Life

#MeToo reaches Pakistan as accusations mount against singer Ali Zafar

April 21, 2018
Ali Zafar
Ali Zafar



LAHORE - Multiple women have accused Pakistani singer Ali Zafar of sexual harassment, a day after singer and actress Meesha Shafi shared her story of sexual harassment at the hands of the popular singer.

Humna Raza, a Pakistani blogger who writes about spreading positivity, shared on Saturday how a fan-moment with Zafar didn’t quite turn out to be what she had expected.

“I was at an event and I saw Ali Zafar there. I was very excited so I decided to get a selfie with him,” Humna tweeted. “He didn’t say anything, but smirked and opened his arms that I took as a yes. I stood next to him and felt his hand go up the side of my waist. I felt it and I knew what happened.”

Another Twitter user, Leena Ghani also gained some courage to speak up on the matter once Meesha broke her silence. In a tweet, Leena penned, “In the many years I have known Ali, he has, on many occasions, crossed boundaries of what is appropriate behavior between friends.”

Leena continued, “The memories of the times where Ali thought he could get away by saying vulgar things to me still disgusts me.”

Shafi, a popular actress, posted a lengthy message on Twitter on Friday, accusing Zafar of physically harassing her on "more than one occasion".

"This happened to me despite the fact I am an empowered, accomplished woman who is known for speaking her mind!" read the statement.

Zafar denied the accusations, threatening legal action against the actress.

"I intend to take this through the courts of law, and to address this professionally and seriously rather than to lodge any accusations here," he wrote on Twitter. - Agencies


April 21, 2018
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