Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy, the only Pakistani to win two Oscar awards, is in the headlines once again, but not for winning awards.
Obaid Chinoy was severely criticised on social media in Pakistan since she tweeted about her sister’s encounter with an Aga Khan University (AKUH) doctor who added her on Facebook after treating her at the hospital.
She termed the incident ‘harassment’, saying that she will take action against it. Her remarks resulted in the doctor being fired reportedly and huge backlash for Chinoy.
Now, the Academy Award-winner has spoken up about the matter with a statement posted on Twitter.
Yesterday, she wrote: “My recent tweets about a doctor’s inappropriate behaviour has drawn much comment and controversy. The conversation has unfortunately steered far from the safety of women, unchecked unethical practices and harassment.”
She described her views on the matter as a poor choice of words. “Some of the words I used have disappointed people and I agree they were poorly chosen in a time of heated emotion,” she wrote.
She added, “My tweet about the wrong women in the wrong family was not meant to suggest a sense of privilege or power, what I meant to say was that the women in my family are strong and stand up for themselves and always have.”
When Obaid Chinoy termed the Facebook friend request from a stranger as a ‘harassment’ it sparked a debate on social media in Pakistan. Some people accused her for abusing her privilege as a known filmmaker and Oscar-winner while others continued to debate the definition of harassment.
Responding to Obaid Chinoy’s controversial tweets, Pakistani academic and columnist Ali Moeen Nawazish said: “People get requests on social media all the time. Sometimes it is for networking and sometimes you just want to stay in touch with the person.” He even asked: “What’s next, asking for a pen is harassment, asking for a tissue would be harassment?”
In her statement on Twitter, Obaid Chinoy clarified that she may have chosen the words wrongly but it was still harassment. “You may disagree with the manner in which I called the doctor’s behaviour, debate the boundaries of social media with medical profession and my form and tone of expression, but ultimately, what happened was a breach of trust and severe lack of a professional code of conduct that led to a woman feeling violated or harassed. And on that I will not stay silent,” she concluded.
The whole controversy began as Mahjabeen Obaid, Sharmeen Obaid’s sister, visited AKUH, Karachi for her treatment and received a friend request from the doctor who treated her. Obaid Chinoy posted a series of tweets regarding how he ‘harassed’ her sister, which led to an outcry on social media. The hospital however has refused to either confirm or deny the rumours that the doctor was fired.
Obaid Chinoy is Pakistan’s most eminent filmmaker who has made the country proud by bringing home two Oscars. She is a strong advocate of women empowerment and human rights.
