'The Less He Speaks, The Better': Pak PM’s Ex-Wives Hit Out Against His "Purdah" Remarks

Imran Khan Ex-Wives: Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan has been slammed by his ex-wives for his recent sexist remarks.

The Oxford-educated PM claimed earlier that the “increasing vulgarity” by women is the cause of rising sexual assault cases in the country and advised them to wear a veil to avert “temptation”.

During a live Q&A show called “Prime Minister On Call With You”, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader said: “If you keep increasing vulgarity in a society, then definitely there will be this impact”.

Referring to the traditional Islamic practice of women wearing a veil, he said that it existed so “that there is no temptation in society.”

The former cricketer’s comments came in response to a question raised by a caller about the government’s measures towards the increasing sexual violence, mostly against children.

“World history tells when you increase fahashi (vulgarity) in society, two things happen: sex crimes increase and the family system breaks down,” he claimed.

Imran Khan's ex-wives on his remarks

Socialite Jemima Goldsmith slammed Khan over his deeply sexist remark and said that she hopes “this is a misquote/mistranslation”.

Imran Khan’s former wife, who was married to him from 1995 to 2004, took to Twitter to quote the Quran to state that the onus is on me.

“Say to the believing men that they restrain their eyes and guard their private parts: Quran 24:31. The onus is on men,” the tweet read.

I'm hoping this is a misquote/ mistranslation. The Imran I knew used to say, "Put a veil on the man's eyes not on the woman." https://t.co/NekU0QklnL

— Jemima Goldsmith (@Jemima_Khan) April 7, 2021

Previously, Reham Khan, a former BBC presenter and the Pakistan Prime Minister’s second wife, also reacted to his controversial comment. “The less he speaks the better it will be for all,” she wrote in a tweet.

Reham Khan was married to the Pakistan leader for ten months in 2015.

Meanwhile, Imran Khan’s information advisor Raoof Hasan clarified that his remarks have been misinterpreted and claimed the statement has been distorted by picking out a single line.

“Unfortunately, part of his comment, consciously or unconsciously, has been distorted to mean something that he never intended,” Hasan said.

Khan’s advisor further advocated that the former intended a “holistic” approach to sexual assault combining legal remedies with efforts by society.

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, irked by the Prime Minister’s remark, accused him of "baffling ignorance".

In a statement, the advocate of independent rights, said, "Not only does this betray a baffling ignorance of where, why and how rape occurs, but it also lays the blame on rape survivors, who, as the government must know, can range from young children to victims of honour crimes".