Pakistani actor and singer Meesha Shafi has responded to allegations leveled by Ali Zafar saying that it was not only her who was allegedly subjected to sexual harassment but several other women came out against the pop star too.
Talking to the media last week, Ali Zafar had claimed that ‘Meesha was leveling false accusations against him for immigration’. Later in a program on Geo TV, he broke into tears saying that the ‘false accusations’ have ‘ruined his life’.
Geo TV’s Shahzeb Khanzada invited Meesha to his show on Monday to know her side of the story. During the program, Meesha said that she had already ‘forgotten and forgiven’ the first time he harassed her, but it did not stop there.
Meesha said she did not want to go public and that wanted to solve the matter privately but received no positive response from the other side.
“When I came out with my story, I knew the kind of backlash I was going to face. There was slander, there was character assassination,” Meesha said, adding that she was under pressure but ‘you won’t see me crying about it’.
She also rejected the idea that she was ‘avoiding courts’ saying that she will appear whenever the court summons her.
She also shared that going public was not easy for her, but it did make her realize why it’s so hard for women to talk about these issues because people rarely believe them.
“I was humiliated, I was demeaned. It frustrated me that nothing happened. When someone like me, who’s in a position to speak out, shared her story, it didn’t make a difference. So, I was taken back to the same thought – why speak out?” she said.
Talking to the media last week, Ali Zafar had claimed that ‘Meesha was leveling false accusations against him for immigration’. Later in a program on Geo TV, he broke into tears saying that the ‘false accusations’ have ‘ruined his life’.
Geo TV’s Shahzeb Khanzada invited Meesha to his show on Monday to know her side of the story. During the program, Meesha said that she had already ‘forgotten and forgiven’ the first time he harassed her, but it did not stop there.
Meesha said she did not want to go public and that wanted to solve the matter privately but received no positive response from the other side.
“When I came out with my story, I knew the kind of backlash I was going to face. There was slander, there was character assassination,” Meesha said, adding that she was under pressure but ‘you won’t see me crying about it’.
She also rejected the idea that she was ‘avoiding courts’ saying that she will appear whenever the court summons her.
She also shared that going public was not easy for her, but it did make her realize why it’s so hard for women to talk about these issues because people rarely believe them.
“I was humiliated, I was demeaned. It frustrated me that nothing happened. When someone like me, who’s in a position to speak out, shared her story, it didn’t make a difference. So, I was taken back to the same thought – why speak out?” she said.