Iffat Omar & others criticize PLF for including Ali Zafar as panelist

• Iffat Omar has criticised PLF for including Ali Zafar on a panel.
• Leena Ghani, an activist and makeup artist, also commented on the issue.
• In 2020 Alhamara declined Aurat March’s request.

Iffat Omar, a famous Pakistani feminist, has criticised the Pakistan Literature Festival for including Ali Zafar on a panel to discuss acting with Yasir Hussain.
Leena Ghani, an activist and makeup artist, tweeted the Alhamra notice on her social media pages and disclosed that the group had previously rejected Aurat March’s request to hold an event on their property because the march “was too contentious and had a terrible image.”

“In 2020 Alhamara declined Aurat March’s request to let them use the Alhamara grounds for their event because Aurat March was “too controversial and had a negative image”. Yet they have no issues when a sexual harasser is invited? Is he not controversial with a negative image?!” she wrote.

In 2020 Alhamara declined Aurat March’s request to let them use the Alhamara grounds for their event because Aurat March was “too controversial and had a negative image”.

Yet they have no issues when a sexual harasser is invited? Is he not controversial with a negative image?! https://t.co/SGOjnqEXNk

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— leena (@Leena_Ghani) February 10, 2023

In 2020 Alhamara declined Aurat March’s request to let them use the Alhamara grounds for their event because Aurat March was “too controversial and had a negative image”.

Yet they have no issues when a sexual harasser is invited? Is he not controversial with a negative image?! https://t.co/SGOjnqEXNk

— leena (@Leena_Ghani) February 10, 2023

On Twitter, some other women have also criticised Hussain for collaborating with an accused harasser while praising his wife, Iqra Aziz, for declining to participate in a play with one.

Yassir hussain has such “Did you really just call my feminism performative when you know i own a LILAC iphone 12 mini” energy. https://t.co/5hZDqpkISL

— Soha (@SoA241) February 10, 2023

Wife denied doing drama with a domestic abuser but husband is moderating a session with an alleged harasser.

Isn’t it cute? https://t.co/sl3eLJKykW

— Bano (@BanoBee) February 11, 2023

Iffat Omar, an actress and model, also expressed her displeasure on Twitter, saying that she had been eager to deliver a talk at the event but had decided to withdraw out after learning about the panel’s accused harasser.

پاکستان لٹریچرفیسٹول،لاہور کاشکریہ جنہوں نےآج ایک ڈسکشن میں بطورماڈریٹر مدعو کررکھاہے۔ایکسائٹڈبھی تھی لیکن علم ہوا کہ #PLF نےایک مبینہ ہریسر کوبھی ایونٹ کاحصہ بنایاہے۔میں ایک Alleged Harasser کےساتھ پلیٹ فورم شئیرنہیں کرسکتی اس لیےبائیکاٹ کرتی ہوں۔ @ACPKHI #harassment #Boycott

— Iffat Omar Official (@OmarIffat) February 11, 2023

Women have also complained that this year’s panels did not feature any female authors. The PLF organisers came under fire from editor and novelist Mehr Husayn on Twitter after she pointed out that no recent authors were on the roster.

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Ya Ali Maddad!!!

I cannot help but marvel at the staggering disconnect the old guard has with modern Pakistan. Case in point. Not ONE recent author in this. Do better @ACPKHI I expected @thebankofpunjab to do their research. Where are the new authors?? Fresh female writers?? https://t.co/htz6D9dhPP

— Mehr Husain (@mfhusayn) February 10, 2023

Husain posted a list of female authors who had novels published in the previous year. He then called out the event’s main organiser for not including the voices of female authors who were just starting out in the publishing world.

Why don’t you have Sonya Rehman who churned out TWO books, one on Pakistani craft and one for children? @thebankofpunjab @ACPKHIhttps://t.co/HtL0MTCXgn

— Mehr Husain (@mfhusayn) February 10, 2023

PLF 2023, which is currently taking place in Lahore, is being directed by a group of the nation’s most gifted intellectuals and artists. The three-day festival explores a wide range of important subjects, including the economy, education, art, and more.

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