Mohammed Shami has been charged by Indian police under sections of the Indian Penal Code related to attempted murder, domestic violence and causing hurt with poison, following a complaint by Shami’s wife, Hasin Jahan.

The Hindustan Times reported on Hasin Jahan’s allegations and the police charges last week.

Yesterday, SBS reported on this as a “domestic trouble” that is threatening Shami’s career. They made no mention of the attempted murder, poisoning or domestic violence charges, or the rape charge made against Shami’s brother Hasib Ahmad.

Both men deny all allegations.

It will be up to the courts to determine their guilt or innocence, this commentary is only related to how SBS reported the charges against them.

Attempted murder and domestic violence charges are not “domestic trouble”. That Shami denies all the allegations is entirely relevant to the story but only if the allegations against him are actually described. In this case you would have to go searching other media outlets to find out exactly what he was charged with. The Hindustan Times, the BBC, the Times of India, among others, all managed to report the list of charges against Shami. SBS didn’t mention them.

SBS didn’t publish this article in a sports section, it’s in their news section. But the entire focus of the article is about Shami’s cricketing career and how he has been dropped from the Indian Premier League while they await the outcome of the trial.

It’s not “domestic trouble” and it’s not a sports story.

FixedIt is an ongoing project to push back against the media’s constant erasure of violent men and blaming of innocent victims. If you would like to help fund it – even $5 a month makes a big difference – please consider becoming a Patron


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Books by Jane Gilmore

Fairy Tale Princesses Will Kill Your Children

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