PEMRA

• IHC has ordered the lifting of the suspension on drama ‘Hadsa.’
• Legal expert Reema Omar shared a portion of the court’s judgment.
• Hadiqa Kiani released a lengthy statement on her social media accounts.

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has issued a verdict instructing the revocation of the suspension imposed on the controversial drama series ‘Hadsa.’ This series had previously been banned by the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) after it was accused by the motorway rape survivor of exploiting her traumatic experience. Legal expert Reema Omar shared a portion of the judgment on her Twitter account, emphasizing that the regulatory board had not listened to the creators of the drama before imposing the ban:

IHC has suspended PEMRA’s order banning #Hadsa

Court says drama can be aired provided the r*pe scene in episode 5 isn’t “repeated/broadcasted in any manner in the subsequent episodes” pic.twitter.com/kRPwHWSazI

— Reema Omer (@reema_omer) September 18, 2023

“The inconvenience experienced by the applicant/appellant side, along with their irreparable loss, is evident, and all these factors compel this Court to issue the injunctive order.”

The judgment also stipulated that the explicit scene in question, the controversial gang rape depicted in Episode 5, should not be replicated or broadcasted in future episodes. The controversy surrounding ‘Hadsa’ originated in August when journalist Fareeha Idrees shared an account of her conversation with the survivor, who revealed that she had not been consulted by the show’s producers before airing the controversial scene and requested assistance from authorities in removing the drama.

When the phone rang, I never expected this to be Z’s call. Z was the person whom I had spoken to a couple of years ago post her traumatic experience on motorway. Those were tumultuous times when everyone’s attention was focused on Z, while she was grappling to keep her sanity…

— Fereeha M Idrees (@Fereeha) August 27, 2023

“They have made a drama on my life,” Fereeha tweeted Z had told her. “As if I am nothing, no one asked me, it’s the same, they are showing the same things, oh my God! Why didn’t I die before reliving this again? You know, I didn’t sleep after the incident for many, many nights, and it’s all back now. I haven’t slept a wink since I saw this terrible, horrendous depiction of the most terrible moments of my life, which I so want to forget. It’s unbearable; I start shivering every day at 5 pm because I know the drama is coming at 7 pm. Why are they doing this to me?.”

Hadiqa Kiani released a lengthy statement on her social media accounts addressing the accusation, stating that after consulting with the scriptwriter and the rest of the team, she was certain that the drama was not based on the motorway rape survivor:

“When I was asked to play the role of Taskeen for Hadsa, my first question was, ‘Is this related to the motorway incident?’ ‘Is this based on a true incident?’ – I made it clear that I would not be part of the project if it was based on anyone’s story. The team behind the project explicitly told me ‘No.’ After many discussions with the team and only after reading the script did I understand that Hadsa was not connected to or based on the motorway story.”

Director Wajahat Rauf responded to the criticism by asserting that the drama was not centered on the life of the motorway survivor and that the screenplay aimed to raise awareness about the experiences of rape survivors:

“The drama is not based on the motorway incident. The main character, her husband, her three children, the family dynamics, the police officers investigating the crime, the motive behind the crime, and the trial are all fictional. The only common element is that the incident occurred on a highway.”

“The last thing we would want to do is be insensitive to someone who has been a victim of this brutal crime. It is our opinion that it would be far more insensitive to the victims if we did not adopt a condemnation tone; in that case, one might argue that we are not at all familiar with the trauma that a rape victim goes through.”

“Our writer did speak to actual victims who were willing to talk about their trauma and how they eventually coped with it, and that is what is reflected in the play. A character should be judged after seeing her entire role. Judgement shouldn’t be passed based on a glimpse of social media posts. Writers and directors can show temporary weakness to demonstrate the long-term strength of a character that develops.”

On August 31, PEMRA issued a statement announcing the ban on ‘Hadsa.’

pic.twitter.com/P15BF1rddy

— Report PEMRA (@reportpemra) August 30, 2023

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