Transcription
I was interviewing a family. The issue I had with them was that a boy was repeatedly shoving the little girls. The boys tolerated everything. There is a limit to one's tolerance. I had already ended the interview from my side. I had made my point clear and ended the interview. But I didn’t know the camera was still rolling. As soon as I said, “These are the joys of Eid, happening again,” the slap happened. I was repeating that the family should celebrate the joys of Eid again. Ali Hamza and you are watching Newz News. You must have seen a video go viral on Eid. You saw in that video that a Lahore Rang anchor slaps a mischievous boy during reporting. What is this case? Today, character Meera Hashmi will be with us regarding this viral video. If I remind you, some time ago, another video of Meera Hashmi went viral. In it, she was seen interviewing Bilawal Bhutto. Someone edited the video in a very creative way and made it viral on social media. You have seen our interview with her before. What is the story behind today's viral video? What was the boy doing? What made her reach her limit? What was the situation? Let’s find out from Meera herself.
First, tell me, was your second viral video pre-planned, or was it a hit of the moment? I slapped him because many people are saying that being unprofessional, such things should not happen live. I had already made my point clear and ended the interview. But I didn’t know the camera was still rolling. As soon as I said, “These are the joys of Eid, happening again,” and I slapped him, the camera was still rolling, and it got recorded. I didn’t know it was being recorded. When I came to the office, I was called and asked, “What did you do?” I started laughing. “What happened?” It was bad behavior. The child deserved it. Early in the morning, making plans with friends, harassing girls, disturbing them—all the boys in Minar-e-Pakistan do this. This was my first time, and I hope it’s the last. What was he doing that made you so angry? You slapped him. Many people are saying that the girl shouldn’t have done that. She was an anchor in the media; she should have tolerated it. But there’s a limit to tolerance. He kept pushing and shoving, he was pushing the cameraman. Well, that’s not an issue. Then he was putting a bottle in front of the camera, calling his friends, eating something. That wasn’t an issue either. But the family I was interviewing—the issue I had with them was that he was repeatedly shoving the little girls. The boy's father brought his three little girls to the park, not because he wanted the girls to be harassed. They were being shoved. The father was protecting his children. I felt the little girls were being shoved repeatedly. As soon as the interview ended, I was looking around. My mind was on my notes, but my eyes were scanning. The reporter’s well-being wasn't my concern. But as soon as the interview ended, my tolerance broke. Then I slapped him. It went viral, and I gave them a chance to speak before people spoke against me and targeted me. I told them, "Don't underestimate girls. Don't think they are so fragile and innocent. When girls reach their limit, they don't spare anyone."
How does it feel to see your video on Indian news channels and going viral on social media? Many senior journalists from Australia have posted it on their pages. There isn't an Indian channel that hasn't posted it on their official page. I’m getting personal messages on my social media pages asking to give them a chance to feature it in their newspapers and run the interview in their news. A Pakistani woman raised her hand against a reporter, then this happened and that. But they praised me. They didn’t target me. They spoke positively, saying people are praising this and that it should happen this way. Don't give anyone a chance; if you give someone a chance, they take advantage of it. So I took this action to end the issue. Some people are also saying that her previous video went viral, so she became addicted to it, so she planned this and slapped him so it would go viral. No, I had no such plan. I went to do my job. Now it has happened, what can I do? Pakistani viewers, you know they want a chance to gossip, to create something, and Pakistan excels at creating. Many people are talking about you. It was very funny to me that I’m sitting at home, and people are discussing me. It feels good. I'm glad I appeared in a very positive way for others. The girls who are afraid, they said the same happened with us, but we didn't have the courage to slap him. I did it, so it’s good. This video went viral too, which one was better? Which one was more fun to see go viral? Social media, because this is my professional life, so I liked it more. People's Party fans are fans now. Now fans from India are also coming. You’re getting fans from everywhere. Apparently, you want to give a message of women’s empowerment. Often, when we go for outdoor recordings, many people wave at the camera when they see it. What message would you like to give to those who see you now? What would you like to say to people who act that way? To all of them, my message is one: especially to the girls who are associated with journalism, never be afraid. If you are afraid, people will get a chance. Minar-e-Pakistan incidents can be created by people's actions. You can lose respect quickly; it takes seconds. If you don’t control yourself, many bad things can happen. My second message is to those who targeted me. If any girl is harassed in the field, I will do the same. Another thing is that, as you know, in our society, so much drama is created. Instead of protecting them, we start making their videos. If that happens anywhere, I will not tolerate it. Wherever such stories are created, if a girl is harassed, or a family is harassed, I will not watch the drama; I will definitely take action.
After you slapped him, did any more drama happen? Did he try to misbehave again? No, I immediately started warning them, "You are ruining the interview, misbehaving with the family." Other boys supported me, saying, "What are you doing? Why are you disturbing?" They all disappeared. No one came near me because I didn’t give them a chance to do anything. If you look on YouTube, there are many such videos: funny, general, Minar-e-Pakistan, important Pakistan. I think in the future, your video will also circulate in them. It will be nice. A journalist from Pakistan whose story reached India. After Minar-e-Hafiz, people are saying that Nazir Bhatti sahib's slap also went viral. It's a good thing that your soft image is also going. The last time I interviewed you, you told me you’re a People’s Party supporter. Now Bilawal is gradually becoming less influential. Did you get a call from him? “What did you do? You’ve become a rebel.” I wasn’t like that; I used to be tolerant. I said, “There’s a limit to tolerance; it was crossed.” I didn’t know how this scene became viral. But they appreciated it. All the journalism people supported me, saying you did very well. This is a message for others, that no one should dare harass you. Whoever does, will get a slap in return. That’s it from Meera Hashmi. You must have seen her viral video, on Eid day, she was reporting for Lahore Rang, during which a boy continuously harassed her. She said that she was tolerating it, but when she saw that the boy was harassing the family she was interviewing, her tolerance broke, and she slapped him. She didn’t know it would go viral. And she says she would do the same if anyone misbehaved with her. If anyone harasses any girl, she will maintain the same attitude. Share your opinions in the comments section. For now, let me take leave of my host Ali Hamza. Al-Hafiz.