Ayesha Omar, a well-known actress from Pakistan, has voiced serious concerns about women’s safety in the nation and brought attention to the difficulties that women experience in public places.
Omar also emphasized how unsafe and limited women’s freedom is in Pakistan, saying, “Freedom and safety are a basic human need which is not here.”
In a podcast, Omar opened up about how she felt, calling it a basic human need to be able to walk and cycle outdoors. This is according to Geo News. She emphasized that women felt confined in their movements in public spaces, even outside of the COVID-19 lockdown.
“I don’t feel safe here. I want to walk on the road, as it is every human’s need to go out for fresh air. I want to cycle but why can’t I do it?” she mentioned. “I feel stressed and anxious in Karachi and I just don’t feel safe, and I don’t think many women do. Men can never understand what Pakistani women grow up with no matter how hard you try. The fear a woman faces in this country cannot be understood [by a man]. You feel anxious every second.”
She made a comparison between her experiences in Karachi, where she was mugged twice, and her college days in Lahore, when she felt safer traveling by bus.
Omar continued to bemoan the widespread anxiety that Pakistani women endure, stating, “You are not even safe in your home. Crime happens in every country but you can still go out and walk freely. I can’t even go to a park [in Pakistan] without being harassed.”
Omar acknowledged the chances and support her native Pakistan has given her, even in spite of her worries, and she proclaimed her love for it. “I love the land and if I have the choice to choose from anywhere in the world to live, I would choose Pakistan,” she added.
