Oscar-winner takes on Twitter trolls
Sharmeen Obaid says she may have not been eloquent but stands by her claims of harassment by a doctor
Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy, the only Pakistani to win two Oscar awards, is in the headlines once again, but not for winning prizes.
Obaid Chinoy has been severely criticised on social media in Pakistan since she tweeted about her sister’s encounter with an Aga Khan University (AKUH) doctor, who added her on Facebook after treating her at the hospital.
She termed the incident ‘harassment’, saying that she will take action against it. Her remarks reportedly resulted in the doctor being fired. It did cause a huge backlash for Chinoy.
Now, the Academy Awardwinner has spoken up about the matter, with a statement posted on Twitter. Yesterday, she wrote: “My recent tweets about a doctor’s inappropriate behaviour has drawn much comment and controversy. The conversation has unfortunately steered far from the safety of women, unchecked unethical practices and harassment.”
She described her views on the matter as a poor choice of words. “Some of the words I used have disappointed people and I agree they were poorly chosen in a time of heated emotion,” she wrote.
She added, “My tweet about the wrong women in the wrong family was not meant to suggest a sense of privilege or power, what I meant to say was that the women in my family are strong.”
‘Abusing privilege’
When Obaid Chinoy termed the Facebook friend request from a stranger as a ‘harassment’ it sparked a debate on social media in Pakistan. Some people accused her of abusing her privilege as a known filmmaker and Oscar-winner, while others continued to debate the definition of harassment.
The controversy began when Mahjabeen Obaid visited AKUH, Karachi for her treatment and received a friend request from the doctor who had treated her. Obaid Chinoy posted a series of tweets regarding how he ‘harassed’ her sister. The hospital has refused to either confirm or deny the rumours that the doctor was fired.