Playwright Khalilur Rehman Qamar, who is known for his hateful views about women, has now admitted that feminists were ‘right’ and women in Pakistan are indeed mistreated in public spaces.
He expressed these views during a talk show on Bol News about the Minar-e-Pakistan incident where a woman TikToker was molested by more than 400 men. The video of the incident had gone viral on social media with people demanding the authorities to act against the culprits.
“Some people commented that why did she [the victim] have to go to Minar-e-Pakistan. Shame on you. You are proving the feminists right and supporting their narrative that women in Pakistan are unsafe,” he told the anchor, adding that he feels they were right all along.
“These are not one-off incidents. It seems like women are at risk of being molested by a group of men at all times,” he said.
Khalilur Rehman Qamar’s remarks surprised social media users, because he had previously insulted women panelists and feminist activists on TV multiple times.
In February, Qamar had lost his cool and hurled insults at journalist Ailia Zehra during a live TV discussion about divorce and women rights in Pakistan, and left the show when asked to behave himself.
Earlier, Rehman had also abused activist Marvi Sirmed during a TV discussion on Aurat March and the slogan ‘Mera Jism Meri Marzi’ (my body, my choice). He had been spewing hate against participants and organisers of the Aurat March during his media appearances.
The controversial writer seems to have changed his views after the Minar-e-Pakistan incident. He however stopped short of apologising for abusing feminist activists in the past.
