This year’s Hum Style Awards came under scrutiny for far more than its fashion — many people weren’t on board with the idea of having Ali Zafar hosting the show given that he is currently embroiled in a legal battle over his alleged sexual harassment of Meesha Shafi. Footballer Hajra Khan says his presence made her feel unsafe.
She spoke to Arab News about her experience attending the show and said she felt “terrified” because there were too many people there.
“But I feel good that public events are opening up and we can finally go out,” she said, expressing her hope that Pakistanis were following SOPs and being responsible during the Covid pandemic. She added that this was her second nomination and she was “looking most forward to feeling good” without the pressure of winning. “That was my goal tonight,” she said.
However, referring to the video later on her social media, the football champ revealed why she said she was terrified at the show.
“Why was I terrified? Because not only was there an alleged sexual harasser at the vicinity, but he was also hosting the show!” she exclaimed, referring to Zafar.
She wasn’t the only one who didn’t approve of the host — Meesha Shafi took to Twitter to slam the awards and management for enabling alleged harassers and giving them space and fans were furious on Twitter too.
With a great platform comes an even greater responsibility and the Hum Style Awards needs to acknowledge that. Khan might have been the only guest so far to say this but there were definitely more people like her at the show.
