PEMRA fines private channel for airing ‘derogatory’ remarks against Nida Dar

The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) has imposed a fine of Rs.200,000 on TV channel Neo News for airing “insensitive, demeaning, derogatory, and hateful” comments by former cricketer Abdul Razzaq.

The incident took place on October 6 in a programme called “G Sarkar with Nauman Ijaz” where Abdul Razzaq made sexist comments on women’s cricket player Nida Dar’s appearance. The clip, which went viral on social media, showed Razzaq claiming that Nida looks more like a man than a woman.

The clips made rounds on social media and caught attention of the left wing, which meant a world of pain for not only the cricketer but also the TV channel which allowed this content to be aired in the first place.

Following the outrage, renowned Tennis player Aisamul Haq Qureshi filed a formal complaint with PEMRA’s Council of Complaint, seeking action against the Neo News management.

The complaint registered with PEMRA also states that the female anchor of the show also “degrades and shames the career adopted by the female cricketers, expressly stating that female cricketers mostly leave cricket when they get married”.

The Council of Complaint took strong notice of the matter and deduced that the aforementioned comments were a “generalisation that leads to blatant discrimination against female gender”. The council came to a conclusion that Abdul Razzaq’s comments were “implying a presupposed notion that cricket is only for boys who define the muscular nature of the sports”.

Although Razzaq’s comments do not eradicate the amount of progress the women’s cricket has made in the past years, but it does take away a lot of it from the game. This is also something the council recognised early on.

Another incident quoted, by the council, was when the female host questioned Nida over long hair for cricketers, “The female host is insinuating that short hair is too masculine and that women cricketers are somewhat an anomaly,” it stated. 

The council also noted that women have struggled with attaining the same status as men on the field. Albeit the reasons are not related to sports but the ramifications of “outdated and misogynistic” comments are unparalleled. 

“This attitude demonstrates how widely accepted the belief is that men are more entitled to behave misogynistically than women are entitled not to be treated hatefully,” it said.

In addition to the fine, the TV channel was also directed to issue a public apology to the complainant and women as whole.