Mira Sethi is an actress, writer and former journalist who has always been an unapologetic advocate of feminism and Aurat March. The Jhoot actress recently appeared on popular YouTuber Mooroo’s podcast and talked about a vast range of topics around the perception of women in our society.
The conversation revolved around many topics regarding women’s rights. She talked about how women cannot make their own choices. “Talking about the Hijab, I know so many people who observe it and I have immense respect for them. But, when men go around policing their wives and daughters by saying ‘You don’t look NICE when you’re bareheaded’ it’s wrong,” she said.
Read: Arslan Naseer to make acting debut alongside Mira Sethi & Osman Khalid Butt
The conversation then steered towards Aurat March and Mera Jism Meri Marzi with Mira addressing people who said the controversial slogan should have been replaced with Meri Zindagi Meri Marzi, (my life, my choice) or Mera Wujood, Meri Marzi (my existence my choice).
“The point is men get triggered by the word jism (body). When they think of it, they think of all things sexual. Whereas the phrase is simply women saying ‘you don’t get to set the terms of my life, my body, my decisions’. They know the society in which we live and operate. They have every exposure with the kind of unspoken rules that run in this society, so this only means ‘it’s my agency, you don’t get to dictate. We are going to reclaim this cultural space that you, for hundreds of years have taken up,” she added.
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When they talked about how men will try to limit women towards any kind of liberty, she said it’s the oldest trick of putting someone up on a so-called pedestal. “This way, they can take away space for women to do anything else which is really like putting them in a cage. When in fact you’re human and like men, women can also make mistakes. It’s like saying you can’t make a mistake and if you do, you’ll be ostracized from society,” she said.
As the topic of Khalil ur Rehman came up, Mira talked about how until five years ago nobody knew of a face to attach to the name. “He has done a disservice to himself by unmasking himself. What is really ugly is that he has a constituency who are cheering him on. When he was talking to Marvi he went overboard with the yelling and when Amir Liaquat was insulting him, he stayed quiet,” Mira said.
Talking about his comments about Adnan Malik, she said, “It was essentially an attempt to emasculate an actor. The problem was that the actor who is being targeted is so smart and secure that he is unmoved by all of this.”
She also talked about working with Osama Khalid Butt who is often known to fight for feminism, saying he is a true feminist and not just claiming to be one. “For OB, I’d say that thank God there are educated heroes in the industry now. He’s genuinely progressive.”
You can listen to the entire podcast here.
