Adil Najam
Unbelievable!
I don’t even know who to be angry at. The idiot who placed the add or the copy-readers at Dawn who did not catch the sexually suggestive language that seems to come from the fantasies of some sex-starved mind. Read the whole ad. on the left, but here are the key points.
Someone wants an executive secretary for (a) the MD of a large educational network, who is (b) ‘female with cute personality’, (c) willing to work on ‘anything & everything’, (d) for ‘long hours’, and (e) ‘be able to keep MD pleased and relaxed.’
I hope that no one gets the impression that this is being posted because it is funny. It is not. This is not just an example of someone who is willing to exploit women. The fact that the country’s largest newspaper will print this is also an indication that society is willing to wink and smile at such exploitation.
Since there is a Dawn ‘Box’number asociated with this advertisement, Dawn should be able to trace this person. And he should at least be ‘outed’ and exposed for this ‘indecent proposal’.
My thanks to Mansoor (of The Word of mAn[S]o0r) for posting this originally on the Karachi Metrobog.
I think it is the pinglish effect, it works both ways, the long arm of the law becomes interpreted as UP YOURS . I do think this education network indeed needs some one with command of english
I found the ad disturbing but the reaction even more so. At the risk of sounding didactic myself, allow me to point out what I found the good, the bad and the ugly about the ad:
The Good:
The underlying intentions are pretty explicitly stated. I see little risk of someone applying for the position without actually knowing what they are getting into.
The Bad:
There is still the possibility that the ad will end up being exploitive and someone who knows the underlying requirements but still is hungry enough for the job to apply under let’s say, the duress of unemployment.
The Ugly:
Is the fact that an MD would be willing to hire and pay a human being for a certain category of favors. That person at the helm of an institute would need to be pleased and relaxed. Which is exactly what a spoiled brat would need (considering the undertones are innocent) or a person who is a failure at personal relations would need (considering the undertones are not innocent). What compounds the ugliness here is the fact that this is the MD of a school.
But what I found obscene was the reaction to this ad. It’s a social attitude where a lot of people found it easy to assume that they have a right to stand guard on others’ morality. The Ed here could be forgiven for the trepass because that’s their job…they have to keep finding things to moralize about. Its the reader, the citizen who I would expect to stick their neck out for others’ rights. And do I have a right to place any kind of ad as long as I do not decieve or exploit? Excuse me everybody but I do and its none of your effing business.
What if the MD was a woman and she was looking for a secretary, i wonder if the person placing the ad would have used the same language.
Jokes aside, this is very serious, i know of a lot of young women who have been sexually harrassed at work and are too scared to say anything to anyone about it.
Also, why is the MD searching for a female secretary?? After all there are a lot of men capable of holding the same job…Discrimination of another kind here!! Just knowing hes seeking a female secretary and not just “a” secretary makes me shudder…
Thank you for hilighting this; I don’t understand that logic of “highlight only what’s good” as it is utterly non-reflective of reality. I reposted this on my blog as well.
…please focus positive and authentic material which highlight progressive aspects of Pakistan…we are in routine in this era to point out as many things as against to Pakistan’s image..