Eminent Pakistani women speak out against childhood sexual abuse

LAHORE: Following the brutal rape and murder of the seven-year old Zainab in Kasur earlier this month, floodgates have finally opened for abusive and villainous Pakistani men as innumerable actresses, media personalities, choreographers, publicists and dress designers like Nadia Jamil, Frieha Altaf and Maheen Khan etc have come forth to share their darkest childhood experiences through heart-touching and quite eloquently phrased messages on social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook etc.

The likes of Nadia, Frieha and Maheen have thus followed into the footsteps of famous Hollywood actress, Marilyn Monroe, who was one of the first public figures to discuss her experience with abuse in public.

She was passed around the foster care system as a child where she suffered sexual abuse from the men in her life. Globally-acclaimed American talk show host, Oprah Winfrey, had also revealed she was raped by a relative when she was just nine years old. Winfrey has been vocal about her experience, and she has helped many other victims move past their horrific pasts.

This campaign against sexual harassment has kicked off in Pakistan just a month after globally-renowned Hollywood actresses, including the likes of Meryl Streep, Angelina Jolie and Kate Winslet etc had condemned renowned producer Harvey Weinstein.

These "silence breakers" of the "Me Too Movement," which found roots in the Hollywood, had joined the rather "unfortunate club" of 35 women who had famously joined together to accuse stand-up comedian, actor and musician, Bill Cosby, of sexual assault and harassment in 2015.

Actress Nadia Jamil's tweets:

"I only share it so more women & men who have been abused stop feeling shame & see there is a light inside them Allah has kept burning. Shine it! There is a way out of the hell of humiliation & pain. We can make it out & up to a beautiful place of gratitude! Always! Shukar always!"

"The cure is literacy, poverty alleviation and an empathetic education that counters all patriarchal, misogynistic discourse on women, women’s bodies & male entitlement to sexual gratification for power. Plus awareness & protection workshops for kids, schools, parents! There is a way."

"Every time a child is sexually abused he/she is me. I will never shut up about it. & I will always say to the child, the child’s families, you, there is no shame for the abused survivor & we can help lead to a joyful positive productive life. The shame is on the men who abuse."

"I was 4 the first time I was abused sexually. I was in college when it blew out of proportion. People tell me not to talk to respect my family’s honour. Is my family’s honour packed in my body? I am a proud, strong, loving survivor. No shame on me or my kids. Only pride for being me."

"When I sexually abused it was by my Kari Sahab, my driver & then by a highly educated elite families son, now a happily married business man in London. It’s across the board. Men abuse across the board. My family still wants me to stay silent. But the shame is not mine! Never ever."

"Allah hain na :) For all of us. There will be pain. And there is the gifts of being able to get up breathe, look at the trees, hear the birds sing and dance again. And there is prayer and meditation Alhamdolillah. The only thing I need to do more is varzish (exercise)."

Tweets from media personality and entrepreneur Frieha Altaf:

"My parents took action but everyone remained silent as if it was my shame. At 34, I realized how it had impacted my life. The only shame is keeping silent. Thank you to these brave women who have the courage to tell their stories. More power to you. Anger, confusion, guilt, shame, lack of self worth, withdrawal of trust and low self esteem are some of the issues that impact the life of a sexually abused child."

"Child Abuse cannot be eliminated through punishment alone. It is a sickness. Education is the treatment. Educate our children to be safer. Learn to teach parents and children not to be ashamed to talk about it. Ignorance and silence about sexually abuse needs to stop now."

Journalist Fifi Haroon, who launched a television channel, sang with renowned music band "Junoon" and whose voice was aired by the "BBC World Service," also viewed on Twitter:

"Sexual abuse can occur in families even & crosses class barriers. Victims/survivors have been silenced too long - shame should be that of the perpetrators. Listen to your kids, watch them, and notice behavior changes that could tell of a deeper discomfort."

Award-winning fashion and costume designer Maheen Khan, who is well known for her embroidery for the film "Snow White and the Huntsman" and television series "The jewel in the crown," has also chipped in with a Twitter message:

"The moulvi who came to teach me the Quran abused me sexually. I froze in fear day after day. Share in support of children subjected to sick acts by the so-called custodians of our religion."

Although the global political history, including that of Pakistan, is littered with sex scams, consensual spicy relationships and affairs of politicians, judges, army generals, sportsmen, showbiz personalities and ruling elite, sexual harassment is an entirely different subject.

A brief list of world celebrities accused of sexual harassment against women and children:

In December 2017, according to the "Independent," a Republican Senator Dan Johnson from Kentucky, who had defiantly denied allegations that he sexually assaulted a teenage girl in the basement of his home, died in an apparent suicide.

In November 2017, as the "Guardian" had reported, US President Donald Trump had extended his support for Roy Moore, the Republican Alabama Senate candidate who is accused of sexual misconduct with four women, one of whom was 14 when the incident is alleged to have occurred.

It was also in November 2017 that Jeffrey Miller, an American politician from Indianapolis, had resigned after he was accused of molesting two girls at his home.

Miller was arrested and charged with three felony counts of child molestation.

Late singer Michael Jackson was first accused of child sexual abuse in 1993. His passion for having sex with children resurfaced in 2003, for which he was tried and later acquitted.

Boxing Champion Mike Tyson was convicted of raping an 18-year-old woman. He served three years of his six-year sentence.

By the way, in 2014, Tyson revealed that he too was sexually abused when he was seven years old.

Eminent US Academy Award-winning director, Roman Polanski, was accused of molesting a 13-year-old girl.

Not long ago, a Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa lady politician, Ayesha Gulalai Wazir, had directly accused the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf Chairman Imran Khan of "immorality."

During her press conference, Gulalai had gone on to accuse Imran Khan of sending her obnoxious text messages over phone.

On September 25, 2017, the "Guardian" had written: "When the Pakistani politician Ayesha Gulalai Wazir accused the cricket-star-turned-opposition-leader Imran Khan of sexual harassment, the vitriol unleashed against her was swift and vicious."

It is imperative to note that even the developed West, a self-proclaimed champion of free speech, democracy and equality, has so far succeeded in only condemning the incumbent American President, Donald Trump, who has been alleged of sexual assault by 13 different women.

It goes without saying that scandals featuring sexual abuse are nothing new in American politics, and allegations of misconduct have swirled around a number of frontline US politicians like former President Bill Clinton, another ex-American head of state George W. Bush, Senate candidate Roy Moore of Alabama and Minnesota Senator Al Franken etc.

On December 8, 2017, the prestigious "Time" magazine had reported: "Eight women have come forward alleging that the 41st President, George W. Bush senior, groped them at various events dating back to the 1992 presidential campaign. The first accusations came from two actresses, Heather Lind and Jordana Grolnick, who alleged that Bush had grabbed their behinds when posing for a photograph with them. Bush’s spokesman, Jim McGrath, did not deny the allegations, and explained in a statement that Bush did not mean to offend anyone and was trying to put the women at ease, because he was in a wheelchair and can only reach so high when posing for pictures."

The media house had added: "However, allegations from a time when Bush wasn’t wheelchair bound also surfaced. Roslyn Corrigan, for instance, told TIME she was sixteen in 2003 when she met Bush at a CIA event in Texas, and he grabbed her buttocks without her consent. Shortly after Corrigan came forward, another woman, who declined to be identified, told CNN Bush had groped her in 1992, when he was still President, and a Broadway actress, Megan Elizabeth Lewis, told "NJ Advance Media, Bush groped her after a performance in Houston in 2009."

In July 2014, the "Telegraph" had reported that British judges, peers and MPs were among 20 prominent public figures who abused children for decades.

Quoting a former child protection manager, Peter McKelvie, the newspaper said "powerful elite" of pedophiles carried out "the worst form" of abuse.

Lord Warner, the former health minister, said the allegations were credible.

A series of allegations concerning the involvement of British politicians in cases of sexual harassment arose in October and November 2017.

Michael Fallion, the British Secretary for Defence, had resigned in November 2017 because his behaviour towards women had "fallen short" previously.

Stephen Crabb, the former Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, was reported by the "Daily Telegraph" in October 2017 to have sent sexually suggestive text messages to a young woman he had interviewed for a position in his parliamentary office which he said "basically amount to unfaithfulness."

Damien Green, the first British Secretary of State and Minister for the Cabinet Office, was accused of sexually harassing behaviour by an activist, Kate Maltby, and was also separately alleged to have viewed pornography on his work computer. Following an inquiry into these allegations, he resigned from the Cabinet in December 2017.

On March 22, 2011 an Israeli court had awarded a seven-year sentence to the country’s former President, Moshe Katsav, on rape charges.

According to Al-Jazeera TV, the judges had also handed the former Israeli leader a two-year suspended sentence and ordered him to pay a fine.

President Katsav was convicted in December 2010 of rape, sexual harassment, indecent acts and obstruction of justice, following a four-year scandal that had rattled Israel.

On June 16, 1998 the former Nicaraguan president Daniel Ortega appeared in court to claim parliamentary immunity against sex abuse charges brought by his stepdaughter.

The BBC reported: "Mr Ortega, who was accompanied by his wife Rosario Murillo, said the accusations were a plot to undermine him. He presented documents to the judge showing his membership of the National Assembly and his immunity from prosecution. His stepdaughter, 30-year-old Zoilamerica Narvaez, said Mr Oretega repeatedly abused her from the age of 11."

Former Zimbabwean President Canaan Banana was also arrested on charges of sodomy, following allegations made during the murder trial of his former bodyguard. Banana was found guilty of 11 charges of sodomy, attempted sodomy and indecent assault in 1998. He denied all charges, terming them "pathological lies."

President Banana was sentenced in January 1999 to 10 years in jail, but he actually served six months in an open prison before being released in January 2001.

Former US Vice President Al Gore was accused by a US media outlet "The National Enquirer" on its website that he had ‘unwanted’ sexual contact with a massage technician in October 2006. Though Gore’s attorneys had denied the allegations, police detectives did sniff around a lot for evidence after the massage practitioner’s lawyer had reported to Portland police that the former US Vice President had sexually assaulted her in his hotel room.

Anwar Ibrahim, the former Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister, was sentenced to nine years for sodomy in 2000. In 2004, the Federal Court reversed his conviction and he was released due to contradictions in the prosecution’s case. In July 2008, he was again alleged of sodomizing one of his male aides.

In April 2009, the then US President Obama’s half-brother, Samson Obama, was stopped from entering UK after lying to police over sex allegations.

"The Daily Mail," in its April 12, 2009 edition had stated," The half-brother of President Barack Obama was refused an entry visa to Britain after lying to police officers about an accusation of sexual assault. The deception occurred in November when Samson Obama, who lives in Kenya, was in Britain staying with his mother, who lives in Berkshire.

The news was embarrassing to the then US President, who had given his younger half-brother a personal tour of the White House in January 2009, when he had attended the historic inauguration.

In March 2015, for the first time in Indian legal history, the parliament had initiated proceedings to attempt to impeach a judge over allegations of sexual harassment.

Justice S. K. Gangele had found himself in the dock after a female additional district judge had accused him of sexual harassment alleging that she was forced to resign from the judicial service due to his "advances and malicious aspirations."

In March 2015, as many as 58 Rajya Sabha (Senate) members had submitted a petition to the Rajya Sabha Chairperson, Hamid Ansari, to initiate a motion of impeachment under Article 124 of the Indian Constitution against the accused arbiter.(Reference: The Indian Express)

In December 2014, an Indian Supreme Court bench had quashed that inquiry saying that the state chief justice had not constituted the two-judge panel correctly and the panel’s role should have been to only determine whether a deeper probe was necessary.

Justice Gangele was then stripped of administrative and supervisory roles.

A former British judge David Selwood, who had admitted a string of child abuse images offences, was given a 12 month rehabilitation order. He was charged after police had found 75 images of naked and semi-naked boys aged between eight and 14 on his laptop computer.

The Wikileaks founder, Julian Assange, was under probe by the Swedish police since August 2010 for his alleged involvement in two sexual encounters.

Assange had appealed the February 2011 decision by English courts to extradite him to Sweden for questioning in relation to a sexual assault investigation.

Arnold Schwarzenegger, actor-turned-Governor of California, also faced allegations of having sex with a woman at a gymnasium.

A 2001 article in "Premiere" magazine described many instances in which Schwarzenegger had fondled a female interviewer.

In 2009, the Governor of Andhra Pradesh, Narayan Dutt Tiwari had to quit for his immorality.

In 2009 again, a Smajawadi party leader Azam Khan was alleged by top actress Jaya Prada of distributing her fake nude pictures. Jaya was contesting polls at that time and had emerged victorious.

In 2008, Manmohan Samal, Minister for Revenue in Orissa, had to relinquish charge after he was found guilty in a similar scandal.

According to the website of the prestigious "Forbes" magazine, Prince Victor Emmanuel, son of Italy’s last king, was arrested in 2006 for his involvement in a crime ring that recruited prostitutes for a casino in Switzerland.

Forbes adds that Willie Knuckles, a senior Liberian minister and chief of staff to President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, had to resign in 2007 after a national newspaper had published a nude photo of him.