Pakistan: Defamation Laws Misused To Attack Freedom Of Speech. Journalist Maham Javaid Booked For Exposing Sexual Misconduct Of Pakistani Celebrity

Location: Pakistan, Lahore
Date: October 12, 2020

The Coalition For Women In Journalism (CFWIJ) condemns the unjustified lawsuit filed against journalist Maham Javaid. Maham is one of the eight people who have been booked by the Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) cybercrime wing on charges of defaming singer turned actor Ali Zafar on social media, while a Lahore sessions court accepted the defamation suit.

The lawsuit is a blatant attack on freedom of speech, as Maham had shared an account of sexual misconduct by the celebrity in question on Twitter and extended her solidarity with other victims. Several other individuals, including Maham, shared either their own stories or those involving their friends or acquaintances after popular female singer Meesha Shafi accused Zafar of sexual harassment in 2018. We demand authorities, especially the judiciary, in Pakistan to take back all the charges that Maham currently faces.

On September 28, the FIA cyber crime wing sent subpoenas to nine individuals for their alleged involvement in a smear campaign against Zafar. In April 2018, Meesha took to Twitter to accuse Zafar of physically harassing her on ‘more than one occasion.’ Even though Zafar denied the accusations, many others came to Meesha’s support, sharing their own testimonies and Maham was one of them. Maham had tweeted that Zafar had tried to kiss her cousin “many years ago”.

“So @itsmeeshashafi’s brave sharing of her experience reminded me of a story about @AliZafarsays from many many years ago, when Ali Zafar tried to kiss my cousin and pull my cousin into a restroom with him. Luckily my cousin’s friends were there to push Ali Zafar off,” she wrote.

Maham stated they did not report the incident, as they assumed nobody would have believed their side of the story.

“We didn’t even think of telling anyone, apart from friends, or reporting him because ‘he’s a celebrity, no one would possibly care or listen’. And over the years, we forgot the story ourselves, until today. Thanks @itsmeeshashafi for reminding us that our stories matter.”

She added that the alleged incident happened at a boat party between 2004-2005.

Zafar had stood before trial in December 2019, over the allegations of sexual misconduct where he denied the allegations stating fake accounts: “A twitter account @nehasaigol1, which posted 3,000 defamatory tweets against me and my family only in one year, [was] created 50 days before Meesha’s allegations of sexual harassment.” In his complaint he asked Meesha to pay restitution for the damage to his reputation and leveling false allegations against him.

Meanwhile, the FIR against the suspects was filed for a non-cognisable offence on the order of the FIA special court.

Meesha, actor-host Iffat Omar, Leena Ghani, Fariha Ayub, Maham Javaid, Ali Gul, Haseemuz Zaman Khan, Humna Raza and Syed Faizan Raza are the nine people booked under section 20 (1) of Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act 2016 and R/W 109-PPC.

According to the FIR, the suspects were summoned multiple times by the FIA cyber crime wing to present their defence, failing which granted a cause of criminal proceedings against them.

Defamation complaints are used as a way to take revenge from women who speak out against sexual misconduct in Pakistan. Pakistani journalist and CFWIJ member Tanzeela Mazhar has been seeking justice for the past three years for the sexual harassment she faced by PTV’s current affairs director. She is facing a lawsuit for criminal defamation at the hands of her harasser.

CFWIJ condemns the way defamation suits are misused to silence survivors of sexual abuse. We call upon the judiciary to take into consideration the principle of “woman's testimony is fundamental". Women in the public eye shall not be intimidated through the use of law and shall rather be encouraged to speak up against sexual misconduct in order to ensure a safer and more equal environment.

The CFWIJ strongly condemns the police brutality against journalists. We demand the immediate return of the press cards seized from the security forces. Policies to intimidate journalists should be abandoned, and journalism should be practiced under the criteria of freedom of the press.

If you have been harassed or abused in any way, and please report the incident by using the following form.