Aaya Laariye Ni singer Meesha Shafi has accused Ali Zafar
of sexual harassment.
The 36-year-old singer broke her silence and took to
social media to write about her experience.
Meesha Shafi
She captioned her statement, “Sharing this because I believe that by speaking out about my own experience of sexual harassment, I will break the culture of silence that permeates through our society. It is not easy to speak out.. but it is harder to stay silent. My conscience will not allow it anymore #MeToo”
Sharing this because I believe that by speaking out about my own experience of sexual harassment, I will break the culture of silence that permeates through our society. It is not easy to speak out.. but it is harder to stay silent. My conscience will not allow it anymore #MeToo pic.twitter.com/iwex7e1NLZ
— Meesha Shafi (@itsmeeshashafi) 19 April 2018
Her post read, “As a woman, a public figure and a mother,
I have always felt strongly about using my voice to encourage and support our
youth who look up to me especially girls, who dream of carving their own path
in Pakistan.”
She added, “I have been subjected, on more than one
occasion, to sexual harassment of a physical nature at the hands of a colleague
from my industry: Ali Zafar. These incidences did not happen when I was young,
or just entering the industry. This happened to me despite the fact that I am
an empowered, accomplished woman who is known for speaking her mind! This
happened to me as a mother of two children.”
Ali Zafar
“It has been an extremely traumatic experience for me and my family. Ali is someone I have known for many years and someone who I have shared the stage with. I feel betrayed by his behaviour and his attitude and I know that I am not alone.”
She concluded by saying, "Today I am breaking this
culture of silence and I hope that by doing that I am setting an example for
young women in my country to do the same. We only have our voices and the time
has come to use them."
Image Source: uniquewallpaper/Alizafar