Deepika Padukone Bold Ad Sparks Criticism

Deepika Padukone has come under fire for making a short film on women empowerment. It is a very bold video that portrays the strong image of women especially in India. The increasing number of rape cases has already put the status of women in jeopardy and Indian films have a direct role play in this rape epidemic. 

When you keep flooding your films with sexually explicit scenes and images, it is not going to go down well with country that is conventional. The sense of security among female in India has long gone. They cannot roam the city streets without the male chaplain or there will be always the threat of getting raped by the wandering men. 

However, there is something good coming out of this. People are now calling for an end to this epidemic. People are being educated on how to view women and that they are a symbol of respect and not merely a object of desire for men. 

This ad seeks to convey that message. In my opinion, this is another extreme. Women should be free with their choices but there should be some sense of guiding principles and value system. 

It is the religious and social values that matter the most and determine the roles and women in the society. Plus, there seems to be no choice for a woman to wear hijab. If a woman is free to do anything out of her will, what's the issue with wearing hijab? 

The ad has been met with criticism because India is still struggling to give women the absolute freedom. It has not materialized in first world countries like America and England, let alone India. I guess India has a long way to go. 

But the root of rape epidemic should be first addressed. Taking another extreme to counter the other will not work well in my opinion. People are making fun of India and there is a great dichotomy between what's seen on the TV and films and that real life treatment of women in the country. 

However, it is a very bold and strong ad. I was sure there would be reaction after this since the country is not willing to give women freedom they seek. In her own capacity, it is a great effort to campaign for freedom of women in India at large.   

Altaf Hussain, media and Imran Khan's PTI

By Shuja Saleem
Over the next few months, I’ll be covering a series of posts on the political friction that has taken the news media by storm, and anchors and channel hosts are coming up with controversial subjects that have nothing to do with the betterment of Pakistan. These posts aren’t intended as an introduction for our political class who obviously don’t really know anything about how to give a better life to the public— if that’s what we are looking for, you should read Javed Chauhdry's coloumns and Doctor Shahid Masood's sensational talk shows or even worse Mubashir Luqman's never-ending rants on ARY News. This is enough I guess. 

Last night, I happened to watch a news TV show where Ataf Hussain, leader of MQM, sounded as furious as ever and he was expressing his anger over Imran Khan. The media is happy to sell sensationalism, and when it comes to drawing attention, nobody beats Altaf Hussain and things related to MQM (though it is a Sindh-based party having limited vote support in the country, yet still they get the most air-time and get away with everything they do).

The news is worth discussing and we can spend hours talking about what made Altaf bhai furious and what the media can do to calm him down. Sitting in London and listening to the abuse is tough for Altaf Hussain and lately he has developed a habit of listening to criticism without blowing his top, hasn't he? He still flips now and then and the last victim was Kahsif Abbasi who was brazen enough to argue about why some of the Rabta Committee members don't bother to visit the channels' office to attend talk shows, even though they are invited multiple times. Lol. 

Arguments over who owns Karachi and who is enemy of peace tend to be highly contentious, and MQM has long been able to get enough support from the very political parties that usually blame it for terrorism and crime in the Karachi. 

The media, nowadays, has found a new topic to talk about: Yemen crisis and offensive led by Saudi Arabia. On one side, advocates of Saudi operation clean-up againdt Houthi rebels warn that we are at risk of a “widespread sectarian clashes” in which the entire Middle East, Iran and Pakistan could be sucked in and their economy seriously hurt by battles and money spent on weapons and other resources.