Ushna Shah opens up on gender discrimination in showbiz

By Muhammad JuniadPublished On 04 Jan 2023

Actor Ushna Shah has shared a screenshot of an old interview in which she talked about how men and women are treated differently.

“I said what I said,” Ushna wrote to show that she still stands by her words.

The actor gave this interview last year to Something Haute. She said that no matter how a woman behaves, the connotations attached to her are always negative. 

“If I’m demanding or I want everything on time, or another woman with me wants something, their name is taken a bit negatively. We are ‘bossy’ and ‘shrill’,” she said.

But if a man’s behaviour is five times worse, Ushna added, he is never called problematic, but “senior”.

Many women actors, including Saba Bukhari and Faryal Mehmood, have shared their experiences with gender discrimination and sexual harassment in the industry. They have accused, without naming, certain directors and producers of asking for sexual favours in return for work.

Hania Aamir was trolled last week for raising voice against cyberbullying and harassment. Many people trivialised the point she wanted to get across through her posts and turned it into a debate about her former relationship with singer Asim Azhar. Celebrities, including Fahad Mustafa, called the trolling “disgusting”, and said women actors ought to be respected.