Pakistani singer faces prosecution for accusing popular star of palpation

Accusations of criminal defamation were filed by authorities following the complaint of the pop star he accused, Ali Zafar. If convicted, she could be sentenced to up to three years in prison.

Supporters of Ms. Shafi claim that their legal battles could affect women’s willingness to file allegations of sexual misconduct, and the outcome of the legal fight would define who is covered by a law designed to protect women from harassment at work.

The harassment case “will decide on the scope of the law to keep women safe in the workplace,” said Khwaja Ahmad Hosain, a lawyer representing Ms. Shafi in the Supreme Court. “The result will be important for all women in this country.”

Pakistan has an independent law designed to protect women from harassment outside the workplace, but requires women to report incidents to the police, which they are often reluctant to do.

Mr Zafar, who denies having touched Mrs Shafi, has not been charged with any crime. He says his accusations have damaged his career. “By the time I prove my case, the damage will be irreparable,” he said. “It already is, in many ways.”

By many measures, Pakistan is one of the most difficult places in the world to be a woman. Women face high rates of domestic and sexual violence, economic inequality and forced marriage, according to a report released in 2019 by the Pakistan Human Rights Commission, an independent advocacy organization.

A 2020 index of the World Economic Forum, which tracks gender disparities in areas such as economic opportunities, educational attainment, health and political empowerment, ranked Pakistan 151st out of 153 nations. A 2014 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Malala Yousafzai, a Pakistani activist for girls ’education, but girls continue to train most of the children in the country who do not go to school.

There have been very few #MeToo accusations in Pakistan, a deeply conservative society. A march in the capital, Islamabad, on March 8 on the occasion of International Women’s Day was guarded by police rings, after last year attendees were attacked by stone-throwing men who were outraged by their slogan: “My body, my choice.” Protesters were accused in this year’s online campaign of blasphemy, based on a misinterpretation of a banner, a dangerous and often lethal charge to be made in Pakistan.

Government officials say they are advancing women’s rights, although they acknowledge that much remains to be done. In December, the government introduced a new violation law – which must be passed by parliament to become permanent – with the aim of speeding up convictions and toughening sentences. A law passed last year strengthened women’s property rights. The government says a program to give a monthly income supplement to the poorest families helps women.

In January, the highest court in Punjab province banned the use of evidence of virginity in rape cases there. The results of these tests were often used by the defense against the accuser, either as evidence against the rape charge if the woman was found to be a virgin or as evidence that she probably consented to if she was found. who was sexually active. The provincial court judge said the evidence had no scientific basis and they unfairly suspected the victims.

Mrs Shafi’s accusations shook Pakistan’s small but vibrant pop music industry and elite social circles when they first emerged. In an April 2018 tweet, a day before he had to work alongside Mr. Zafar as a judge on a musical talent show, he alleged that Mr. Zafar had touched him inappropriately.

“If this can happen to someone like me, an established artist, it can happen to any young woman and that worries me seriously,” she tweeted to Ms. Shafi.

Ms. Shafi says Mr. Zafar touched her more than once, but her case of sexual harassment focuses on a meeting in December 2017 in a recording studio in her home, where they were rehearsing for a concert. She says he palpated her during the session.

Zafar denies having touched Ms. Shafi and noted that the two performed together at the concert.

Following Mrs Shafi’s indictment, others appeared on social media with their own accounts of alleged sexual harassment by Mr Zafar.

Zafar, who denies inappropriate behavior with any of the accusers, says he was retired as a judge on the show after Ms. Shafi’s indictment and has stopped receiving sponsorships from multinational companies. He said he filed a criminal complaint to stop what he called an online defamation campaign, which he said made him the boy on the #MeToo movement poster in Pakistan.

She has also filed a civil defamation case, claiming damages of more than $ 6 million, against Ms. Shafi.

Ms. Shafi first filed her complaint with the ombudsman and then the provincial governor, following the process established by the harassment law. They both decided that the law did not cover their case.

He then went to the first court in his home province, Punjab, which dismissed Ms. Shafi’s case against Mr. Zafar without examining the allegations, saying the harassment laws did not apply, as Ms. Shafi was only working on a fixed-term contract and for an event management company, not for Mr. Zafar. The court said that if Ms. Shafi was considered an employee in this case, the men could stop hiring women under those contracts.

“It would have such an unpleasant effect that perhaps no person (man) was expected to sign a contract to provide services for fear of being prosecuted under the law,” the court statement, which specifies between men in parentheses, says.

Prosecutors filed a criminal defamation charge against Ms. Shafi according to new laws restricting speech on the Internet, which have also been used by authorities to prosecute journalists and human rights activists. Authorities also charged eight more people who filed complaints against Mr. Zafar on social media. Mrs. Shafi was the only one to file a formal complaint under the harassment law.

Since the charges were filed, one of Mr. Zafar’s accusers has dropped his indictment and apologized. She later asked prosecutors to remove her from the case, which they did. The woman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Ms. Shafi’s lawyers say they plan to challenge the use of the criminal defamation law in the first provincial court in Punjab. They say using it to prosecute Ms Shafi will deter other people from filing allegations of sexual misconduct.

“It’s a manipulated system,” Ms. Shafi. “Which woman is right in this case and at what price?”

Although Zafar says the accusations have affected his career, he has continued to receive praise from the country’s top politicians. This month, he is scheduled to receive the Pride of Performance Award from the President of Pakistan, the country’s highest award for artistic achievement. Last year, Prime Minister Imran Khan appointed him as the brand ambassador of the university he founded in his political constituency before taking office.

“I just want to point out that all societies in the world have a great esteem for art and artists and that they consider them good role models, so does Pakistani society,” said Shibli Faraz, the country’s information minister. government. He declined to comment on the court cases.

Ms. Shafi, who is currently in Canada, will seek permission from the court to testify via a video link. However, as she returns to Pakistan for her job, the criminal case carries a risk of detention, said Saqib Jillani, her lawyer.

“Who will present himself in the future, if powerful men can do that to those who speak?” said Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy, a Pakistani documentary filmmaker who has won two Oscars, for her films about women suffering acid attacks and honor killings in Pakistan.

Write to Saeed Shah to [email protected]