Prime Minister Imran Khan's remarks at a public meeting in South Waziristan in which he referred to the PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari as 'Bilawal sahiba' have been widely condemned both inside and outside Parliament as being misogynistic. Thursday's proceedings of the National Assembly were dominated by loud protests from the opposition members, mostly women, demanding an apology from Khan. What he said surely was not a slip of the tongue gaffe, as some in his party tried to suggest. In fact, he had waited for the audiences' applause before continuing with his speech without making a correction. It was meant as a sexist insult, reflective of a bias against the third sex rather than the female kind. Earlier, Minister of Railways Sheikh Rashid had repeatedly been making similar comments, and the PML-N stalwart Rana Sanaullah against both the minister and the PPP Chairman. And last Monday, while responding to a hard-hitting speech by the PPP Chairman, PTI legislators raised slogans, expressing the same gender bias that only undermined the dignity of Parliament.
Unfortunately, sexism is deeply ingrained in this society. It finds expression in politics every now and then in subtle and not-so-subtle forms. The PPP, which never tires of claiming credit for the invaluable services its slain leader Benazir Bhutto rendered to the cause of democracy and by ably serving as the two-time prime minister of this country, is not completely free of anti-women prejudices either. Two years ago, its then leader of the opposition in the NA, Syed Khurshid Shah, told the speaker not to ask female legislators to stop talking because "they will fall ill if they don't talk continuously" thereby implying only women indulge in empty chatter. And a few days ago, opposition politicians, both from the PPP and PML-N, vociferously criticised the NAB on gender basis instead of legal grounds for sending its men to serve summonses on Shahbaz Sharif's wife Nusrat and two daughters, terming the action "an insult to women" which is a way of saying women are a weaker sex and hence should be treated differently from men. As equal beings, women do not need any special concessions.
None of the above justifies the Prime Minister's remarks, however. Looked at every which way, they are unbecoming of his office. He may have achieved the desired effect at a rally but in so doing he lent validation to extant social prejudices. Such comments aimed at political rivals must be avoided by all sides, especially the Prime Minister. He is expected to lead by example the fight against sexism. Making an apology will enhance his standing, particularly with the people whose sentiments he may have hurt.