Moral policing and its impending effects

The public opinion in India was divided TV star Gauhar Khan was attacked on live television last month. Her offender, 24-year-old Akil Malik, a member of the audience took it upon himself to punish Khan for wearing a revealing outfit.

According to reports, the model and actor of reality TV fame was presenting at the finale of the singing competition Raw Star when Malik began catcalling and teasing her from the audience. When Khan protested, Malik stood up on his seat, approached the stage and slapped Khan in front of everyone. He was also quoted as saying that, “Being a Muslim, she should not have worn such a short dress.”

Even though Malik was arrested soon after and Khan has issued a statement on the incident, the motivation behind the attack has got everyone debating the problem of moral policing and who has the right to admonish others for their behaviour. The attack may have taken place in India but things are not much different across the border as many Pakistanis seem to feel it is their duty to advise others on how they should lead their lives. And more often than not, this moral policing is directed solely at women. A prime example of this is the blackening or disfiguring of billboards featuring pictures of women that most of us have witnessed in Pakistan time and again.

But whether or not we have the right to judge and reprimand others is just one aspect of moral policing; a far more serious problem is the fear it generates amongst women and the infringement at their rights and freedom. Ogling, eve-teasing and ‘accidental’ contact in public discourage women, lest they be attacked. After all, if a TV star like Khan can be victimised on live television, who can blame the average woman for being fearful of the same treatment?



Published in The Express Tribune, Ms T, December 14^th, 2014.