Trivializing harassment

Part of the shoot saw Sanam Saeed posing in an outfit while being stared at by men standing behind her.

FASHIONFocus

through fashion?The fashion shoot for Saira Shakira’s upcoming collection, in collaboration with Crimson, has raised many an eyebrow over promoting sexual harassment on streets.

Though it’s often a cause of debate, fashion has never shied away from being a creative platform for social commentary. We’ve seen Katherine Hammet pioneer t-shirts that serve as a mouthpiece for political and social statements like “58% Are Opposed to Pershing” during Margaret Thatcher’s regime; we recently witnessed Karl Lagerfeld stage a feminist protest on the runway in an attempt to champion female independence and of course, the largely controversial collection by Alexander McQueen, ‘Highland Rape’, that brought bruised and battered models center stage as a depiction of England’s rape of Scotland; it’s chosen way of ethnic cleansing, back in 1995. In all of the above cases, the result has often been ugly. Critics have left shows in disgust, blamed designers of misogyny and social media trolls have announced boycotts. But even if one assumes that such empowering displays were only made for harnessing a social conscience in order to attract press coverage, they cannot be blamed for promoting sociopolitical wrongs just for a commercial function; that’s not the apparent purpose because there is deep social significance involved. Pakistani designers Saira Shakira, however, may not be able to enjoy the same privilege.

This weekend the designer came under fire for the latest fashion shoot for their upcoming Eid collection, that’s been made in collaboration with Crimson. Part of the shoot shows actress Sanam Saeed, all decked up in Saira Shakira ensembles, posing on the streets while a bunch of men in suits ogle at her with sleazy smiles plastered across their faces. Within no time the sight of men staring at a woman for the sake of glamourizing a fashion product sparked outrage on social media. At the forefront of the debate was Pakistan’s popular group of desi feminists that took the country by storm with the campaign called ‘Girls at Dhabas’ – a movement targeted at encouraging women to step out and reclaim public spaces. A post on their official Facebook page accused them of promoting rape culture for commercial gains.

The entire shoot consists of 12 looks aimed at showing an independent, fashionable woman who is admired by everyone around her.

“This is extremely problematic and frankly quite sickening. Designers like Saira Shakira romanticizing rape culture for profit,” the post stated. “Photos seemed to have been taken down and/or strategically cropped now, but we want a public acknowledgement and apology by Saira Shakira. We have received messages from people who are very disturbed by this and we want to ensure accountability so that this is a clear message for all outlets. #NoToRapeCulture”

Soon enough the word spread like wild fire with people calling it disgusting and disturbing and insensitive on the team’s part. It’s important to note here that this isn’t the first time fashion labels and fashion photographers have made such an unexpected, thoughtless blunder. The likes of Sana Safinaz, Kayseria, Amna Aqeel and Ali Xeeshan have all crossed the line in their desire to experiment with their creativity. While Sana Safinaz blatantly encouraged class divides in their 2012 lawn shoot, Ali Xeeshan found creativity and regality in violence and abuse for a bridal wear shoot. There has been worse, however. Indian photographer Raj Shetye received significant backlash for his fashion shoot series, The Wrong Turn, which in the most bizzare of ways tried to make sexual assault look chic. To many the scene of a modern day woman, in slinky evening wear, surrounded by multiple men and their aggressive, forceful grips inside a bus reminded of Nirbhaya, a 23-year-old intern who was gang raped in a Delhi bus in 2012. Though Shitye defended it by calling it a social commentary on the state of women in India, the shoot was shunned as no less criminal.

Saira Shakira’s stance however is not that of a social commentary. As per the team’s official statement to Instep, the shoot was meant to sketch the life of a diva and how she is admired by people, be it men, women or children, wherever she goes. “Our collaboration project with Crimson Pakistan, Crimson Luxe By Saira Shakira, revolves around a campaign called ‘Call Her Diva’. The concept behind this was a joint effort between Team Crimson and us to portray a woman who is turning heads wherever she goes. Street harassment refers to unwanted attention, which makes the person uncomfortable. However, the way we have captured it depicts a woman holding her head high, looking and feeling confident - not looking uncomfortable or hiding in corners as street harassment tends to make a person feel. If there is a point to be made about this, it is women empowerment. Our campaign gives an insight into the jet-set life of a successful woman who is admired for everything she represents,” said the statement.

Even though it seems the team’s intentions weren’t skewed, it’s unfortunate to see how complacent we have become to society’s wrongs. How it’s ok to be admired by a group of men on the streets, staring at you with their vulture eyes and how that should not make you feel uncomfortable but instead empowered and like a diva. Unlike Shetye’s shoot, who failed miserably in his mission, the underlying intention of this shoot wasn’t to start a conversation on assault and street harassment; the point was never to use fashion as an art form or a visual expression to depict crime or criminal activity, it just seemed to accept the scenario as a norm, as a given and as an aspect of everyday life of a good looking, successful socialite. And even if it somehow aims to empower women, can these images really bring a change? That’s a discussion for later…