There is a difference between being a liberal and having loose morals.
ISLAMABAD: This is with reference to coverage that your newspaper has given to Veena Malik of late. There is a difference between being a liberal and having loose morals and I think that many people seem to equate the two. Being liberal doesn’t have anything to do with dressing in a way that reveal’s one skin and body but rather it has to do with supporting fundamental ideas like liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights, universal health care, free trade and the separation of religion from politics.
As for her argument that she is a strong woman, I would say that Veena Malik should understand that people like Fatima Jinnah, Abida Parveen, Iqbal Bano, Tahira Syed, Nazia Hassan, Mukhtaran Mai, Naseem Hameed, Asma Jahangir and countless others who have worked hard to achieve a certain standing in society are strong-willed. Also, being liberal doesn’t mean that one unabashedly — and unconditionally — supports a desperate actress whose career badly needed a jumpstart.
Anwar Hyatt
Published in The Express Tribune, January 27th, 2011.
