The Veena Malik brouhaha
Even more important is to fight back against the vision for Pakistan that the likes of Veena’s attackers are trying to impose on us. For them, the country should be a soulless place where diversity is not permitted and women are to be kept cloaked. This is not to say that one is at all condoling indecency; rather, the point is that we need to be less controlling and judgemental as far as women are concerned. That they are willing to enforce this vision with the force of arms only adds to the case against them. Pakistan is a country large enough to accommodate the likes of both Veena Malik and Mufti Naeem.
Moreover what is being completely ignored is that Veena’s side is denying the photo shoot ever took place. Regardless of the denial, we are quick to judge her, as we have been quick to judge other women. As a society, we seem to unfairly subject women to a much higher standard, indicative of a misogynist/patriarchal mindset. Even if she has done the photo shoot, there will be those who will accuse her of doing it only for shock value, for deliberately offending the sensibilities of the majority of the nation. They may well be right. But Pakistan should not become a country where something is banned simply because a lot of people don’t like it. The rights due to minorities should extend to minority opinions and actions that may not be to the liking of the majority. That is the very essence of a tolerant society.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 4th, 2011.
COMMENTS (55)
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we invite modern pakistani girls to come to India and earn money
@IndianDude: we will oppose all out for veena to get indian citizenship. what is her eligibility? any pakistani who poses nude in FHM or Playboy can get Indian citizenship? No way.
Straight Fire:
Don't know why you are so proud to be associated with a regressive force! But, you should know the primary difference between US or USSR in Afghanistan and trying to attack India is that in attacking India Pakistan would be attacking the motherland of 1.3Billion folks. US & USSR could safely eject from Afghanistan when war became a bit too hot for them. India will fight it to finish.
Besides, US & USSR fought a proxy army which hid behind Pakistan's borders. i.e. forces hiding behind Non-Bombable zones. if they choose to start carpet bombing the hell out of those rebel zones and without care for innocent deaths and borders, soon both Taliban and Pakistan will growl for mercy.
One can just hope Pakistan doesn't push US beyond that limit. For example, if an attack in USA by a Pakistan based group happens, then US won't respect much for Pakistani borders or world opinion. Pakistan will be bombed back a few decades. And Pakistan army, which has only won wars over its own people can't even resist for couple of days.
She is free to do whatever she wants to in this world and in the hereafter she will be accountable for her deeds before God. We can just remind her that this is not art. One thing disturbs me that if you have done this why do you deny it. If you have the courage to take off your clothes before camera then you must be bold enough to speak the truth. This is hypocrisy and we Pakis are adept in this art, by and large.
@Straight Fire:
What this has to do with Veena Malik
This nude photo shoot is depicting neither liberalism nor modernity, but it is sexual objectification of women at its worst. This photo shoot is anti-women and depicts a pathetic and sick mentality comparable to the sick perceptions of women as pure objects of lust that exist in the minds of terrorists like taliban. This obscenity threatens to reverse all the gains in emancipation of women that we in Pakistan hold so dear because it reinforces the parochial extremist mindset that women should be caged within the four suffocating confines of the house for the rest of their natural lives.
for those who argue that just because we dont cover our heads as ordained b islam, we have no right to condemn someone for being naked, theres a world of difference between the two. here's an analogy.. the differnece between a person who survives on a small piece of bread per day for a month and another who eats absolutely nothing for a month.. the first person , however malnourished and weak would survive whereas the second person would starve to death. understand the difference.
Editorial? Seriously!!
@miss india, condemning one wrong doesnt necessarily mean that you support another opposing. please stop living in black and white and your little 'anti pakistan' bubble.. what veena has done is just morally repugnant, she has in fact further stamped on the image of women, its disgraceful.. as a representative of pakistan, she should have preserved some dignities.. yes, instances of hate crimes against minorities and violence against women do happen here , as they do in other 'liberal' societies. please read up on female infanticide, women rights oppression and hindu-muslim riots in india, cases of domestic abuse, sexual harassment and suppression of blacks and mexicans in america, to name a few... such things should be condemned but so should be the blatant vulgarity and lewdness which veena has shown.
As long as there are men's magazines and men who pay to see a picture like that, there will be offers made to publicity hungry wannabe actresses who have little hope of making it on the silver screen by virtue of talent alone. Veena Malik is not representing Islam or Pakistan. She is simply representing that unfortunate horde who cannot think of life outside the limelight and cannot figure out the way to the fore front. Veena Malik is just the latest in that line. I think the picture is fake, just a pathetic publicity stunt. A suit has been filed which will be settled out of court. The magazine will be released with a less provoking picture. Nobody appears on a men's magazine to cover themselves or their family or nation in glory. Veena Malik is quite capable of playing the game and taking care of herself.
There are many women, Muslim and otherwise who have bared all for a photo shoot and the 15 minutes of whatever comes with it. It is sleazy business, yes, It is not something we would like anyone in our family to do. But baying for her blood is a far greater crime..
@Dr Priyanka: Someone, who ate British Empire, USSR, now eating USA. Who has got spine for stopping them. We will eventually have alliance with them soon, but who is gonna stop them from eating up BHARAT along with your BHART SINGH ... looser indians
our real issues are poverty,joblessness,corrouption,lack of justice esp. for poor,hunger,supression our women,lack of respect for poor,a useless unwinnable war & more.we need to stand up to these issues such as by supporting imran.what VEENA did his her personal life & if she did something wrong is between her & whatever.we must look in our garaebaan & see our own sins & faults rather than others ! duaaz for all
Who cares what Veena does or doesn't do. She is over the hill and not very pretty actress from today 's beauty standards and i could care less if wants to bare all or less it is her choice. Malik of all people shouldn't be the one teaching morality to anyone because he is a lot filthier human being then Veena could ever aspire to be. So I don't understand what is the fuss about and why? Don't we have anything better to do. I think not.
Big Hand Behind venn Malik or yet it,s true as shown in picture.
Big Hand Behind Veen Malik or yet it,s Real as shown in snap.
one positive affect of vina is that ,now people are ''atleast ''supporting the act of that egyptian blogger.
Totally AGREE !!!! =D
There is a difference b/w freedom and 'behgairati'!
jo dikhta hai woh bikta hai..i for one do not support veena malik's action, IF she has done this photoshoot. We as a society are moving towards extremism at the speed of light and when i say extremism I am referring to both liberals and bigotry.
I strongly support the fact that we should live and let people live there lives, but having said that there are norms in a society. That is how it is recognised. A celebrity like Veena should understand the fact that she may pose naked privately to any person she wants, its her life and she can do as she pleases. However, when a nude picture is on the front page of a magazine, it will without a doubt target the Pakistani society as a whole. It depends on each individual on how they take Veena's action (some may agree but some might disagree) but collectively to the Pakistani society it is unacceptable.
Veena is an ambassador of Pakistan, no matter where she goes in the world. When an ambassador does something good for the country he/she is praised but at the same time he/she deserves criticism if her actions portray something that is not acceptable.
I will not discuss Islam here because public nudity is strictly prohibitted in it and that will lead the whole discussion astray. The point is, if her actions effect a society as a whole, she should think twice. She is not only representing herself, she is representing a country!
For all those supporting veena malik, let me remind them that she is a Muslim and as a Muslim women, she has to preserve her modesty. These so called liberals have become so extremist that they will condemned each and every thing that comes from Mullahs, no matter it is right or wrong. It is time we follow the Islamic Injunctions, only then we would be able to clear the mess we are into.
Please, keep the Kardashian mentality out of Pakistan. Veena Malik just wants to be famous for being famous. Her images are neither social commentary nor a cry of the oppressed. India is accumulating it's own brand of famous for nothing people and I hope they have room for one more.
@rehmat: Rightly said, showing naked body does harm Taliban's moral code ....
As long as freedom means sex and nudity, Honor will mean killing and no mercy
Enjoy your freedom for limited time
@Straight Fire: Stop them before they eat up your country sweetie!!
Go Veena go and bring back Pakistan of pre partition days when it was the most advance place even better than Bomabay.
Go veena go.
@Straight Fire: My friend, you have put up a bizarre comparison between Taliban and VM. With the body exposure, nobody has hurt anyone. Taliban have done so much what we see today all around in the region.
I'm sorry. Posing naked in the media is not something even the liberal minded would allow their women to do. Would you support your daughter or wife to strip away her clothes? Why support Veena?
These are cheap tactics. It was fine till Big Boss, cuz that is something that is going on in our societies, opposite genders mingling in schools, etc, but nudity is not something that has been accepted nor should the media push the public to accept it. The picture on ET the first day that showed her upper should not have been allowed. You are associated with an international newspaper for God's sake. Instead you (ET) like Veena try to up your game by cheap tactics. Luring in youngsters who will be attracted to you at first but will never take you seriously.
As for Veena, I would appreciate the media not making a fuss about it. Let her live her life the way she wants. No need to promote vulgarity in the society. This is a Muslim majority country; it would be best for everyone to respect the wishes of the majority.
@israrud din: Actually ISI stands for India Standards Institute. Most of the products in India gets an ISI seal regarding it's quality. For more details : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BureauofIndian_Standards
Our society (m eliminating mullahs for a time from our society) is not that much secular that i allows this type of freedom. The religion has not only initiated religious values, bt rather our cultural and social values also don t allow such type of stories and pictures to be in public. I don t think so that none of you would be comfortable to see news and picture with your whole family. If any sort of girl around you is exposed like this (not only in magzine bt in any other this sort of bare action or other), people start to behave differently before and after. It means that not only mullahs, bt the vast vast majority of pakistan still feels it a shameful act. it has nothing to do with extremisim if you object such actions of v.m. freedom to do wat ever you want to do is justified till the time if you are not hurting anyone. But if you are hurting the sentiments of so many people than there is no place for such freedom atleast in this country. Yeah if you wanna go to india and continue than most welcome. Doing such actions will give an impression that this is the trend in pakistan that girls here get such shoots generally; which is not the case actually. and i think that none of us want to bring the image of pakistan (if not taliban) than also not that we have gone soo soo much liberal and naked. it will give birth to so many other thoughts in the mind of people of other countries that you can t imagine
Shoaib Akhtar releases his book not in Pakistan, but in India. Now, Veena can be herself in India, not Pakistan.
Do you see the trend? India is becoming a place for Pakistanis to be free, be themselves.(Ironic, I know!)
Some wise man had once said,"A free society is a society where it is safe to be unpopular."
Right now, the unpopulars are in mortal danger in Pakistan.
@Straight Fire: "And what Taliban do is their own choice … no-one can blame them, no-one can stop them"
You did not note the key term - doing what you like as long as it does not harm someone else. The Taliban suicide blasts can hardly fall in that category
A tolerant society should not mean that standards of decency, dignity or even tolerance are thrown out the window. Getting into liberal semantics over what constitutes vulgarity is a pointless exercise. Whether or not Veena has posed for this shoot, these pictures are an affront to all majority-minority views in Pakistan. We are not that country where such things happen. Take the pictures off, to save her life now.
@Sanjay Sharma: And what Taliban do is their own choice ... no-one can blame them, no-one can stop them
Those who are crowing against VM do not know how far Pakistani "girls" have progressed. If they access any porn web site they would see much, much, more than VM's picture reveals. Their right to do whatever they wish with their bodies must be preserved unless we are to sign up with the obscurantists.
most boring commentry on not-so-boring Veena,
If we are muslims, then Quran is crystal clear about Hudood (limits) and crossing those will suggest that you are no more in the boundaries of religion. Following others for the sake of publicity or otherwise, is really harmful for a nation. If we really beleive in Islam, then Quran directed us to jail such individuals for life for crossing limits of decency. Any one who dare to deny the absolute law of Quran should do that at his/her own risk. We are very weak and should ask for apology and forgiveness from Allah. Pakistan is under extra ordinary attack from all fronts. May Allah save us from evil deeds.
The rights of Religious minorities have been legally snatched years ago, The attack on minorities opinions is being violently implemented since then. The question of Law has never bothered the self appointed guardians of morality.
If one is ready to strip someone, he or she has to close his eyes and create a picture of the person he/she wanted to strip. Can't we imagine what lies behind our cloths. What Veena did to her is her own choice. She doesn't seem to be vulgar even in that 'nude' picture, which the ET has tried to paint with black colour. Our minds may think otherwise. We may think in most vulgar way and obscenity if we want to do so. Let others have a choice to what they want to do.
a pleasing follow-up to the blog
In democracy, rules are made by majority not minority
There is nothing wrong with freedom but if all the beghairat brigade fights for this kind of freedom then you aint getting it before end of this world!!! =)
That kind of freedom does not exist anywhere and nor it shall!!
You are preaching to a crowd of hot-blooded twenty-something who are not willing to tolerate anything that goes against their zia-ul-haq-islam and moral code of the land. This country is pretty much screwed if you ask me sir.
STOP COMPARING HER WITH THAT EGYPTIAN BLOGGER!. You are misleading people.
Mona Eltahawy was protesting against revolutionary guards molesting women. One can disagree with her method of protest but the argument that a woman is the 'sum of what she wears' is applicable in her case, NOT here. What exactly does appearing scantily clad (or nude) in a magazine that exists for the sole purpose to titillate...supposed to prove?
In fact by doing so you actually DO castigate women as mere objects.
And please for the love of GOD, enough with the women are to be kept cloaked nonsense. In a country where women have risen to positions of importance supporting the notion that you must lose your clothes to be 'liberated' is an insult to the countless number women who have given a lot to this country and society (Ruth Pfau, Hina Jillani, Asma Jahangir, Bilquis Eidhi) in terms of social work and art( Bushra Ansari, Nayyara Noor, Reshma, Abida Parveen, Parveen Shakir, Fatima Surayya Bajia etc etc).
Yes there are 1 million problems women face in this country, but ignoring them and supporting nonsense will get you no where.
And Yes its Veena Maliks choice to do what she wants. But I for one do not agree or support her just because she makes the Mullahs mad.
Totally agree- Live and let live. All the religious fastics can lock them selves in mosques and pray all they want. 4.5 billion unbelievers can't be ignored and I don't think God wil punish 75% of the world's population just because they lead a progressive lifestyle.
Leftists are obsessed with Veena Malik. They're the ones creating the brouhaha over her on twitter ever since she became 'famous'. As for her, i don't mind seeing her nude and more power to her for what she wants to do, but it's hardly liberal to sexualize yourself and promote that particular line of thinking. The issue is in the end completely irrelevant, and it seems the self-anointed "liberals" won't let go of it.
Veena Malik is beautiful and gorgeous! Veena, if the beardos don't like you move to India. You are brave(i know the beardos who like young boys,will tell you you are ......blah...blah...blah..) BTW i am a proud indian muslim, one of the greatest religion in world!
Okay seriously? It had to be blurred over? We aren't toddlers here, Tribune. That being said, whether it's fake or real I'd rather take all the Veenas than some crazy mullah tactics. Plus, she looks hot.