When calls for Palestine’s freedom from Israeli occupation began in mid-May, hashtags and supportive posts circulated around social media, demanding for the international community to intervene in the atrocities being committed against Palestinian people. Despite censorship from social media platforms against Palestinian activists, Pakistan saw its own protests against Zionism, with protests held in Karachi, Islamabad and Lahore on May 17. In Taxila and Attock, demonstrations and protests were also held to show solidarity with Palestine. However, as the voices fighting for freedom from occupation got louder, often conservative voices attempted to hijack the cause with sexism, transphobia and anti-Semitism, deflecting the conversation away from the larger cause.
Moral Policing Women
As is the case with any patriarchal society, moral policing of women was again a large part of the protests. Similar to this year’s Aurat March, when women were scrutinized for ‘vulgar’ placards and dancing in public, pro-Palestine protests were unfortunately no exception to the often sexist lens through which society views women.
A female reporter from Leader TV, a digital news channel, covered a protest that occurred in Lahore. The video, which can be found on YouTube, featured lingering shots on women’s bodies. The reporter said, “I will show you Muslim women’s clothing, shorts were worn here, sleeveless [shirts] were worn here, people are dancing with a sound system […] In the corners, [men and women] are having conversations that cannot be had at home or on the phone.”
The reporter then went on to interview several people, questioning some about their opinions on the way other women were dressed and whether it was appropriate for women in an Islamic state to dress a certain way when advocating for Palestinian Muslims. People who tried to defend the clothing as a personal choice were not given the opportunity to speak, with the reporter snatching the mic away from them. Not only were women filmed without their consent, but their clothing and behavior was shamed with misogynistic implications about their character as the camera uncomfortably lingered on them. Given that many women in Pakistan already face restrictions from their families about clothing and socializing, their efforts to assert physical autonomy being undermined on camera under the pretense of caring about Muslim Palestinians becomes all the more unethical.
It’s important to note that the reporter pushing this narrative was a woman as well, displaying how women can unfortunately also push their own internalized misogyny to undermine the efforts of female protestors advocating for freedom.
Something similar happened with Mahira Khan, one of the most popular actresses in Pakistan, who was at a pro-Palestine protest. People took to social media, worried about something more than the apartheid system that oppresses Palestinians; the lack of a scarf, or dupatta, around Khan’s neck.
Another incident that saw sexism override pro-Palestinian voices was in the case of Alizeh Shah, a Pakistani actress whose pictures in a sleeveless tank top went viral on Twitter. Again, the moral policing began and #AlizehShah started trending, with Twitter users degrading and shaming her for her choice in clothing. Another set of users started to compare Shah with a Palestinian activist, Maryam al-Afifi, judging their physical appearance and which woman, in their eyes, was a better Muslim woman based on their clothing.
