Imagine a female Pakistani actor going on air and reminiscing how she once cheated on her partner. Not only will she be ostracised in this modern ‘cancel culture’ but will also receive some ‘casual’ death threats. However, the consequences faced by a male actor are evidently rather lukewarm. With a hashtag trending for a few days pouring scorn on him, it gets brushed under the carpet.
In the past, we have seen the renowned actor Nauman Ijaz boasting about his extramarital affairs on a talk show. In fact, he even gloated about how ‘cleverly’ he hid them from his wife. Such crass comments coming from a senior and accomplished actor were not only insensitive but also very demeaning for his wife. But his audacity was unmatched.
At the risk of sounding misandrist, this is the reality of our society wherein men shamelessly admit to cheating on their partner, and then go on to normalize it. Perhaps, unfaithfulness is deeply ingrained in men. Considering how often you see it in movies and TV shows, the concept of cheating on your partner has become rather normalized, reflecting the true picture of men around us.
Speaking of influencers aka actors openly talking about infidelity publicly, just recently the Jawani Phir Nahi Ani actor Ahmed Ali Butt revealed how his wife caught him ‘red-handedly’. That too, not just once but twice. Unlike Ijaz who confessed to ‘falling in love with several women’ and managing to get away with it, Butt talked about how his wife caught him cheating twice by discovering old texts on his phone.
If audacity had a face!
Recently, the former EP rapper made an appearance at a local celebrity talk show with Vasay Chaudhry. “She [Fatima Khan, his wife] usually catches me,” he laughed. “Red-handed. I’ve been caught red-handed twice.” To this, Chaudhry asked, “Doing what?” and Butt replied, “I won’t tell you that!”
“It’s better to clarify before you are caught in a very Naumaan Ijaz moment,” Chaudhry pinned. The rapper then shared, “I don’t think that would happen cause I never stare at other women. But I had these old messages on my phone that she [my wife] saw.”
Since Butt has known his wife for more than 20 years, Chaudhry believed that the messages had to be really old.
We delight in censuring women who do not dress the way a ‘good’ woman dresses. One cannot even fathom how bizarre the consequences would be if a woman rehashes her instances of cheating on camera.
While a woman is always held accountable for her deeds, culpable men remain on the loose. The problem in itself speaks volumes about how misogyny persists in our society; be it intentionally or unintentionally.
What do you think of this story? Let us know in the comments section below.
