Pakistani singer is prosecuted on pop star accusation of groping her

The libel suit was filed by authorities following a complaint from the pop star she accused, Ali Zafar. If convicted, she could be sentenced to three years in prison.

Supporters of Ms. Shafi say her legal battle could affect women’s willingness to bring up allegations of sexual misconduct, and the outcome of the legal battle would determine who is covered by a law designed to protect women from workplace harassment.

The harassment case “will decide the scope of the law to keep women safe in the workplace,” said Khwaja Ahmad Hosain, a lawyer representing Ms. Shafi at the Supreme Court. “The outcome will be important for all women in this country.”

Pakistan has a separate law designed to protect women from harassment outside the workplace, but women are required to report incidents to the police, which they are often reluctant to succeed.

Mr. Zafar, who denies groping Ms. Shafi, has not been charged with any crime. He says her allegations hurt his career. “By the time I prove my case, the damage will be irreparable,” he said. “It already is, in many ways.”

Pakistan ranks in many ways as one of the hardest places in the world to be a woman. According to a report published in 2019 by Pakistan’s Human Rights Commission, an independent advocacy group, women face high rates of domestic and sexual violence, economic inequality and forced marriages.

A 2020 index from the World Economic Forum, which tracks gender inequalities in areas such as economic opportunity, educational attainment, health and political empowerment, ranked Pakistan in 151st place out of 153 countries. A Nobel Peace Prize in 2014 was awarded to Pakistani campaigner Malala Yousafzai for girls’ education, but girls still make up the majority of the country’s children who are out of school.

There have been very few #MeToo allegations in Pakistan, a very conservative society. A march in the capital, Islamabad, on March 8 for International Women’s Day was guarded by police rings after attendees were attacked last year by stone-throwing men outraged by their slogan, “My body, my choice.” In an online campaign this year, protesters were charged with blasphemy based on misinterpretation of a banner, a dangerous and often deadly indictment in Pakistan.

Government officials say they are making progress on women’s rights, but recognize that there is still much to be done. In December, the government passed a new rape law – which must be approved by parliament to become permanent – aimed at speeding up convictions and tougher sentences. A law passed last year strengthened women’s property rights. The government says a program to provide a monthly income allowance to the poorest families helps women.

In January, Punjab province’s highest court banned the use of virginity testing in rape cases there. The results of those tests were often used by the defense against the prosecution, either as evidence against the rape charge if the woman turned out to be a virgin, or as evidence that she was likely to consent if she was found to be sexually active. The provincial judge said the tests had no scientific basis and had falsely cast suspicion on the victims.

Ms. Shafi’s allegations shocked Pakistan’s small but vibrant pop music industry and elite social circles when they first emerged. In a tweet in April 2018, a day before she was due to work with Mr. Zafar as a judge in a music talent show, she claimed that Mr. Zafar had touched her inappropriately.

“If this can happen to someone like me, an established artist, then it can happen to any young woman and I am very concerned,” tweeted Ms. Shafi.

Ms. Shafi says Mr. Zafar has touched her more than once, but her case of sexual harassment revolves around a December 2017 meeting at a recording studio in his home, where they were rehearsing for a concert. She says he touched her during the session.

Mr. Zafar denies groping Ms. Shafi and noted that the two performed together at the concert.

After Ms. Shafi’s accusation, others came forward on social media with their own reports of alleged sexual harassment by Mr. Zafar.

Mr. Zafar, who denies behaving inappropriately towards any of the prosecutors, says he was impeached as a judge on the show following Ms. Shafi’s charges and that he is no longer receiving sponsorship from multinational companies. He said he had filed suit to end what he called a smear campaign online, which he said made him the poster boy for the #MeToo movement in Pakistan.

He has also filed a civil defamation lawsuit seeking damages of more than $ 6 million against Ms. Shafi.

Ms. Shafi first brought her complaint to the Provincial Ombudsman and then to the Provincial Governor, following the procedure set out in the Workplace Harassment Act. Both ruled that the law does not cover her case.

She then went to the highest court in their home province of Punjab, which dismissed Ms. Shafi’s case against Mr. Zafar without investigating the allegations, saying that workplace harassment laws did not apply because Ms. Shafi was only on a short notice. forward contract and for an event management company, not for Mr. Zafar. The court said that if Ms. Shafi were considered an employee in this case, men could stop hiring women under such contracts.

“It would have such an unpleasant effect that perhaps no person (man) would be expected to contract to provide services for fear of prosecution under the law,” the court’s statement said in parenthesis. specified.

Prosecutors have filed a libel suit against Ms. Shafi under new laws restricting speech on the Internet, which have also been used by authorities to prosecute journalists and human rights activists. Authorities have also indicted eight others who posted social media allegations against Mr. Zafar. Ms. Shafi was the only one to file a formal complaint under the Workplace Harassment Act.

Since the charges were filed, one of Mr. Zafar retracted her charge and apologized. He then asked prosecutors to drop her from the case, which they did. The woman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Ms. Shafi’s lawyers say they plan to challenge the use of the criminal defamation law in the highest provincial court in Punjab. They say using it to prosecute Ms. Shafi will discourage others from coming forward with allegations of sexual misconduct.

“It’s a rigged system,” said Ms. Shafi. “What woman has received justice in a case of this nature and at what cost?”

Although Mr Zafar says the allegations have affected his career, he continues to receive praise from the country’s top politicians. This month, he will receive the Pride of Performance award from the President of Pakistan, the country’s highest award in the field of art in the field of art. Last year, Prime Minister Imran Khan appointed him brand ambassador for the university he founded in his political constituency before taking office.

“I just want to emphasize that every society in the world values ​​art and artists and sees them as good role models, just like Pakistani society,” said Shibli Faraz, the government’s information minister. He declined to comment on the lawsuits.

Ms. Shafi, who is currently in Canada, will ask the court for permission to give testimony via video link. But because she is returning to Pakistan for work, the criminal case is at risk of arrest, said Saqib Jillani, a lawyer before her.

“Who will come forward in the future, when mighty men can do this to those who speak?” said Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy, a Pakistani documentary maker who has won two Oscars, for her films about women who are victims of acid attacks and honor killings in Pakistan.

Write to Saeed Shah at [email protected]