Stop making pregnant women seem like they can’t manage work: Zara Noor Abbas

The actor took to Instagram to address the work-life balance of pregnant women

Since time immemorial, from the moment a working woman announces her pregnancy, the people around her start to wonder how long it will be before she will throw in the towel and walk away from her career. 

For women in the showbiz industry in Pakistan, living much of their personal lives out in the public eye, the intense speculation is ramped up a thousand-fold, with many assuming that now they are starting a family, their time before the cameras will now grind to a halt. 

Zara Noor Abbas, the Parey Hut Love famed star, who recently shared the joyful news of her pregnancy in December last year with husband Asad Siddiqui, took to Instagram to take the bull by the horns and reassure her fans that she isn’t going anywhere. “Why don’t I make this statement myself,” she began. “Being temporarily away from the screen and leaving work are two different things.”

The Ehd-e-Wafa starlet’s Instagram post came in response to a statement released by a newspaper regarding her time away from showbiz. Mincing no words and leaving no one in doubt of her feelings on the matter, Zara continued, “Stop making pregnant women seem like they can’t manage family and work. Until you have a separate example in your surroundings – that’s not my fault.”

Zara’s pregnancy follows the traumatic stillbirth of her son Aurangzeb in 2021, six months into her pregnancy at the time. The harrowing loss took its toll on Zara and her actor husband, Asad. However, whilst acknowledging the devastating impact of their trauma, the couple waded through their dark time together, and sparking a flurry of warm wishes, the actor shared the delightful announcement of their second pregnancy in December 2023 on her Instagram account captioned with the words, “Round 2 – inshallah.”

With the delightful news, Zara is adamant about her stance on balancing both family and career. Planning to stay rooted in her career for the foreseeable future, the star batted away any doubters with the sentence, “In clear words: no one is leaving anything.”

We hope this has reassured those who were worried this would be the end of Zara’s career and look forward to seeing her on our screens for many years to come.

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