Zoya Azhar ‘20
Assistant Opinions Editor
Smith alumna Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy caused something of a controversy in Pakistan a little while back, and when the subject resurfaced over Thanksgiving dinner, I was forced to rethink and form some opinions.
Chinoy tweeted outrage at a doctor who sent Chinoy’s hospitalized sister a friend request on Facebook. Her tweet framed this as harassment and as unethical behavior and said actions would be taken by the Obaid-Chinoy family against the doctor.
The doctor was later fired because of these allegations. This led to a lot of debate on social media in Pakistan, where people were debating whether or not the doctor was in the wrong and whether any of this deserved to be made into such a big deal.
Firstly, I don’t know what it is about any problem that originates from Twitter but (at least initially) I find it very hard to take it seriously. I think if anyone had a real problem, they should use a social media platform not frequently used by Donald Trump.
But as for Chinoy, my first thought was wondering what the whole story was. Had the doctor made Chinoy’s sister feel unsafe? Had he taken pictures of her while she was in ER? What was the chance that there was no more to the story than a doctor sending his patient a friend request?
Being a Pakistani, I can understand exactly what can go through a “respectable” family’s head when a doctor in Aga Khan Hospital ER decides to send a daughter a friend request. It’s strange, unwarranted and unwanted.
However, I also know Pakistanis would not bat an eye if a doctor in a hospital in the U.S. sent a friend request to their hospitalized daughter. It would be brushed off as something “they” do, but we don’t. And I wondered whether Chinoy’s response would have been the same if the scene was set in a city in the U.S. or U.K.
The next pressing question, which also dominated the debate in Pakistan, was whether a Facebook friend request counted as harassment in this situation. Most men and a lot of women felt that a friend request alone is not enough to constitute harassment. If there were inappropriate messages or photos sent to the woman as well, then it would have been wholly different.
Additionally, most people noted that there is a difference between harassment and unprofessional behavior. Perhaps sending a friend request to your patient is unprofessional, but it is not harassment.
What I want to know most of all is what Chinoy’s sister had to say about the matter because I think it’s a voice that is sorely missed in the whole debate.
And though harassment is absolutely unacceptable, and I like the impact Chinoy’s tweet had in a patriarchal society, I feel uneasy that a tweet was enough to have someone fired without any follow-up legal procedures first.
