There is no doubt that the fashion industry has always been at the forefront of taking on issues that other mediums of art have somehow been afraid to highlight; PFDC with its years of experience has been the custodian of projecting a progressive image of our country through its platform in it’s usual abstract and alluring ways. Whether it was the beautifully haunting video by Ali Xeeshan, which portrayed the atrocity of child marriages, or the applaudable initiative by HSY to highlight the need of education at remote villages and giving a respectable livelihood to thousands of struggling artisans. PFDC has been anything but afraid.
It’s only befitting that in its eleventh edition the PFDC has just made history by courageously providing its platform to a trans model, a proud first for Pakistan. This will be the first time a trans model has walked the ramp for any official fashion week in Pakistan and we can barely contain our excitement for this much-needed inclusion that is sure to only make our foreseeable future a lot more diverse and colourful.
Hamza Bokhari and Maavia
We spoke to the polite yet confident model, Maavia, before her catwalk moment and asked whether she was aware of this huge leap of inclusion for her community that she was about to initiate. Was she nervous?
“I’m so excited to play my part in making this world more inclusive,” she spoke exclusively to Something Haute. “It is such an honour for me to represent my community on such a prestigious platform. I know I should be nervous but I’m not. I’m so happy to finally fulfill this life long dream of mine.”
The designer Hamza Bokhari from Jeem, who has pioneered this big change, also spoke to us about why he’s taking this somewhat controversial initiative.
“Taking Maavia was a no brainier,” Hamza said. “Not only is she educated and beautiful, she’s the perfect person to represent her community. I want people to see how beautiful diversity and inclusiveness is.”
There is no doubt that Pakistan has made significant progress in giving rights and respect to its transgender citizens but there are still miles to walk before we can truly accept them fully. With history having been made, the question remains, will Fashion Pakistan Week, happening next month in Karachi, take the initiative another step forward by building upon the cause? We definitely hope so.
