I had the misfortune of watching a few snippets from a Nadir Ali podcast with Behroze Sabzwari in which he issued special instructions for women on motorcycles.

This is the transcript of the edited video tweeted by Galaxy Lollywood:

BS: How is everyone going to get/afford a car? They take all their kids on it. Some women wear clothes [while on the motorcycle], which are not appropriate…

Host: See-through

BS: See-through and tight!

Host: Tight as well.

BS: You know, right. It’s wrong.

Host: Absolutely. It’s totally wrong. You know, I…

BS: It’s how they’re trained at home.

Host: This shamelessness, it’s really… a major point. Esteemed audience, this point that Behroze bhai has raised… these women who sit on the bikes, and what all shows.

BS: They have wrapped themselves [in chadors]

Host: What’s that?

BS: They’ve covered themselves

Host: Oh yeah, a chador

BS: Take a chador, anything.

Host: And [quotes Arabic] if it should start raining. OI HOI!

BS: They probably pray for rain

Host laughs Host: Believe me! Behroze bhai!

BS: This thing that has entered the brain… This is this mind’s evolution.

What I learnt from this exchange was that the host of the podcast and Behroze Sabzwari feel aroused when they see women with children sitting on motorcycles, and bizarrely when it rains on them.

Motorcycles are chief mode of transport for middle class and working class families in Pakistan. Mobility is an issue for women because our cities, towns and villages are not designed to provide them extensive affordable child-friendly public transport networks. Yet, both men found this funny.

In the podcast, Behroze Sabzwari calls out the host for his misogyny while completely oblivious to his own. This is a common and foolproof strategy that men use to avoid accountability, only resulting in performative allyship.

One has to wonder why a senior male actor would feel the need to discuss what women should and should not wear. Could it be that it finally dawned on Behroze Sabzwari that his role in “Tanhaiyan” was his first and last good performance on TV and in order to stay relevant he needs to use his version of religious sanction to generate likes?

I’ve noticed that, in response to Sabzwari’s misogynistic statements, a lot of people are sharing pictures of Sadaf Kanwal to make a point. I do not agree with many things Sadaf Kanwal has said in the past but I will always stand by her right to make her own choices.

I feel that it is not the right counterargument, however, to use a woman in a man’s life in an attempt to shame him. If one feels compelled to use examples of a man’s double standards in behaviour and speech, why not draw from his past instead of treating the woman as an extension of his values? If anything, we should be thrilled that the women in his family don’t care what he thinks. For me, that’s a win.

The writer is an artist and activist @Leena_Ghani