I’m sorry to the person I was: Ayesha Omer

Actor opens up about keeping mum on her sexual assault ordeal and how she should have been kinder to herself later on

Last year, in the wake of the #MeToo movement, Ayesha Omar opened up about being sexually assaulted by someone influential in the industry. The starlet, without naming the accused, later shared her ordeal with Hollywood star Rose McGowan - the actor who propelled the downfall of Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein.

Most recently, Omer joined host Waseem Badami for an interview on a local news channel wherein she recalled her trauma. “I had just joined the industry, I was hardly 22 years old,” she shared. “He was a man of power and I was scared to go against him. I did not have the courage to tell anyone about it. I’m sorry about that. I am sorry to the person I was; had I shared it then, I would have been a stronger person today.”

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Ayesha Omar (@ayesha.m.omar)

She continued, “A lot of other girls also suffered at the hands of the same person. Had I spoken up against him then, maybe he might have stopped.”

The Bulbulay star, while sharing the incident, teared up. Taking to Instagram, she shared how difficult it is to recall ordeals. "Not sure if I’ve ever cried on live television before. To be able to let your guard down and be vulnerable, to be able to talk about your painful and terrifying experiences from an honest place, to relive and recall traumatic times, to describe your feelings and talk to your younger self - it’s not easy," she confessed. "It’s not even easy doing it one on one with someone trained to ask the right questions, in private, let alone publicly on live television.”

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by Ayesha Omar (@ayesha.m.omar)

“But I hope by doing so, I was able to make other humans who have had painful experiences or faced sexual/verbal/physical harassment/assault/violence at any point in their lives, feel a little less alone and a little more hopeful to find the strength to talk about their experience, to share it with someone and lighten the load, to forgive themselves over time, to try to let go of self-blame and self-deprecation and hold their perpetrators responsible."

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