Social media users in Pakistan are voicing their disappointment at TV presenter and host Nida Yasir for exploiting the pain of the parents of Marwah – a 5-year-old girl raped and killed in Karachi earlier this month – for TV ratings. Yasir had invited the parents of Marwah to her morning show on September 15.
A small video clip from the show went viral on social media on Wednesday in which the host is seen asking explicit questions from the parents of the girl. The parents of the girl choked up while responding to her questions. The mother started crying and the father also struggled as Yasir asked them to reveal details of the case in front of the audience.
You are Calling the parents of a 5 yrs old rape and murder victim and asking them stupid and embarrassing questions in front of the entire world for ratings…ðŸ˜
This is not the first time you did…
These low class morning shows are cancer for our society… #BanNidaYasir pic.twitter.com/Wycyg3KJN8— Sehrish Khan (@sehrish1khan) September 17, 2020
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Many netizens called Yasir out for her ‘inappropriate’ and ‘insensitive’ behavior with the parents of the victim on her show. Twitter trend #BanNidaYasir was trending on Thursday, with many demanding the owner of the channel to replace the host of the morning show.
#NidaYasir You don't know what to talk when to talk n where to talk. So please Don't touch sensitive topic.#BanNidaYasirShow pic.twitter.com/NS4qAMT69M
— Muhammad Ali 🇨🇦 (@MAliSayss) September 17, 2020
Social media users even demanded that PEMRA – the electronic media regulatory authority, take strict action against the host and the channel. A Twitter user wrote that despite the parents of the girl struggling to speak, the host forced them to recount the details of the horrific incident. However, unconfirmed reports state that Yasir has apologized for her comments.
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A five-year-old girl, Marwah, was kidnapped and raped before being murdered and torched in the port city last month. The girl’s body was found in piles of garbage on an empty plot of land in the Old Sabzi Mandi where she was reported missing 2 days prior.
According to the autopsy report, the victim had been sexually assaulted and had died from head injuries.