Khawaja Asif's remarks reflect ingrained attitudes in Pakistan society, but women are pushing back.
By Saher BalochWhen Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Asif stood up in parliament last week and labelled female opposition leaders in the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf party as "trash and leftovers" of its chairman Imran Khan, he probably wasn't expecting the strength of the backlash that was to follow.
It was also not the first time Mr Asif had expressed such sentiments in parliament. In an earlier joint session, the 73-year-old called former federal minister Sheerin Mazari, a "tractor trolley" - a crude reference to her weight. Mr Asif eventually took to Twitter to claim that his comments were "taken out of context" and that "calling someone 'trash' and 'leftover' is not gender-specific". But he did not apologise."Some years ago, there would not have been such an outcry, and he would not be required to give any kind of response or explanation," she says.
"Pakistani society has not accepted a woman as an individual, a human or to give her the right to live the way she deserves," says actor and activist Adeel Afzal.
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