Motherhood under fire

Mira Sethi defends Hiba Bukhari amid criticism

Hiba Qadir, also known as Hiba Bukhari, stunned enthusiasts with a public show of her pregnancy without addressing it prior to this appearance. The act was met with mixed reviews from netizens, some of whom deemed it an indecent gesture. Fellow actor Mira Sethi took a screencap of one such post and addressed its hostile tone in an Instagram Story.

"What's 'shameless' about being pregnant - and radiant! - and showing up to work? Her body, her beautiful green dress, her choice. More power to Hiba Bukhari and all the women who continue to smile and sparkle in the face of provocation. If only one could write it off as 'silly' - it's meant to intimidate us into a coy invisibility. Don't fall for it," Mira wrote.

Earlier, amid criticism over a harmless public appearance gone wrong, the actor in question took to her YouTube channel alongside spouse Arez Ahmed to offer some clarity in a vlog. "This news has been circulating for quite some time, and we felt that it needed to be addressed. People deserve to hear it from us rather than anyone else," spoke husband Arez.

While the no-nonsense title of the video is sufficiently informative, Hiba still felt the need to share some context. "Since I've been very busy completing my shoots and getting through other commitments, we planned to do a grand reveal of the pregnancy on YouTube and even on Instagram later on," said the Fitoor actor.

"Gone are the days when it would be a big thing if a heroine got pregnant. We all work now. I think it's amazing to work while carrying a pregnancy. If you can, you definitely should," she further commented. "I tend to keep my life private, so we had our own plans with the revelation, of course. But divine intervention is its own force. We can't challenge that, and that's fine."

This isn't the first time an actor's pregnancy has prompted negative remarks online. Armeena Khan, who announced her pregnancy with a maternity post in 2022, was trolled by netizens while her peers rushed to support her. That, however, did not deter Armeena who declared, "My space, not yours. If I haven't triggered you religious fanatics enough yet, watch this space."