It has been used as a springboard to stimulate a more inclusive, organic movement, adapted to local settings, and has aimed to reach all sectors, including the lowest rungs of society.
[3][6] In addition, clergy[8] charity and social welfare institutions, the judiciary, and Pakistani security establishments such as the police and military came under the spotlight of accusations.
[6] Christian sanitation workers, who often have inadequate training and safety equipment, often also face religious discrimination,[6][10] as do peasant women in Punjab pressing for land rights against military forces.
Nighat Dad heads the Digital Rights Foundation, which created 'Ab Aur Nahin' (Translation:Now, No more), a legal support framework for sexual harassment victims.
The platform provides working women and students with networks of counselors and pro-bono lawyers to assist them in fighting legal retaliation and misconduct.
[6] After the death of 7-year-old Zainab Ansari, who was raped and killed in January 2018, a wave of declarations began on Pakistan social media in the #MeToo style.
[3] New legislation in 2017, established that the punishment for sexual assault against a minor in Pakistan would result in 14 to 20 years in prison and a minimum fine of 1 million rupees.
[36] Former model Frieha Altaf and designer Maheem Khan shared stories of sexual abuse, and challenged Pakistan to be more proactive at stopping children from getting raped.
[3] Protests[37] marked the premieres of Teefa in Trouble in Karachi and Lahore by activists who boycotted the film over the sexual harassment allegations leveled against Ali Zafar by Meesha Shafi, as well as at least half a dozen other women, earlier in the year.
[40] A Pakistani law enforcement agency FIA has booked singer Meesha Shafi and eight others for allegedly staging a smear campaign against fellow singer-actor Ali Zafar, with a sexual harassment complaint under section 20 (1) of Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act 2016 and R/W 109-PPC.
[41][42] Using hashtags like #BoycottAliZafar, #BoycottTeefainTrouble, and #TeefaisTrouble, a wave of activists built momentum on social media before the movie's premiere and subsequent screenings.
A few major Pakistani media outlets ignored the demonstrations but others began covering stories when protestors turned up at cinemas and police and other law enforcement agencies got involved.
[49] Protestors showed up again at Lahore's CineStar to voice their anger and disappointment at both the promotion of the film of an alleged harasser and the celebrities pouring in to support him.
[52][53] The demonstrators' phones were also confiscated and the cinema's security allegedly tried to plant incriminating evidence in one of the protestors' bags in order to make their case appear stronger to police.
[5] Some observers in Pakistan see #MeToo as an import from the West aimed at harming Pakistani culture, destroying family values and exploiting women for a "foreign agenda".
Still others, like Pervez Musharraf, former Army Chief and President of Pakistan, have characterized victims as opportunists who used allegations of rape to secure visas and citizenship abroad.
This manifests in several ways, for example, when a woman from the Pakistan-Afghanistan border region who videoed threats by army personnel and claimed they made sexual overtures to her, she was ignored because no one was interested in battling with the powerful military.
When a #MeToo allegation was made against a media tycoon, his identity was initially shielded, and then the accusation was deflected as an attack on the newspaper Dawn for having been critical of the government.
The WDF is based in Lahore and includes members from the leftist Awami Workers Party[6] On the other hand, though social media and the internet have allowed women to speak, the platforms have also increased the amount of bullying and harassment they face on line.
[9][60] FIA's inadequate responses[7][28] and lack of access to regional offices for rural women, serve as barriers to the pursuit of legal action.
School officials were receptive and brought in other members to the team, which in 2018 resulted in a broad policy covering sexual harassment and misconduct, as well as intimidation, like bullying or cyber-stalking.
[9] The #MeToo movement sparked analysis by the Pakistani legal fraternity, who wrote media articles about the various laws governing sexual misconduct and their limitations.
When pressed by activist, Asma Jahangir, the Supreme Court of Pakistan directed federal and provincial legislatures to simplify the processes and strengthen protections in the existing codes dealing with sexual misconduct.