[Watch] Saeed Anwar makes shocking claim that divorce rates have increased in Pakistan since women have started working

A video of former Pakistan opener Saeed Anwar has gone viral on social media in which he's heard making some rather controversial comments on women. In the clip, Anwar claims that divorce rates have risen in Pakistan since women have started working.

The former Pakistan cricketer has also shared some contentious views on women empowerment and financial independence of females.

“Since women have started working in Pakistan, divorce rates have climbed by 30 per cent in the last three years," Anwar claims in the viral video.

“The wives say, ‘to hell with you, I can earn myself. I can run a household on my own'. This is a whole game plan. You will not understand this game plan unless you find guidance,” the 55-year-old added.

In the same viral video, Anwar opines that families are suffering because more and more women are joining the workforce.

“I have travelled the world. I am just returning from Australia, Europe. Youngsters are suffering, families are in bad shape. Couples are fighting. The state of affairs is so bad that they have to make their women work for money,” the former Pakistan cricketer is heard commenting in the video.

In another shocking statement made in the video, Anwar claims that New Zealand great Kane Williamson and Australian mayor have also discussed their concern over women entering the working space with him.

"New Zealand’s captain Kane Williamson called me to ask, ‘How will our society get better?’... The Australian mayor said to me, ‘Our culture has been destroyed since our women entered the workforce,’” Anwar states in the video.

Anwar is receiving a lot of backlash on social media over his misogynistic comments, with many users questioning his thought process at a time when most nations are pushing for women empowerment and gender equality in work places.

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Who is Saeed Anwar?

Widely regarded as one of Pakistan's finest opening batters, Anwar played 55 Tests and 247 ODIs from 1989 to 2003, scoring 4,052 and 8,824 runs respectively. The 55-year-old notched up 11 hundreds and 25 fifties in the red-ball format and 20 tons and 43 half-centuries in one-day cricket.

Anwar's highest ODI score for 194, which was registered against India, stood as a world record for the highest individual score in the format for a number of years. He formed a famous opening partnership with Aamer Sohail in the 1990s.