Meesha's lawyer confirms legal notice from Ali Zafar

Digital activist and lawyer, Nighat Dad explains laws pertaining to sexual harassment

DUBAI: The country has been rocked by the allegations made by renowned singer Meesha Shafi against internationally acclaimed Ali Zafar. The former took to Twitter to speak about her experience with Ali, claiming that he harassed her.

In an interview, the Aya Lariye singer said that the incident happened twice. Ali denied all allegations and stated that the matter might be taken to court.

The Express Tribune caught up with one of the lawyers from Meesha’s legal team, digital rights activist Nighat Dad, who explained, “Meesha has a strong case and I’m saying this as her legal counsel. I can’t, of course, share much about the inner details of the case.”

Women in courts

Nighat revealed that Meesha’s team received a notice from Ali on April 25 [today]. Discussing the nature of the case, the activist stated, “We have the requirements to fulfill with whatever the law says.” She explained that since there is no set history of such cases in Pakistan, this one will determine the outcome. “There are no set precedents; there are no set case laws, specifically in relation to media personnel. If there was a precedent set, we could have relied on it and strengthened the current case more. But we’re not saying that it isn’t strong right now.”

Lawyers in Pakistan often refer to previous judgments, verdicts and sentences while ordering new ones. Nighat pointed to the lack of such cases in court, which leads to a dangerous abyss where the Meesha-Ali clash might change the outcome of current laws.

“It’s a fact there are only few women in media who have come forth about sexual harassment, which means that the number of women who go through the whole legal course is very small,” Nighat mentioned.

The lawyer has received a lot of support from the legal fraternity, especially other female lawyers. “A lot of people want to come forward but they are fearful because of the general impression of courts.”

Nighat further elaborated that the court for sexual harassment is headed by a woman, so victims and witnesses need to be encouraged to come forward. “The more women that come forward, the more cases will be heard, which is how the ombudsperson and judges will be able to see the bigger picture.”

She was also quick to point out that not many women in the country can afford to fight such battles in courts. “This could be a defining moment for laws against sexual harassment,” the lawyer remarked.

Linking Meesha’s case to that of other victims of sexual harassment, Nighat stated, “Meesha was empowered but she found her voice after so many years. Look at the backlash she received when she spoke up. That is exactly what discourages women and survivors from coming forward. The attitude of society towards victims should change.”

The legal counsel added that media needs to be careful as it’s very difficult for women in the entertainment sector to share their stories of harassment.  She exclaimed, “It is difficult for women to speak up against harassment anywhere, but when a woman of the media fraternity says that she has been harassed, she is subjected to the kind of opinions Tallal Chaudhary gave.”

Addressing the media, Minister of the ruling party (PML-N) Chaudhry said that the Meesha-Ali scandal "seems like a hatched plan that the two created together to ‘capture cameras’ and increase ‘ratings’.

Your clothes, your fault

Nighat added, “Women in the media hear things like, ‘Hey you wear revealing clothes, you can’t possibly be harassed and if you were harassed, it was all because of your clothes or it must be consensual’.”

She also said that women enabling the culture of victim blaming is also a part of the problem. “Women saying, ‘He was my friend. He didn’t do this to me, so he couldn’t have done this to you,’ need to realise that harassment won’t stop if we keep protecting the accusers.”

Hate speech

Meesha and her team have received a lot of hate speech.

The lawyer added that the entire fight is massive and difficult as Ali is more powerful, but Meesha is stronger as she came forward.

Last year, local anchor Tanzeela Mazhar came forward against her colleague, Agha Masood Sorish for sexually harassing her. She spoke to The Express Tribune about her experience, saying that while the law can be in your favour, political pressures may stop you from getting justice.

Tanzeela said, “In 2008, many women came forward accusing Agha but no action was taken against him. Eventually, I resigned because I was told that the political involvement wouldn’t bring me justice.” She also explained that her team had evidence and the law was on their side

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