The Great Cover-Up

Film star in a backless dress causes greater outrage than the death of a Christian schoolboy at the hands of muslim classmates

- Sabyn Javeri

The Twitter mafia was at it again. The recent flare-up over Mahira Khan in a backless dress had the nation in a frenzy. On the same day her pictures came out, a Christian school boy, 17-year-old Sharoon, was beaten to death by his Muslim classmates. While this atrocity was barely denounced, Mahira Khan was quickly deemed a blob on the nation’s face for showing a bit of skin. Any reasonable person would question which of the two events was more un-Islamic, inhumane and liable to bring condemnation to the country. Yet the Twitterati was all aghast about how Khan, a renowned actor of international repute, an intelligent, mature woman, who has brought much honour and fame to the country, was now making it look bad by smoking with a fellow actor from the enemy country (whose films by the way we love to watch). Schoolchildren beating up their classmate for being a minority member was hardly raising any eyebrows.

Media personalities depicted their bigotry by using their huge Twitter followings irresponsibly, highlighting a woman’s choice of dress instead of the nation’s barbarism towards its minorities. The little white dress caused a furore but the Christian boy’s white coffin caused no controversy. One wondered where the priorities of this nation really lay. The question being raised here is: why do independent women scare us so much? Whether it’s Mahira Khan exercising her right to dress or smoke or interact with who she wants in public, or Malala empowering schoolgirls with education and refusing to play victim, why do these Sheroes bring out insecurities in Pakistani media mouths? An oversimplified answer perhaps would be that it alters the status quo.