![\"Pakistan](\"https:\/\/www.pakistanpressfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/pakistan-radio-show-confronts-endemic-ogling-of-women-1477600148-3646-200x200.jpg\" "\\"Pakistan")
ISLAMABAD – For many women in Pakistan, the simple act of leaving the house can be uncomfortable, even intimidating – the probing gaze of the opposite sex is never far away.<\/p>\n
Fed-up with the constant unwanted attention, broadcaster Anila Ansari decided to bring the touchy subjects of harassment to the airwaves, by launching an \u201canti-ogling campaign\u201d on her national radio show.<\/p>\n
The idea – unprecedented in this conservative Muslim country where misogyny is often legitimised by hardline clerics – came to her at the start of the year when she returned to her country after living for two decades in Great Britain.<\/p>\n
Everywhere she went in public spaces, she felt endlessly intimidated by the male gaze – and found she was far from alone. \u201cI went to different offices, restaurants: everywhere I went I could see these eyes following me,\u201d she told AFP from the Radio99 office located in the centre of Islamabad.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo I came to my office and started asking my female colleagues and said \u2018Is it just me or do you experience that as well?\u2019, and every woman I spoke with said \u2018Oh don\u2019t even talk about it, it\u2019s so endemic.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
When it came to the men, though, many didn\u2019t even realise there was a problem.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey either laugh it off or they get really upset or even annoyed,\u201d she explained, adding that some even blamed women for encouraging such attention by their choice of outfit or make-up.<\/p>\n
Ansari says she launched the campaign to highlight \u201chow it impacts on a woman\u2019s mental health and well being and even her opportunities, academic or employment opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n
And her radio station, which claims a listenership of up to 25 million across the country, backed the idea.<\/p>\n
As part of the campaign, she hosts regular debates on the subject encouraging listeners to call in. She also makes proclamations to underline her point such as: \u201cYou wouldn\u2019t like it if someone was staring at your sister!\u201d<\/p>\n
Najib Ahmed, the radio\u2019s director, said he the project had his full support from the outset.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn our country we put these kind of issues under the carpet, we don\u2019t discuss them,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is the basis of everything, the basis of the economy, the women go out of their home and if (women) are not comfortable they won\u2019t be able to do their jobs properly with their other colleagues.\u201d<\/p>\n
One afternoon in September, Anila and her colleagues gathered on the pavement outside Radio99\u2019s headquarters to spread their message on the streets. Journalists handed out leaflets and made speeches. \u201cSay no to staring. It\u2019s unethnical!\u201d shouted one of the DJs.<\/p>\n
Sana Jaffry, a young woman wearing a pink hijab and sunglasses, said the project had her support, adding she too suffers from daily ogling by men on her way to work. \u201cThese men who keep their sisters locked up at home, why do they stare at others?\u201d she said. \u201cThey need to appreciate that women who go out are also respectable.\u201d<\/p>\n
Radio99\u2019s campaign is a \u201cfirst step\u201d she says. But, to truly change things, \u201cthe matter will have to be taken up by the government\u201d.<\/p>\n
Nearby, Ayyan Ali, a young man dressed in traditional garb, is far from convinced.<\/p>\n
Girls, he says \u201care the honour of their parents\u201d. If they don\u2019t wear the burqa or clothes that completely cover the body, \u201cthey can\u2019t complain if someone is staring at them\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf they go out in the street in inappropriate clothes, we can\u2019t help ourselves,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n
According to Ali, most men share his views. \u201cNobody has come out for this campaign,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone is watching the journalists from head to toe. Nobody is looking at them with good intentions because they are not covered properly.\u201d<\/p>\n
Women in Pakistan face huge discrimination in all aspects of their lives, with the country ranking 144 out of 145 on the World Economic Forum\u2019s 2015 Gender Gap report.<\/p>\n
Ansari hopes her show can open the door for discussions on other issues facing women and girls such as honour killing, forced marriages, and child brides.<\/p>\n
For lawyer and feminist Rafia Zakaria, the issue of harassment brings to the fore the place of women in a profoundly patriarchal society. Staring is an act of intimidation aimed at \u201cpushing women out of the public sphere,\u201d she said, adding that the aim has been validated by the clergy.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey believe wrongly that it is required by Islam, Zakaria said.<\/p>\n
She urged women to take out their phones and record evidence to shame men who ogle and harass. Zakaria explained: \u201cWhen this form of harassment is made visible and is debated, moral pressure is created to stop it.\u201d<\/p>\n