Yasir Hussain says being called 'Iqra Aziz's husband' is a matter of pride, not insecurity

Actor, director and playwright Yasir Hussain sat down with Iffat Omar for a conversation recently, touching on everything from his marriage to Iqra Aziz to the toxic entitlement he believed was driving gender-based violence in the country.

Known for his sharp satire and unfiltered commentary, Hussain addressed the common jibe of being called “Iqra’s husband” head-on, rejecting the idea that being overshadowed by his wife’s fame should wound his ego.

He embraced the title with pride rather than insecurity: “If someone calls me ‘Iqra’s husband,’ why should that hurt my ego? She is a hugely successful artist, loved by millions. Being associated with her success is a matter of pride, not shame.” He added that anyone who could not laugh at themselves had no business joking about the world, calling “self-deprecation the first real step toward genuine humour.”

The conversation turned more serious as Hussain addressed recent incidents of gender-based violence in Pakistan, tracing them back to how boys were raised — where they grew up believing a woman’s “no” was an insult rather than an answer.

He was direct about where responsibility lay: “Boys in our society are raised believing they are superior.” “Silence,” he added, “makes people complicit, and society needs to raise men who understand consent and boundaries.”

Hussain argued that such incidents were not isolated but stemmed from a deep-rooted sense of entitlement instilled at home. “We spend too much time debating what is ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ for a woman, according to societal rules made by men. Basic human rights, education, freedom of choice, and safety are non-negotiable. They aren’t up for public debate.”

Reflecting on his own evolution, he said, “Growth requires actively unlearning the patriarchal conditioning absorbed while growing up, and anyone whose views on critical issues haven’t shifted in a decade has simply aged rather than matured.”

He also weighed in on the gap between online outrage and genuine accountability, saying, “Social media pressure is the bare minimum; real change happens internally,” pointing to a broader erosion of moral and religious accountability. He added, “A society that stays silent or makes excuses for wrongdoers is a decaying one; condemnation should be immediate and absolute regardless of who is involved.”

Turning to the generational divide, Hussain credited Gen Z for holding people accountable in real time, arguing that behaviour once dismissed as normal humour was no longer acceptable and that adapting to those shifting standards was now unavoidable.

On his craft, he lamented, “Satire and criticism are increasingly confused with online hostility,” defending theatre as a disciplined, uncensored space that television often shied away from.

Asked about raising his son Kabir with Iqra Aziz, he said parenting began with example rather than instruction: “Since children absorb behaviour rather than lectures, it is essential to practice an ideology at home before preaching it to the next generation.”