Pakistan's #MeToo movement hangs in the balance over celebrity case

MSN ^ | 1/1/2020 | Hannah Ellis-Petersen

[nickcarraway]

It takes a lot to rattle Leena Ghani. As an artist turned activist helping to raise the voices of Pakistan’s women, she has often fielded abuse, threats and harassment.

But when she learned, on a morning in late September, that police had charged her for criminal defamation, linked to Pakistan’s most high-profile #MeToo case, Ghani says she was shaken. “In terms of silencing and demonising people speaking out against sexual assault, it was a new low even for Pakistan,” she says.

Ghani was not alone. Eight others were also named in the case, facing three years in jail for criminal defamation. Some only learned of their involvement through a newspaper article.

[Cronos]

Leena is a brave woman,