Uncalled-for criticism

Letter September 25, 2017
The social media keyboard warriors have been outraged by Pakistani actor Mahira Khan smoking a cigarette

KARACHI: The social media keyboard warriors have been outraged by Pakistani actor Mahira Khan smoking a cigarette with Bollywood actor Ranbir Kapoor. After the pictures of the two were released, people couldn’t tolerate how a Pakistan woman could smoke while wearing a short dress. Although it’s 2017 and one really shouldn’t be educating people on an individual’s right to his/her life choices, because it’s truly irritating, Pakistanis seem to forget this very important lesson every time. Live and let live is clearly not our motto. But what’s equally worse than a woman being shamed for choosing what to do, what to wear and who to be with by exercising her own free will is elitism.

Pakistani actors have shown their solidarity with their friend who belongs to the same class as theirs. From Momina Mustehsan to actor Hamza Ali Abbasi, everyone has tried to shut the trolls but the same fail to make any noise when similar criticism is hurled at a female celebrity of a lower class. Apparently this is only limited to the elite because when it’s a Qandeel in the picture, they either get involved in pulling her down or go on minding their own business, because who wants to support the daughter of an underclass. Pakistan is a country plagued with double standards — for men and women, for the elite and the poor — unless that is removed we won’t ever be able to progress.

Madiha Imtiaz

Published in The Express Tribune, September 25th, 2017.

Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.