'Grossed out' by Naumaan Ijaz, Meesha Shafi, among others, lend support to Ayesha Omar

Many are calling out the veteran for shaming a survivor of sexual harassment on TV

Actor Ayesha Omar, who recently sat down with Naumaan Ijaz for a casual chit chat on his talk show G Sarkar, and ended up locking horns with him for having come out with her #MeToo ordeal, is now receiving immense and justified support from fellow fraternity members, who feel just as disrespected by Naumaan’s distasteful questions.

Many including singer Meesha Shafi, designer Maheen Khan and PR representative Frieha Altaf expressed their disgust at the tone adopted by Naumaan while interacting with her. Fans of the Karachi Se Lahore actor also defended the star while calling Naumaan out for “victim blaming”.

Meesha shared Niche Lifestyle's Instagram post that features partly the conversation between Naumaan and Ayesha to write, “I’m so proud of you and so sorry you and all other victims of harassment and worse, have to go through this nonsense rhetoric. It’s so problematic and frankly, gross.”

Frieha commented under the same post, “Most people in Pakistan believe a woman or a man or a transgender should [just] shut up about sexual harassment, rape, domestic abuse. This is most of our society. Chup raho kuch na bolo. Abh kya zaroorat hai, ho gaya, bhool jao (stay quiet, don't say anything. What's the need for it now, it happened, forget about it)? The narrative has to change!”

She reiterated that a victim or survivor can speak whenever ready. “It can take years according to therapists. Naumaan is from that school of society that believes in shut up, don’t speak. Ayesha, stand strong as you are. This is most of our society.” Sharing her comment on her Twitter, Frieha added, “Sexual harassment is a serious issue. It is our shame when we belittle someone who has the courage to speak up!”

Designer Maheen retweeted Frieha's comment with the hashtag “Shame on Naumaan” to write, "Mr Naumaan is a disgrace to his family. To use Ayesha Omar just to gain attention is pathetic.” She then told Ayesha, “Ayesha, he is not worth your time. You are a professional and behaved like one. You are far above men of his ilk.”

Ayesha also shared posts of her loved ones who praised her for her courage on her Instagram Stories. “Finally found the courage to speak up,” she replied to one of the reactions. When a well-wisher wrote, “So proud of you Ayesha, always holding your own,” the Bulbulay star replied, “Learning every day. Love you and thank you for always giving me the best advice.”

Naumaan made Ayesha extremely uncomfortable on television with his presumptuous questions. A clip from the show, that has been doing the rounds lately, sees the veteran telling the Bulbulay actor that she is known to “spark controversies” before asking her if she does it “intentionally”. He then discourages her for bringing her past traumas – referring to her harassment ordeal – into the limelight “for popularity”.

He starts off by saying, “Kabhi apki bold shoots aa jati hain, kuch ap statements aise dedeti hain. If a person has gone through something in the past, they should start talking about it publicly just because they saw someone else do the same. You’re at a risk of damaging your image.”

He then brazenly asks, “Aesi kya zarurat parh jati hai (What was the need for it)? Apko kya lagta hai, aesa karke bohat apki wah wah hogae (By speaking your truth, do you think you earned a lot of praise)?” And even after Ayesha makes it clear that she didn’t do anything to seek popularity and only came out with her story years after the incident without naming her perpetrator, Naumaan tells her, “Tou guzarne detin, taasub ko develop karne ki kya zarurat thi (So why speak now? You could’ve just let it pass. Why propagate discernment)?"