In a world full of moral policing and the constant battle between right and wrong, we get introduced to the newly-appointed Assistant Commissioner (AC) of North Nazimbad Karachi, Hazim Bangwar. The 29-year-old, commonly known as the ‘cool’ commissioner, has been called out for ‘imitating women’ as he carries himself in a certain way and because of his unique fashion sense, while others have been classifying him as transgender or even female.
Bangwar is nothing like what one expects a bureaucrat in Pakistan to be like. Bureaucrats are generally considered serious and sober people who follow a particular dress code. Our mental image of a government servant is a man or a woman wearing spectacles, shalwar kameez or perhaps sunglasses. Some of the older lot wear smart suits with perfect ties.
And here comes Bangwar, a breath of fresh air who defies the rules, looking like the most unconventional Assistant Commissioner in the country.
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Bangwar does not fit the bill of a traditional AC. This uber cool AC deviates from our conventional idea of masculinity and that is what people can’t digest. So we are forced to ask: why are we so scared of people who aren’t afraid to be different? Many people shared an alleged screenshot of a Twitter post supposedly made by Hazim in August 2018 that featured a rainbow flag with the tweet, “Happy Pride Month”. Hazim assured a news outlet that the post is “fake”. No such tweet can be found on Hazim’s official Twitter handle either.
Where many were ready to rebuke him for his fashion sense and choice of living differently, there were others who said Bangwar was the change we all need. Many came out in support of the 29-year-old AC for his hard work and being a compassionate officer.
Bangwar recently said that he can be judged by his work but whatever he does in his personal life has no bearing on his professional one. Nonetheless, the AC is being trolled online for allegedly being a transgender. Addressing the issue, he said that he is not a transgender but a male. However, the urge that people have shown to call him out as a woman or a transgender are rather offensive. One wonders: Is being a woman terrible? Or is being a third gender bad?
In a world ready to put down people for being different, may we all learn to be unique and live our lives whichever way we like. Bangwar, through his unapologetically cool self, taught us that society and people need to change. Not you. Never you. Way to go, Bangwar!
