Pak #MeToo: Social media star, NGO chief face claims

: The effects of India’s #metoo movement have spilled over the border into Pakistan, where two public figures have so far been accused of sexual harassment.

At the same time, a debate has erupted on various platforms questioning the validity of these accusations, with some saying both cases are frivolous and could impact genuine cases in future. In the first case, numerous women have come forward to accuse social media influencer Junaid Akram of sexual harassment. All the women, however, remain anonymous, resulting in some quarters not only questioning the accusations but also alleging bias in the media for publishing these stories.

One of the first accusers said the harassment occurred on social media. The women in question had initially approached Akram after watching his show on social media. After several exchanges of messages over a period of time, Akram told the woman in a message that he wanted to "see her." By this, it was inferred he wanted to see her in explicit poses and this is where the communication broke off. Akram was later accused of harassment.

In another accusation, also from an anonymous account, the woman accused Akram of lying to her about his marital status while being physical with her.

In a separate case, a woman journalist has accused Faisal Edhi, chairman of the Edhi Foundation and son of late humanitarian Abdul Sattar Edhi, of harassing her when she was younger. Urooj Zia, a Karachi-based journalist, wrote on Twitter: "Since this is all coming out, #MeToo too many times than I can count, but this one is about Faisal Edhi, Abdus Sattar Edhi’s son – the guy heading the Edhi Foundation now. It happened when I was very young (22 or 23 years old, I think.)"

Zia accused Edhi of trying to pull her back into his car when he was dropping her off at her office following a meeting. She says she withdrew her hand and got out of the car. Zia added that Edhi started texting her at odd hours. Edhi has denied the accusation and said Zia suffers from “mental challenges”.

There are some who insist this is just the beginning. Journalist Hamna Zubair said she was aware of many more cases. letters@hindustantimes.com