Shattered windows and blood mixed with mucus. Covered mouths and torn clothes. Stained carpets and bruised canvases. Incurable scars scraping from within, shrieking screams and thrusting animals. Broken mosaics and lifeless bodies with formidable memories.
Abuse, harassment and male dominance, it’s more than the act itself now, it’s a culture. Embedded into the roots through the media industry, it’s spreading. The objectification of feminine characteristics, the use of a misogynistic dialect, the beautification of sexual violence, are all a part of an unwanted culture, but NOT a cultural norm. This culture is real, it exists and we need to talk about it.
Let’s not talk about the numerous incidents or occurrences which took place in the past but rather the present. Ali Xeeshan and Saira Shakira published a recent shoot which was quite surprising for us. The images caused a stir on social media within hours and here’s why; without any doubt, the very questionable images displayed gender bias and even had a hint of harassment. The images clearly depicted aggressive male dominance as Hasnain Lehari, the male model, had fierce expressions plastered all over his face while he tightly held the female model’s wrist, which in this case was Amna Babar.
Fashion has always been about boldness; under the sea, on a flagpole, atop snowy mountains but there are some things which fashion can never stand for – such as harassment and abuse. How dare they think that they can get away with such a ghastly idea? Is the idea of a girl all dressed up and trying to pull away from an aggressive looking man supposed to be erotic?
In another shoot by Ali Xeeshan and Saira Shakira, Sanam Saeed was seen standing in a corner and playfully smiling at the camera, oblivious to the fact that she was being admired by a couple of seemingly well dressed men standing behind her. It’s very easy to get confused as whether they are trying to promote the brand or her body?
Disgusting, gruesome and unacceptable is what this is. Ali Xeeshan and Saira however, had something else to say about it. According to them, they had no intentions of promoting anything negative through this shoot. On the contrary, they thought it was playful and innovative. According to them, all the women featured in this shoot are strong and independent, and they promote women empowerment. It is true that Sanam Saeed is idolized by most of the girls of our generation and she thoroughly deserves it too, as she has excelled in her career in the entertainment industry. Even the title of the shoot is “Call Her Diva”, and it was based on all the surroundings a diva would want to have around her. There was another image of young ballerinas looking up to Sanam Saeed which was seemingly better, so we have to give them that. The basic idea behind the entire shoot may be understandable, but it’s execution and the shoot itself needs a thorough review. After all, eventually it’s all about the perception of the majority of the people.
All of us have women in our families who want to follow the latest fashion trends. They have dreams and goals. Professionally, they have aims and objectives. The society we currently live in is not one they can easily flourish in. We need to teach our society to treat them respectfully, instead of objectifying them through sexist attitudes. Even if the overall intentions behind the shoot were good, the entire “Diva” idea could have been promoted in a way which would have appeared to be a lot less controversial.
Contributed by: Team Kluchit.
