Why we think its okay to judge women in power and the quality of their work on the basis of what they chose to wear. Recently, the news of Fawad Chaudhary making sexist remarks against the newly appointed Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar had been raging on Twitter.
The ex- Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting, unabashedly tweeted about Hina Rabbani’s ‘bags’ and ‘eye shades’, completely ignoring Hina Rabbani’s craft and her being the youngest person to have held the Foreign Minister position in Pakistan.
When you appoint a low IQ women whose only claim to fame is her Berkin bags and expensive eye shades such blunders ll become a norm, hope ll get rid of this lot sooner than later #ImportedGovernmentNamzanzoor pic.twitter.com/KCCkloO9kX
— Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) April 19, 2022
Not only this many consider her to be the Foreign Minister the country has so far had owing to her being articulate and her nuanced understanding of foreign policy. Still instead of critiquing her policies or work, FC decided to comment on her personal choices which came off as an unprofessional low blow.
However, this instance of women in power being subjected to sexism on the basis of their choices is not a first, and the phenomenon appears to be a relatively common one. Be it Hina Rabbani Khar, Shireen Mazari or Sherry Rehman almost all female professionals are frequently ridiculed personally, being subjected to behaviour where others downplay their achievements and work simply on the basis of their personal choices in terms of clothing, style, relationships or lifestyle. There needs to be an end to this absurdity!
