ISLAMABAD: The debate in National Assembly session today (Thursday) diverted when the Leader of the Opposition passed a prejudiced remark on female members of the House, ARY News reported.
He was addressing the house when Speaker National Assembly Ayaz Sadiq, over continuous chatter, asked women lawmakers either to be silent during the session or go outside the house.
In response to the Speaker’s remarks, the opposition leader Khursheed Shah said, “don’t stop them, these women fall ill if they do not talk.”
His remark enraged the female members of the house.
Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) member Nafisa Shah said that she would stage a protest over pointing out women only as men members were also engaged in conversation. Nafisa Shah asked the speaker why he stopped women only.
The speaker replied that she could not challenge the chair.
Following the session, tweets of Aseefa Bhutto Zardari surfaced asking the opposition leader Khursheed Shah, affiliated with her PPP, to apologise for his offensive remarks. “Such remarks against women are intolerable”, she said in her tweet by terming it derogatory.
Far too many times this has happend. Insensitive remarks against women in politics have reoccured in Parliament 1/2
— Aseefa B Zardari (@AseefaBZ) April 13, 2017
Such remarks should not be tolerated. Hope Khurshid Shah respectfully apologises 2/2
— Aseefa B Zardari (@AseefaBZ) April 13, 2017
