed outside. Yet Mazari walked out calmly, raised a victory sign, and faced the cameras. When a reporter informed her that police were waiting to arrest her and asked whether she would even be able to reach the district courts, she responded: “Even if we do not reach the district courts, they will be defamed, not us,” she said. She and her husband were both arrested before they even reached the district courts, under the the ‘Tweets case’ made controversial by the PECA law.
Mazari’s calm façade highlighted that she had faced her arrest without any emotional outbursts, no matter what she was feeling within. Much of the nation was impressed by her composure.
So heartening to see this. Finally. Imaan mazari you are a true fighter 💜 well done and keep fighting for sanctity of human rights. May this tyranny end.
Only a few days days later, at a workers’ convention in Sadiqabad, President Asif Ali Zardari, without naming Imran Khan, remarked, “He has not even completed a year and a half in prison and he has started crying. If you are in jail then complete your imprisonment time with patience.”
But President Zardari did not stop there. Using women as an example, he added, “Complete your prison term like a man, not weep like a woman.” While the audience clapped and chanted slogans. Zardari said, “Men are used to such sufferings.”
Asif Ali Zardari spent 11 years in jail
Ironically in the same speech, he referred to his wife and former Prime Minister, Benazir Bhutto, who was assassinated in 2007 saying that 24 years of her life had been spent in jail and had been imprisoned for five years in Sukkur jail.
Since then the remark has since triggered widespread criticism, not only for its political tone but for its gendered framing of endurance.
Benazir Bhutto and the reality of prison
The reference to Benazir Bhutto invites reflection on what imprisonment has meant for women, especially in her case.
In her twenties, Benazir was repeatedly placed under house arrest and detention following the execution of her father, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. After her release from Sihala in May 1979, she returned to Karachi and resumed political activity. When General Zia-ul-Haq cancelled scheduled elections in October that year, she and her mother Nusrat Bhutto were placed under house arrest once again at Al-Murtaza in Larkana for six months —her seventh detention since the coup two years earlier. She was only 26.
In 1981 when Zia was in power, once again Benazir was separated from her mother and sent to Sukkur jail without explanation. Her cell had no electricity at night. Without blankets or warm clothing, she suffered in the cold and slept on a charpoy. She lost weight because she could not eat the watery soup and tea with bread that was provided. Sometimes prison guards offered pumpkins or fish. Eventually, she stopped eating altogether.
She was briefly allowed out to attend her sister Sanam’s wedding. Only in 1984, after international pressure mounted, was she released to seek treatment for a severe ear infection and flown to Geneva. By then, she had been under arrest for three years.
Her imprisonment was not rhetorical. It was harsh, isolating and physically damaging. But Benazir bore this unearned punishment without any tears or emotionalism.
Women, politics and language
The president’s remarks have drawn criticism across political and ideological lines.
Journalist Marvi Sirmid posted a critical remark on X about it.
“President Zardari should know better than to say such sexist, outdated, ignorant, misogynistic things,” she wrote. “His life partner was no other than Benazir Bhutto, whose courage was legendary. His sister also endured jail with grace. PPP’s women members have done it with exemplary bravery. Women activists of Pakistan, otherwise, have proven amply that they can stand up for their own rights and for the rights of the people of Pakistan even under the shadow of guns and serious threats to their and their families’ lives. Has he forgotten Asma Jahangir? Do you see Sheema Kirmani, Tahira Abdullah, and others? Do you see Imaan Mazari? Do you see our comrades in Aurat March? What world are you living in, Mr. President? In what world are women associated with cowardice, and bravery is a male trait only? If you’re living in THAT world, you’re in the wrong place and in the wrong office. It is high time that Pakistani politicians educate themselves. And yes, politicians are not alone in this ignorance and misogyny. Star journalists and TV show hosts/anchors need some much-needed schooling in this regard, too. CHANGE YOUR DICTION, GENTLEMAN.”
One of Pakistan People’s Party’s own Sajida Mir, a worker from the grassroots who has spent a total of two and half years in jail in various cases, spoke to Voicepk.
“In 1998, we held a protest for freedom of press and an FIR was launched against me with Ms Bhutto,” she said. “Zardari sahib was in jail at that time. The police tortured me and my hand was fractured because of their torture but we never cried. We went to jail with pride because we knew we were being imprisoned for our political ideology. During my imprisonment, my family was denied access to me. We were genuine political workers – not some property dealers,” she adds.
“My father has been one of the founding members of PPP,” she says. “Asif Zardari is a responsible president of Pakistan and he should not be giving such remarks. I am a political worker so I will oppose this statement by the president.”
One of the veteran women activists of the 1980s, Khawar Mumtaz, who was also arrested during a massive protest on Mall Road in 1984 also spoke about the statement.
“Such a statement is very disappointing and hurtful coming from the President, who is expected to ensure women’s respect and dignity in society,” said Mumtaz, who is also the former Chairperson of the National Commission for the Status of Women. Mumtaz was one of the many women who were arrested during the protest, where she stood shoulder to shoulder with Asma Jahangir.
Mass arrests took place after the protest in Feb 1983.
On a television show hosted by Munizae Jahangir, Sharmila Farouqi was asked whether women such as Benazir Bhutto, Nusrat Bhutto, Maryam Nawaz Sharif, Shehla Raza, Faryal Talpur and Yasmin Rashid had “cried” in jail. Jahangir criticised the remark, stating that the Pakistan Peoples Party is considered a women-friendly party and such statements were inappropriate.
Farouqi responded: “women cry and bear everything and nobody listens, women don’t complain. It is very unfortunate, nobody can meet the level of patience a woman has. We do not usually complain about the hardships we go through inside and outside the jail.”
Jahangir concluded: ” Women have endured so much in this country so I think it is not appropriate to say ‘don’t cry like women’ because women have faced harsh imprisonments in Pakistan.”
Former federal minister Muhammad Ali Durrani termed the remarks regrettable.
“President Zardari’s statement undermines the political struggle and courage of Pakistani women,” he said. He urged the president to withdraw the “sexist” remarks and apologise to women across the country.
PTI’s political heavyweight Dr Yasmin Rashid, was arrested following the May 9 incident and was given 10 years in jail by an anti-terrorism court (ATC). Dr Rashid is a patient of cancer and continues to languish in jail without the healthcare she needs. There are several other women from PTI who are with her in prison.
Dr Yasmin Rashid was given 10 years in jail by an Anti terrorism court
In fact case upon case has been slapped on Mahrang Baloch, a civil rights activist who is now behind bars along with many of her female comrades. The women were part of a protest group that was advocating for the return of missing persons in Balochistan and for the elimination of enforced disappearances. A year has passed and the courage of these women has been given accolade for tolerating the circumstances they are living in.
Beyond politics
Imprisonment in Pakistan has never been limited to one party or one gender. Women across political divides — including Nusrat Bhutto, Maryam Nawaz Sharif, Shehla Raza, Faryal Talpur, Yasmin Rashid and many others — have faced detention under varying circumstances.
The question raised over the president’s statement is not about who has endured more prison time. It is about how political language frames endurance and suffering. To suggest that completing a prison term “like a man” is a quality denoting strength, and that to “weep like a woman” is weakness, overlooks decades of history in which women have endured imprisonment, isolation, torture and political persecution. Many of them have never even been named because they were not prominent women.
Police officers escort Maryam Nawaz, daughter of arrested former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, as she appears in an accountability court in Aug 2019.
From Imaan Mazari’s composed arrest outside court to Benazir Bhutto’s years in Sukkur jail, the record shows that resilience in prison has never been defined by gender.
If anything, Pakistan’s political history demonstrates that courage behind bars has often worn a woman’s face.
