Well-known Pakistani Singer Meesha Shafi lately broke her
silence and opened up about being sexually harassed by Ali Zafar. After Meesha,
numerous other women came out and accused Ali Zafar of misconduct.
Meesha opened up in a media chat to a daily and revealed,
“The first time it happened, I didn’t react and just left. I told my husband
but also asked him to not react; I’m a public figure and so is he (Ali Zafar).
My thought process was who I am and who he is and what that’s going to lead to.
Being ready to talk was far off because it had just happened. I buried it.”
She further added, “I got booked for a concert. I was
jamming with my band in Lahore and the organisers insisted that he was trying
to get in touch. It started turning into a thing, and I was being seen as
difficult or a diva, I got such feelers. I was avoiding him. I was asked to
jam, figure out songs, scale and it happened while we were jamming.”
When questioned about photographs of them on social media after
the incident, Meesha revealed, “I have run into him, our pictures have been
taken, at social gatherings etc because it’s easier to tell yourself to move on
in whatever way you can, you try.”
She told that she shared this now as she was ready to talk
about it. Meesha revealed, “The first and foremost reason is that I’m ready. I
have started talking to people and divulging my experience. I’m finding it hard
on my conscious to stay silent any longer than this because I’m seeing such
brave girls and women speaking up – not just around the world – but here as
well. I have to say, by the way, I salute these girls.”
“It is liberating, it’s empowering and it’s not the end of
the world. I only felt hesitant as long as I hadn’t told anyone. The more
people I tell, the more power I feel. I do. That has been my direct experience
in the case. I’ve done the thing I feared and I’ve taken the leap of faith. And
you know what, it’s okay,” she ended the chat.
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