WEB TABLE: Social media influencer and Tiktoker, Imsha Rehman, has been a hot topic in the country for many days now, after an allegedly obscene video went viral on various platforms.
The video was widely shared on WhatsApp and other popular social networks across Pakistan, forcing the Tiktoker to delete all her social media accounts.
Read more: The video circulating online is ‘fake’, TikToker Minahil Malik clarifies
Even though days have passed since the leak occurred, the public continues to share the video and obsess over the details. The obsession with what women do in their private lives really begs the question: what are the priorities of a country supposedly suffering from a crippling economic and political crisis?
By all accounts, Pakistan is one of the worst places to be a woman. From the skewed reading rate (reading rate is 58% for women compared to 70% for men), to widespread child marriage among young girls (21%, according to UNICEF).
According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report, Pakistan is ranked 153 out of 156 countries for “Worst Place to be a Woman”. This includes being denied basic rights to economic participation, educational attainment, health, and even political empowerment.
And that’s not all! The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan reported in 2020 that at least 475 women were honor killed in one year. Women exercising their basic rights to marry whom they want is considered a justification for the taking of their lives by their male relatives in this country.
The World Bank similarly reported in 2021 that women’s labor force participation rate in Pakistan was only 22%. Barriers include cultural norms, lack of access to education, and limited employment opportunities. Without an independent source of income and completely financially dependent on their husbands, few women can escape physical and sexual abuse.
With such harsh conditions, what makes a public of 240 million people obsessed with a TikToker’s video?
While Imsha Rehman’s fans defended her, the vast majority blamed the victim of a possible deepfake (fake video created using artificial intelligence or AI for short). Release the video yourself for ‘cheap publicity’!
This begs the question, what do these women have to gain other than public criticism, ridicule and outright abuse in a conservative, patriarchal society like Pakistan?
Rabi Pirzada’s entire career was completely ruined when her personal pictures were leaked.
Most importantly, why did a Tiktoker’s viral video leak focus on more than the extremely depraved, horrifying news of a pregnant teenager being burned and dismembered by her in-laws?
The gruesome incident took place in Daska, in Sialkot district. Her remains were later discovered in three different sacks stuffed inside the sewer.
She was pregnant at the time of her brutal murder and was the mother of a three-year-old child.
Why do cases of brutality against women barely make any impression on the minds of Pakistanis, are hardly reported by news agencies or social media, but there is a viral video (possibly is fake) by Tiktoker, Imsha Rehman, then yes?
Imsha was forced to deactivate her TikTok and Instagram accounts. A screenshot of her TikTok profile – also widely shared online – read, “Jab tak good viral video[,] maine ID off kar di hai” (Until the video went viral, I deactivated my account).
She’s also not the first woman to fall victim to a deepfake or have her personal life leaked online. Fellow TikToker Minahil Malik faced a similar privacy breach earlier this year.
Both women, despite being victims of a horrific crime, were accused by the public of deliberately staging the incident to attract attention and expand their social media following. their.
A female victim of rape was accused of committing it herself or of deliberately staging it (!) to attract public attention. Why doesn’t anyone ask what kind of publicity women can ‘enjoy’ in a country where they will be abused and condemned?
Time and again, we have seen women’s careers or lives ruined by deepfakes or leaked personal images. Why is the finger always pointed at the victim and not the perpetrator?
Why is there so little scrutiny of why women have to endure humiliating leaks/deepfakes and why perpetrators are allowed to act with impunity? Why is there a primary focus on directing abuse and criticizing the victims – mainly women – instead of pursuing justice against those who create and distribute such disgusting content? Or people who leak someone’s personal pictures?
Imsha’s tragedy sheds light on deeply disturbing trends in Pakistan: society’s hypocritical attitudes towards women in this highly patriarchal society, the lack of accountability of perpetrators and the lack of justice for the victims.
Read more: Pashto poet Mujib Zalmay ‘rejects’ obscene video as an AI hoax
What does this reflect about a society that treats its women so horribly? The worrying prevalence of deepfakes targeting women or leaking their personal images not only highlights their vulnerability in online spaces but also reflects a broader cultural bigger.
Are women considered human enough to deserve basic decency in this society? When will we start treating women as human beings worthy of respect and treatment like men?