First ten years of married life are an investment: Rubina Ashraf offers advice to newlywed women

Actor delved into the crucial aspects of raising children

Veteran Pakistani actor Rubina Ashraf sat down for a heartfelt chat on TV show Good Morning Pakistan with host Nida Yasir where she offered valuable counsel to newlywed girls on cultivating a successful married life, emphasising the importance of the relationship’s early years.

Ashraf said, “There are four [primary] responsibilities: home, in-laws, your husband, and your child. All four are tasks that take time. I tell every girl that the first ten years of [marriage]...they sound too many, but in reality, they pass by quickly, but the first ten years of married life are an investment.” 

The actor insisted, “If you invest them right, then you can count on the fruits [of a well-nurtured marriage].” Ashraf also delved into the crucial aspect of raising children and shared how mothers, just like their children, also undergo different stages in their lives. 

“When these stages pass and you look back on them, you see where you went wrong,” Ashraf pointed out, underscoring the need for reflexivity. “I was doing my best like any mother,” she further relayed her experiences as a working mother who had to streamline her acting career alongside her maternal obligations.

“Now I feel I should have been a little relaxed,” the actor expressed, disclosing how she was a strict parent. “If it’s time to change clothes, then you have to do it. If you’re misbehaving in the car, I’ll stop driving, open the door, and tell my child to walk,” Rubina recounted. 

She added, “I was that kind of strict when I needed to be.” The actor also contended that motherhood is a work in progress where you keep learning and re-learning. “I was a confident mother. At the same time, learning from other people and trying to achieve certain things.”

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