Reham Khan hits out at ex-husband Imran over his rape comments

Imran Khan’s second wife has hit out at the Pakistan Prime Minister after he suggested the way women dress is responsible for rape.

Reham Khan, who was married to the cricketing playboy-turned Pakistan leader for ten months in 2015, joined his first ex-wife Jemima Goldsmith and a host of human rights activists in bashing remarks that he made at the weekend.

Ms Khan, a former BBC presenter, tweeted a link to the 68-year-old’s comments along with the message: ‘The less he speaks the better it will be for all.’

She also responded to another tweet which joked about the couple’s marriage and contrasting personalities by saying: ‘Why do you think it couldn’t work out?’ 

It comes after Goldsmith, who was married to Khan from 1995 until 2004 and has two children with him, tweeted out a passage from the Koran as a rebuke to Khan, adding: ‘The onus is on men.’

The passage says: ‘Say to the believing men that they restrain their eyes and guard their private parts.’

Khan’s office has been attempting to defend Khan since his comments hit the headlines, suggesting they had been misconstrued.

The 68-year-old blamed ‘vulgarity’ for rising sex attacks when responding to a question during a Q&A on Sunday, saying that women should dress modestly to avoid being attacked by men who lack ‘willpower’.  

Khan had singled out India’s Bollywood and the ‘sex, drugs and rock and roll’ culture of England in the 70s as examples of the kind of moral decline which he claimed leads to sex attacks.

He then praised the Islamic concept of purdah – or modesty – as an antidote to that decline, saying it is important to ‘keep temptation in check’. 

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

‘This entire concept of purdah (covering up or segregating) is to avoid temptation, not everyone has the willpower to avoid it.’ 

He added that while his government will introduce legislation to protect women from attacks, it is up to the whole of society to help by preserving modesty.  

A spokesperson for the Government of Pakistan today claimed misperceptions were being spread about Khan’s controversial comments.

They said the Prime Minister spoke about the societal responses and the need to put efforts together to eliminate the menace of rape completely. 

‘Unfortunately, part of his comment, consciously or unconsciously, has been distorted to mean something that he never intended,’ it was said.  

The spokesperson added Khan remains fully committed to utilise all avenues at the government’s disposal to tackle the incidence of rape.         

Twice-divorced Khan, one of the best cricketers of all time, was no stranger to scantily-clad women as he partied in VIP nightclubs during his bachelor life in London.  

The English public schoolboy famously dated fashion guru Susannah Constantine before marrying glamorous socialite Ms Goldsmith in 1995.

The pair had two sons before their split nine years later, which was in part attributed to the difficulties she faced in Pakistan where she was hounded for her family’s Jewish ancestry. 

Khan’s second marriage ended after nine months in 2015, following a whirlwind romance with former BBC newsreader Reham Khan. 

She had been widely criticised after appearing at public meetings of Khan’s PTI party, with opponents accusing her of seeking to boost her own profile through her husband’s fame.   

His current wife and the First Lady, Bushra Wattoo, was married in a conservative ceremony in Pakistan in 2018, which saw her face totally shrouded in line with Islamic orthodoxy. 

Pointing to his playboy past, Khan said that ‘sex, drugs and rock n roll culture’ in the UK had led to a 70 per cent rise in divorce rates due to ‘vulgarity’.

He also singled out India’s Bollywood, saying Delhi had become ‘a rape capital of the world’ due to indecency and ‘obscenity’ shown in films.

He added that rape is ‘spreading like a cancer’ within Pakistani society and that preserving the Islamic concept of modesty should be used as a defence.

‘Our family system is intact and we can fix our justice system and the institutions but if our family system breaks down, we will not be able to rebuild it,’ he said.

Hundreds today signed an online statement which called Khan’s comments on rape ‘factually incorrect, insensitive and dangerous’.

‘Fault rests solely with the rapist and the system that enables the rapist, including a culture fostered by statements such as those made by (Khan),’ the statement said. 

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, an independent rights watchdog, said Tuesday it was ‘appalled’ by the comments.

‘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,’ it said. 

Pakistan is a deeply conservative country where victims of sexual abuse are often viewed with suspicion and criminal complaints are rarely seriously investigated.

Much of the country lives under an ‘honour’ code where women who bring ‘shame’ on the family can be subjected to violence or murder.

It regularly ranks among the worst places in the world for gender equality.

Data shows that 11 rapes are reported in the country each day, which is thought to be only a fraction of the total, Geo News reported.

Of the 22,000 rapes reported in Pakistan in the last six years, just 77 people have been convicted as a result – a rate of 0.3 per cent which ranks among the lowest in the world.

In February, the forensics department of Khyber Medical College University caused outrage when it suggested that women should be charged for post-rape examinations that help secure convictions.

Nationwide protests erupted last year when a police chief admonished a gang-rape victim for driving at night without a male companion.

The Franco-Pakistani mother was assaulted in front of her children on the side of a motorway after her car ran out of fuel.

Last year, Khan was also criticised after another television appearance where he failed to challenge a Muslim cleric’s insistence that coronavirus had been unleashed because of the wrongdoings of women.

The latest controversy comes as the organisers behind International Women’s Day marches battle what they have called a coordinated disinformation campaign against them, including doctored images and videos circulated online.

It has led to blasphemy accusations – a hugely sensitive issue in Pakistan where allegations have previously led mobs to attack people.

The organisers of the annual rally have called for the prime minister to intervene.

In his weekend TV appearance, Khan also blamed divorce rates in Britain on the ‘sex, drugs and rock and roll’ culture that began in the 1970s, when the twice-divorced Khan was gaining a reputation in London as a playboy. 

In December, Pakistan brought in new laws that will see some rapists chemically castrated.

The introduction of the law came after huge public outcry at the rise in rapes, but activists have cautioned that a change in laws will not solve the problem without an accompanying change in social attitudes.

Much of Pakistan lives under an ‘honour’ code where women who bring ‘shame’ on the family can be subjected to violence or murder and it regularly ranks among the worst places in the world for gender equality.

One of the country’s most high-profile criminal cases in recent years revolved around the so-called ‘honour killing’ of social media star Qandeel Baloch.

Dubbed Pakistan’s Kim Kardashian, Baloch was 26 when she was drugged and strangled to death by her brother in 2016.

He initially confessed to the murder, saying he had acted because his sister had tarnished the family’s ‘honour’. He has since changed his plea.

During her life, Baloch drew praise and derision for her refusal to conform to Pakistani gender and societal norms.

She posted photos emphasising her cleavage, twerked in videos and remained unapologetic despite admitting to receiving death threats.

Baloch’s murder, and the reaction to it, highlighted the gulf between attitudes in mainly conservative Pakistan.

Many pointed out how rare it was for a so-called ‘honour killing’ case to be pursued so vigorously, with Baloch’s brother ending up being convicted and sentenced to life in prison.

The response of authorities to rape cases is similarly patchy, with conviction rates among the lowest in the world.