The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) has fined news channel Neo News Rs 200,000 for airing “insensitive, degrading, insulting, and nasty” remarks by Abdul Razzaq, Dawn has reported.
The complaint was filed by tennis player Aisamul Haq Qureshi with Pemra’s Council of Complaints through Barrister Khadija Siddiqi.
As per Pemra’s order the complaint filed said the female host on the show also “degrades and shames the career adopted by female cricketers, expressly stating that female cricketers mostly leave cricket when they get married”.
The Council of Complaints also observed that the comment on women leaving cricket after marriage was a “generalisation” that “leads to blatant discrimination against female gender”. The female host is insinuating that short hair is too masculine and that women cricketers are somewhat an anomaly,” the council said.
Razzaq was “implying a presupposed notion that cricket is a sport only meant for boys, who define the masculine nature of the sport,” the council said.
Earlier, this year in July, Abdul Razzaq and Nida Dar appeared in NEO TV’s program in which, one of the members interrupted Dar while she was talking about her profession and said that women cricketers leave their profession and get married.
Abdul Razzaq was quick to jump in, saying, “Oh, they don’t get married.” “Aap inko hath mila kay dekh lein, yeh larki to nahi lagtein,” said Razzaq. (If you shake her [Dar’s] hand, she is anything but feminine). The video clip went viral on social media and Abdul Razzaq faced backlash for his comments.
