Rohail Hyatt’s vital support for PM Imran irks many

It seems like Rohail Hyatt's Twitter season has outraged more than just music fans. It all started when PM Imran Khan shared his stance on the rise of sexual violence cases in Pakistan. "In any society where vulgarity is prevalent, there are consequences," Khan had said. "The reason why our religion stresses on covering up your body and maintaining modesty is to avoid any such temptation. Not everyone has the willpower to avoid it."

Soon after he made these remarks, many celebrities came forward to condemn his ‘regressive’ take on a matter as grave as rape and called out the premier for his 'insensitive' remarks. However, among people who defended the PM’s stance, was none other than Coke Studio founder Rohail Hyatt who felt the statement had been taken out of context.

"I believe Imran Khan’s words have been taken out of context and a big ruckus is being created by the so-called champions of freedom and liberty,” Hyatt started a Twitter thread. “He’s clearly condemning rape and giving a message that going out of the boundaries of modesty invites trouble and who can deny this fact? He’s not saying it’s justified! As a leader, he’s simply speaking to us about the ground realities of what is around us. Yes, indeed there is a sickness out there and one can contest if the better solution is to target the oppressor as opposed to the oppressed."

The former Vital Signs founding member added, "But that’s not what was being addressed by him. As a father, I’d give the same advice to my child to be mindful of how you dress in our society. Not because I want to give in to the sickness, but because I care for the person I’m giving the advice to.”

He went on, "There’s a sad trend by a certain group to attack IK on all such matters labelling him as a ‘right-minded’ individual. I see him closer to the centre but to every leftist out there, even the centre is way too much to the right,” adding, "Likewise, to the extreme right, the centre is way to the left. Only the very neutral among us will appreciate the power of the centre. Isn’t this where the power of balance lies? In trying to practice neutrality, I see the tennis match between the two extremes all the time."

Hyatt feels both forces are extreme and need to be addressed accordingly. "They are both the same actually. Extremists! Both shout to kill the other and they both hate everything except their own ways. One wants to cover from head to toe and the other wants to strip down from head to toe as a display of their preferences. Modesty is not extreme. It’s a centred concept if one should want to contemplate the idea. I’d advise people to try to bring themselves to the middle ground and not get caught up with the play of either ‘extremists’. Just watch the mud fly by and duck when necessary."

The vital disagreement

Hyatt’s sentiments irked a lot of fans and some even considered his mindless support for the PM reason enough to give up on a childhood hero they once idealised.

"After cricketers, these comments show how even Pakistani musicians should not be given authority to elaborate what our social issues are and how we should live our lives," a user by the handle of Mavens of Mayhems shared. "All these men are too limited in their thinking to understand the impact of their implied words."

Another user, Naveed Nadeem, commented, "So why is history filled with examples of countless women being raped after wars? Victorious armies celebrating their win by raping women of conquered lands as men of their families were killed in war. Were those women immodest? Were they spreading vulgarity in society?"

Others shared:

Signs of more disagreement:

Hyatt, however, went on to respond to the backlash in another detailed thread. “In the influx of responses to my recent tweets, some were keen to know what this ‘middle ground’ is that I was referring to. I believe it's a place where judgements are replaced with reasoning. As long as you hold judgements over reasoning, you have an inner bias/tilt you need to address," he shared. "There's no set middle ground - because it’s circumstantial but to get to it, one has to self-correct their actions."

He went on to comment, "As an example, say one person prays, and another doesn’t. If you like the one who doesn’t, it’s probably because you’re tilting to that way of life yourself. If you like the one who does, you’re probably tilting towards that way of life. In the centre, neither matter. One realises through the reasoning that both persons play a very important part in the creation and complete the picture by being opposites."

The maestro then shared, "Judging either one of them is not our business. Understanding the reasons why they are a certain way helps one understand the Laws of Creation. Judgement without knowledge is blinding and usually a reflection of our own inner biases." Answering his own question, Rohail shared, "So to answer your question, the centre is a place where one is truly free. That part of the wheel remains at rest even when the ‘extreme’ edges spin. Can one stay here? Briefly, I believe but our biases keep springing up and to stay centred, one has to keep catching them and correcting them."

He concluded by taking reference from a Quranic verse. Rohail shared, "As for Judgements, the Holy Quran says “O you who have believed, let not a people ridicule [another] people; perhaps they may be better than them, nor let women ridicule [other] women; perhaps they may be better than them.” (Qur’an 49:11). Key = 'Believed'!"

Celebs who disagreed with the PM:

Unlike Rohail, other celebs went on to share how rape has nothing do to with the rise in vulgarity.

"How about men who lack “willpower or strength” camouflaging their orthodox, patriarchal ideas instead of guiding women on their sartorial choices? Vulgarity isn’t few metres of clothes but deep-seated bigotry that wants to shackle women," actor Adnan Siddiqui penned.

Ayesha Omar said, "Four-month-old babies are being raped. Children are being raped. Burqa clad women being raped. Animals being raped. Transgenders being raped. Boys being raped. Sisters/daughters being raped. It’s about power games/oppression/domination/violence."

"The outrage and discourse are about victim-blaming, claims that not every man has the 'willpower' to contain his urge for sexual violence, and linking rape to temptation & not a violent display of power/oppression," shared Osman Khalid Butt, adding, "Fix the laws. Police the streets; make them safe. Bring all perpetrators to justice."

The Balu Mahi star went on to add, "There are at least 11 rape cases reported in Pakistan daily with over 22,000 cases reported to police across the country in the last 6 yrs (official statistics). Only 77 accused have been convicted which comprise 0.3% of the total figure."

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