TV presenter and actress Iffat Omar earlier this week appeared to mock a statement made by Prime Minister Imran Khan last week regarding new laws on punishments for rapists. PM Imran had voiced his consent for the chemical castration of rapists and sexual offenders in an interview with journalist Moeed Pirzada last week.
He asserted that fear of extreme punishments would deter the potential sexual offenders from abusing women and children in society. PM Imran said the state would deal strictly with cases of sexual abuse of women and children in the society, as sex-related crimes were rapidly rising in the country.
You can disagree on the type of punishment for a rapist and suggest what kind of punishment you want for such hardcore criminals. But how can you be so insensitive and stupid to start joking about such a serious issue/crime? Disgusting @IffatOmar pic.twitter.com/avIK8MkbiD
— Liaqat Hussain (@edwardian842) September 17, 2020
A recent incident involving the gang-rape of a woman on the Lahore-Sialkot motorway earlier this month had sparked a nationwide call for extreme punishments for rapists, including public hanging and castration.
In a viral video, circulating on Twitter yesterday, Omar can be seen passing below-the-belt remarks against PM Imran and the supporters of Pakistan’s ruling Tehreek-I-Insaf (PTI) for suggesting that chemical castration was a viable solution to crimes against women and children.
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In the video, she laughed off the comments of the premier and passed derogatory remarks on them. Soon, she came in the crosshairs of Pakistani Twitter users. They called her out for making light of issues like rape and sexual abuse. Omar has not responded to the ongoing backlash as of yet.
You can disagree on the type of punishment for a rapist and suggest what kind of punishment you want for such hardcore criminals. But how can you be so insensitive and stupid to start joking about such a serious issue/crime? Disgusting @IffatOmar pic.twitter.com/avIK8MkbiD
— Liaqat Hussain (@edwardian842) September 17, 2020
Her comments came at a time when the gang-rape incident continues to send shockwaves across Pakistan, and the struggle to arrest the prime suspect in the case is underway. A few days back, Omar and actor Noman Ejaz came under fire when they joked about infidelity and extramarital affairs on her show.
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The actor, taking a sarcastic dig purportedly at a question about extra-martial affairs, said that he had several extramarital affairs and that he cherished beautiful women. He added that he never got caught because he was intelligent and a smart actor.