Pakistani Celebs Are Boycotting Lux Style Awards 2019 For Including A Nominee Who’s Been Accused Of Sexual Misconduct & More Power To These Brave Souls!

It all started earlier this month when a renowned Pakistani model, Eman Suleman, took to Instagram to withdraw her name from the nominations at Lux Style Awards 2019 on the account of inclusion of an actor in the nominees who’s been accused of sexual misconduct.

Read:#MeToo: Punjab Government Dismisses A Senior Official After Sexual Misconduct Proved

This brave decision of Eman’s was not only received with immense respect from fellow Pakistanis but also kickstarted a movement wherein big brands and famous Pakistani celebrities came together to boycott Lux Style Awards 2019.

A famous Pakistani clothing brand, GENERATIONS, tweeted THIS while sharing their decision of not attending LSA 2019!!!

In a joint press release with GENERATIONS, Saima Bargfrede who is a top-of-her-game make-up artist and another nominee in the awards, expressed her solidarity with the harassment survivors along with withdrawing her name.

Read: #MeToo: The Case Of Sarmad Sehbai And Tubbo Khan And The Silence Of Mainstream Media

Following this, Meesha Shafi, the actress that came out with her #MeToo story against the same actor who’s been accused of sexual misconduct by multiple women issued a statement, highlighting the irony and turning down the LSA nomination of her song, “Mein.”

Soon after, love and support started pouring in from Pakistanis all over the internet and within 24 hours, 2 more nominees took to Twitter to announce their withdrawal from LSA 2019.

Jami, an award winning filmmaker, also registered his protest against the inclusion of an alleged harasser by leaving his LSA trophy on the road.

Pakistani Twitterati and other media person also came forward to express their solidarity with the survivors and call out Lux Style Awards for failing to create a safer working environment for the women in the industry.

Unlike the worldwide #MeToo campaign that shook industries as big as Hollywood and Bollywood with career ending consequences being written in the fate of the accused, celebrities accused of sexual harassment in Pakistan entertainment industry continue to enjoy the same privilege and respect.

This lack of accountability stems from deep-rooted patriarchal and misogynist values in our society that continue to put the shame and the blame with the survivor instead of the predator.

True, no one should be declared guilty until proven! However, this indifference to the brave voices that mustered up the courage of sharing their #MeToo stories against all the odds will only go on to discourage other survivors from outing their sinners.

Read:#MeToo: New Screenshots Of Junaid Akram’s Inappropriate Chat With A Fan Surface!

Given this, Pakistani celebrities coming together to boycott a platform that felt no shame in nominating an alleged harasser is indeed a welcoming notion and thus, must be supported at all levels possible if we wish to see a safer future for our women!