2021 In Memes: How Pakistanis Used Sense Of Humour During A Difficult Year

2021 was a difficult year for many reasons. From the ongoing pandemic, to a stumbling economy, to a resurgence of violence in the region, the year brought on many challenge.  However, through it all, Pakistanis were able to take a bad situation and make it funny through viral memes and tweets

#BidenMujhayCallKaro

As President Biden took office, Prime Minister Imran Khan noted that the US president had not called the Pakistani premier.  To show how much he did not care, the Prime Minister began a series of posts about who he had spoken to.  Twitter delighted in imagining who else Imran Khan might speak to.

https://twitter.com/Nadeem92174949/status/1428078718598230031?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1428078718598230031%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fpk.mashable.com%2Fdigital-culture%2F11625%2Fsocial-media-trolls-pm-imran-khan-with-phone-call-memes

Male Feminists on Twitter

Women's rights are always a hot topic in Pakistan.  When Twitter invited users to join the conversation on Twitter Spaces, the conversation quickly devolved into chaos.  Predictably, men immediately took over a space dedicated to discuss feminism in Pakistan, and began mansplaining the only way they knew how.

https://twitter.com/CherieDamour_/status/1428469005623480339?s=20

Parliamentary Fights

It wasn't the first time a fight has broken out on the floor of Pakistan's parliament.  However, when video of the arguing parliamentarians went viral, Twitter had fun with the chaos that ensued.

https://twitter.com/mahobili/status/1404856241483128834?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1404856241483128834%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.siasat.pk%2Fthe-most-viral-and-loved-political-memes-of-2021%2F

Cannoli Restaurant 

When the owners of Cannoli restaurant in Islamabad delivered tone-deaf statements about one of their non-English speaking staff (and filmed it no less!), Twitter unleashed their outrage at the colonialist-tinged elitism of the two women.

https://twitter.com/NadiaSyeda/status/1352648619338289152?s=20

Pakistan beats India in Cricket

A silver lining in an otherwise difficult year: Pakistan beat India in Cricket in a historic blowout.  Fans were understandably excited, but for the most part maintained good natured sportsmanship.

https://twitter.com/SohailSaleem47/status/1452501186217660423?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1452501186217660423%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Findianexpress.com%2Farticle%2Ftrending%2Ftrending-in-india%2Fmemes-take-over-social-media-after-pakistan-defeats-india-by-10-wickets-7589046%2F