"When I spoke to singer and actor Meesha Shafi in July this year, it had been six years since our first meeting. Then, Meesha had been in Karachi for a taping of Pepsi's Battle of the Bands, where she performed and was one of the judges, and we met once she had wrapped up filming. A few months earlier, Meesha made headlines when she alleged that one of the music industry's biggest stars, Ali Zafar, had sexually harassed her allegations that he has always denied."
"Her hotel room was dimly lit, and Meesha remained in the shadows, with only a lamp in a far corner of the room switched on. It was quiet, the sounds from the busy road nine floors below muffled by the closed windows. Meesha had wedged herself into the corner of an overstuffed sofa. Shooting had wrapped that day, and, after a week of 1am finishes, Meesha had got off early."
"In April 2018, Meesha, in a tweet, accused actor and singer Ali Zafar of multiple instances of sexual harassment. It was the first such high-profile case in Pakistan since the #MeToo movement of 2017 forced a reckoning with claims of sexual harassment and abuse that had gone unchecked for decades in almost every industry in countries across the world. For months, accusations against Hollywood producers, beloved actors and comedians made headlines."
Meesha Shafi publicly accused fellow star Ali Zafar of multiple instances of sexual harassment in April 2018 via a tweet. Ali Zafar denied the allegations. The accusation became Pakistan's first high-profile #MeToo-era case and attracted sustained media attention and public debate. Both Meesha and Ali Zafar had prominent international and domestic careers, increasing the case's visibility. Meesha experienced severe backlash online and in the media and described feeling isolated and emotionally broken. The episode highlighted entrenched challenges around speaking out, public reaction, and the consequences faced by accusers in high-profile cultural industries.
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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