A panellist who sparked outrage amidst claims she promoted violence during ABC’s Q&A program has doubled down on her controversial comments.
During an explosive all-female panel on the program last week, Egyptian-American writer Mona Eltahawy suggested rapists should be killed.
‘I want patriarchy to fear feminism… how long must we wait for men and boys to stop murdering us, to stop beating us and to stop raping us? How many rapists must we kill until men stop raping us?’ she said during the panel.
The episode became a topic of heated debate throughout Australia with the program receiving dozens of complaints and the national broadcaster launching an investigation into itself in response.
But days on, Ms Eltahawy has doubled down on her view, saying she was trying to ‘shake people awake’ to the reality of violence against women.
‘I’m obviously not saying women are going to go out there on the streets and kill people,’ she told The Age, noting she had intended to sound ‘distasteful’ and ‘barbaric’.
‘Why are these white, male, right-wing commentators so obsessed with someone trying to shake people awake into noticing how horrific these statistics are when it comes to sexual violence and murder? Last year [in Melbourne] a young woman was raped and murdered in a park while walking home. How is this still happening today?’
She continued to say that the outrage she was receiving should be directed towards the issue of violence girls and women experience.
‘If my asking, ‘How many rapists must we kill before men stop raping us?’ scares men, then let them be scared. Too many women and girls live in fear of actual male violence every day. When is this much outrage going to be directed at violence against women?’
Ms Eltahawy’s controversial statements came in the response to a member of the audience who asked if violence was the best way for feminists to achieve equality.
When questioned by the program’s host Fran Kelly if she was promoting violence, Ms Eltahawy replied: ‘What I’m doing is saying that that violence has been owned by the state… exactly how long do I have to wait to be safe?’
Outspoken Egyptian-American writer Mona Eltahawy (pictured) sparked controversy when she suggested to the Q&A panel rapists should be killed
Ms Eltahawy speculated the backlash she received was predominately from white men.
‘When I ask “how many rapists must we kill before men stop raping women?”, mostly white men focus on the first part of the sentence, which is a theoretical question because I’m not going out there killing anybody, and they totally ignore the second part of my sentence,’ she told BuzzFeed News.
‘[The panel] was five women and one non-binary person and not a single white man so I think that played a massive role in the all of the backlash.
‘You have women and non-binary people telling you about injustices and all of the white men are saying hold on here you are upsetting the boys.’
The explosive comments came after an audience member questioned if violence would help achieve equality (pictured: left to right: American anti-ageism campaigner Ashton Applewhite, Egyptian-American writer Mona Eltahawy, businesswoman Hana Assafiri, host Fran Kelly, Indigenous writer and activist Nayuka Gorrie, journalist and author Jess Hill)
Indigenous writer and activist Nayuka Gorrie backed her comments, saying violence was ‘OK’.
‘We’ve tried for 230-plus years to appeal to the colonisers’ morality, which just doesn’t seem to exist,’ she said on the panel.
‘I think violence is OK because if someone is trying to kill you, there’s no amount of, “But I’m really clever. I’m really articulate”. No amount of that is going to save you. Let’s burn stuff.’
In the wake of Ms Eltahawy’s comments, the program was flooded with dozens of complaints with the ABC announcing the episode will be removed completely from all platforms.
‘We can’t do much more than issue the statement that we have, and we won’t be repeating the program. The plan is to take it off,’ ABC chairwoman Ita Buttrose told The Australian.
Media analyst Julian Evans has complained about the show to the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA).
Ms Eltahawy (pictured) speculated the large amount of complaints were coming from white males who were left ‘scared’ by her comments
He told Daily Mail Australia: ‘Violence against women, children and men is abhorrent and should be condemned at every opportunity, not encouraged, discussed with glee or presented in a away that condones and incites the community.’
The episode came under fire on social media with some calling for the government to pull funding from the ABC.
One viewer wrote: ‘Violence is never an option and if the ABC insists on pushing violent rhetoric, I will have to insist Scott Morrison pulls funding from the ABC and rescind’s their broadcasting licence.’
The episode came under fire on social media with some calling for the government to pull funding from the ABC (pictured)
Another called for Kelly to step down, saying she was ‘perfectly at ease with violence’ during the heated panel
Another added: ‘The ABC is promoting violence? It wouldn’t be first time.’
The broadcaster acknowledged the program was ‘provocative in regard to the language used and some of the views presented’in a statement released on Thursday afternoon.
‘Q&A has always sought to tackle difficult issues and present challenging and thought-provoking content. However, I can understand why some viewers found elements of this episode confronting or offensive.
‘We have received audience complaints about the program, are assessing the concerns raised and will investigate whether the program met the ABC’s editorial standards.’
Paul Fletcher, Minister for Communications, said the episode generated ‘significant community concern’, and declared their resolve to investigate ‘appropriate’.
Dozens of viewers even called for Kelly to step down, saying she was ‘perfectly at ease with violence’ during the heated panel.
‘Fran Kelly should be relieved from future duties for letting that foul mouthed, uncouth Mona Eltahawy speak that way,’ one wrote.
Dozens of viewers even called for Kelly to step down after the panellists sparked controversy (pictured)