Meesha Shafi sexual harassment accusation stirs showbiz and social media

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Meesha Shafi sexual harassment accusation stirs showbiz and social media

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(Web Desk) – Meesha Shafi, one of Pakistan’s renowned celebrities has become the centre of media attention after she shared her experiences on the subject of harassment on social media in which she alleged that she had been sexually harassed by actor and musician, Ali Zafar.

Shafi’s tweet which was posted on Thursday sent shockwaves across the country with the issue being picked up not just by mainstream media but also by social media.

Sharing this because I believe that by speaking out about my own experience of sexual harassment, I will break the culture of silence that permeates through our society. It is not easy to speak out.. but it is harder to stay silent. My conscience will not allow it anymore #MeToo pic.twitter.com/iwex7e1NLZ

— Meesha Shafi (@itsmeeshashafi) April 19, 2018

Tweets by fans and celebrities in support of Shafi flooded social media across.

Following her allegations, Zafar broke his silence and issued a statement through his official social media accounts. Late on Thursday night, people also began tweeting on the issue with some writing in favour of Ali Zafar.

pic.twitter.com/j1C34onEXC

— Ali Zafar (@AliZafarsays) April 19, 2018

Meanwhile, various prominent celebrities shared mixed feelings over the recent controversy while also expressing their concern.

 

I’m not here to say who is wrong and who is right or who did what and who didn’t... Let’s say, I haven’t known him for long, but I have been working with him since 1 year, we shot our film in Lahore and then we were all together in Poland to shoot the rest of the film and I never ever got any kind of that vibe from him... I always found him talking to his wife and kids on FaceTime and this made me a fan of him, because he would always share his good and bad moments with his wife and family... When we were on set or in any restaurant with the whole team he would always make sure that he was sharing these moments with her... I am not judging anyone nor giving any clarification on anyone’s behalf, and we can’t judge the one side of a book... I respect this man @ali_zafar and want the truth to come out, until then we shouldn’t judge anyone’s character...

A post shared by Maya Ali (@official_mayaali) on Apr 19, 2018 at 10:35am PDT

More power to you ! @itsmeeshashafihttps://t.co/aN8m8zNQq6

— URWA HOCANE (@VJURWA) April 19, 2018

A woman breaks her silence about abuse, withstands character assassination & further abuse on social media, her story turns into memes & tone-deaf jokes that trivialize the issue, she fears ostracization - but suuuuure, she did it for the cheap publicity. https://t.co/eDeOpXYUox

— Osman Khalid Butt (@aClockworkObi) April 19, 2018

Proud of this gutsy woman. That s my kind of rockstar More power to women who stand up to predators. https://t.co/KT07tU6N8f

— Reham Khan (RehamKhan1) April 19, 2018

The sick mentality of those commenting on an issue as serious as sexual harassment as casually as they are just shows where the root of this problem exists  in our minds. We will continue to breed harassers for as long as we continue to desensitise this issue.

— Mahira Khan (TheMahiraKhan) April 20, 2018

“I think it takes a lot of courage to come out and speak on the subject. You need a lot of inner strength to say such things since you don’t know what the consequences are,” actress and model Ayesha Omar said.

“I know Ali personally and it is strange to hear about this,” said actor Ali Kazmi.

Pakistani model Nadia Hussain said, “I think she (Shafi) has taken the right step but how will it culminate, what will be the end of this since Ali Zafar has also stepped forward and given a statement and wishes to take it further into the court.”

For more on this, watch a report by Dunya News below.