#MaulanaSlapsWoman: Was The Woman A Victim Entirely?

While the newsroom scuffle has earned Maulana Qasmi a lot of flak, we cannot say that lawyer Farah Faiz is entirely innocent. When a debate over Triple Talaq between Maulana Ejaz Arshad Qasmi and Supreme Court lawyer Farah Faiz during a live television debate got out of hands, no one thought it would lead to a fist fight on live news.

Maulana Qasmi’s actions are indeed deplorable, but if we view the video of the scuffle closely, it becomes clear that Faiz hit him first. Thus, despite being a victim of assault here, can we say that Faiz is completely innocent?

Seriously, this is how you treat a woman? If you can hit someone on national television, band kamre ke andar kya kya karega.
P.S. In case you're wondering why she hit him first, he verbally abused her. #MaulanaSlapsWoman #ZeeHindustan #TrippleTalaq @ZeeHindustan pic.twitter.com/vw0zYvVUF3

— Anusha Pathak (@ConfusedS0ul) July 17, 2018

Some people are also saying that verbal abuse from Maulana provoked Faiz to hit him. But alas, the truth is that Faiz raised her hand first. And must not just overlook her actions because she is a woman.

We cannot discuss violence on the basis of gender

One thing is clear from the clip, that Qasmi behaved like an untamed animal. It was wrong of him to abuse Faiz verbally and physically. He is indeed responsible for converting a debate into an argument by using strong language against Faiz. The way he repeatedly and aggressively hits Faiz is also disturbing and must earn him strict consequences.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Maulana Ejaz Arshad Qasmi and Supreme Court lawyer Farah Faiz were invited to debate on Triple Talaq on a news channel when their argument got out of hands.
• While Qasmi can be seen physically attacking Faiz repeatedly, it was the latter who raised her hand first.
• Should we overlook Faiz’s violent behaviour just because she is a woman?
• Qasmi does deserve to face consequences of his actions, but Faiz is not a victim here entirely.

It would be unfair to dump the blame of violent behaviour solely on Qasmi when you can actually see the woman raise her hand first. The man is rightly facing a lot of flak on social media for what he did, but not many are talking about how Faiz’s behaviour was wrong as well. Despite being a lawyer herself, she led provocation from Qasmi to get the best of her. If Qasmi was indeed using inappropriate language against her, then she should have known better to not let it get to her.

As a supreme court lawyer, Faiz could have created a lot of trouble for Qasmi, solely for his verbal misconduct.

But instead of holding back, she gave into emotions and slapped him. We cannot simply ignore the violent behaviour of a woman, because of her gender. Had this incident happened between two men or two women, we wouldn’t be viewing it from a gendered lens. Then why do so now?

It is equally important to condemn an inappropriate behaviour even if it is from a woman, because not doing so only makes the case of gender equality weak.

The definition of right and wrong mustn’t be subjective. Whatever behaviour is considered wrong for men, is wrong for women too because that is what equality actually stands for. On the whole, both Qasmi and Faiz should feel remorseful for their actions. They degraded news on Indian television to a new low, beyond Maut ka bathtub and the horrendously loud arguments we try to pass on as debates.

Both must face criticism for losing their temper and taking a debate so personally. This was a television show, not a tussle of egos. And though Qasmi does deserve major part of this criticism, Faiz is not a complete victim herself. What happened to her was very wrong. But the way she chose to retaliate wasn’t right either.

Picture Credit : DNA India

Also Read : Sabarimala Row: “What Applies To Men, Applies To Women,” CJI

Yamini Pustake Bhalerao is a writer with the SheThePeople team, in the Opinions section. The views expressed are the author’s own.