Jemima Lashes Out At PM Imran Khan Over Recent Comments On Rape: ‘The Onus Is On Men’

Prime Minister Imran Khan recently stirred a storm on the internet after he blamed the “inappropriate” dressing of women as the reason behind increasing sexual harassment and rape in Pakistan. During a Q&A session with the public, the premier said that an increase in rape cases pointed at the “consequences in any society where vulgarity is on the rise”, further stating that “fahashi (vulgarity)” stands as the root cause for such criminal acts. He was responding to a query by a social media follower who asked him what his government is doing about the rising sexual violence in the country.

“The incidents of rape of women have actually very rapidly increased in society,” Khan said, advising women to cover up and dress modestly in order to prevent temptation. “This entire concept of purdah is to avoid temptation, not everyone has the willpower to avoid it,” he added. His comments sparked an uproar on social media. Taking to Twitter, Khan’s ex-wife Jemima Goldsmith expressed disbelief and said that she hoped the remarks were a “misquotation” or “mistranslation”.

Jemima penned, “The Imran I knew used to say, ‘Put a veil on the man’s eyes not on the woman’.” In another tweet, the British filmmaker, who was married to Khan from 1995 to 2004, shared, “‘Say to the believing men that they restrain their eyes and guard their private parts.’ Quran 24:31. The onus is on men.” A user on the micro-blogging site, Hadeel Obaid noted, “Utterly disappointed but not the least bit surprised at the archaic stance IK took on rape. It’s hard enough being a woman in this country, we’ve seen how easily the victim is blamed and your PM just validated this backward thinking men have. We honestly deserve better than this.” Model-actor Rubya Chaudhry lamented, “Strongly condemn

@ImranKhanPTI’s recent views on rape culture. It’s scary that our PM would have such cringeworthy opinions on such a matter. I really hope he redeems himself.”