Supreme Court accepted the hearing of singer Meesha Shafi’s appeal against Lahore High Court's (LHC) decision in the sexual harassment case against singer Ali Zafar on Monday.
Shafi, 39, was granted leave by the court in her petition against Zafar, which means that the court will consider if her accusations of sexual harassment should come under the workplace harassment law.
Shafi's appeal was previously rejected by the LHC and Punjab ombudsperson in 2018 on the basis that her allegations did not come under the workplace harassment law and her plea was rejected on technical grounds.
However, after SC’ decision to approve the hearing, social media users were elated. The #MeToo supporters praised the decision, which can now finally be heard so a conclusive ruling may eventually be passed in the workplace harassment case
Shafi's lawyer Nighat Dad tweeted, "Supreme Court of Pakistan grants leave in @itsmeeshashafi case! Congrats to SC team Khuwaja Ahmad Hosain and @noorejazch. Granting leave to appeal means SC has accepted to hear the case on legal points whether Meesha falls under the jurisdiction of Sexual Harassment Act."
She further added that, "This also means that Harassment complaint was never heard on merits. Hats off to Meesha, Leena, legal teams who have been standing tall in the face of smear campaigns for the last two years. More power to all survivors of harassment who are still invisible and fighting for change."
Earlier, activist Sheema Kermani had also expressed her support for Shafi in her tweet as she wrote, "We the Artist community of Pakistan, specially the female artists of this country are aware of the misogyny that permeates all levels of our society and is highly prevalent in the Media and ShowBiz industry."
The #MeToo movement supporters and feminists also lauded the decision.
