Pakistani actor Ayesha Omar has said sexual harassment happens in the Pakistani showbiz industry, saying she too was assaulted by a man twice her age when she joined the industry.
Omar and Hollywood actor and director Rose McGowan held a conversation on sexual assaults, victim blaming, and the #MeToo movement in general.
McGowan had opened up about her struggle in 2017, 20 years after she was assaulted by Harvey Weinstein.
In a live Instagram conversation, McGowan revealed how she gathered the strength to finally speak about the assault.
"I didn't have friends. No women's groups to help me, nothing,” she said referring to her ordeal.
At this, Omar shared the story of her own assault.
"A huge powerful man, twice my age. I had just entered the industry, I was this young 23-year-old, fresh out of college, and bam, this started happening. And it went on for years," she told McGowan.
"It wasn't a one-off incident, and I just didn't want to process it. I put in a box, I said okay, this is happening in my life, I have to deal with it. I didn't wanna share it with anybody. I let it stay there for 15 years, and I finally spoke about it to someone two years ago."
"A friend of mine from the industry also came out with her story, and TV channels started calling me up and asking 'Do you think she's telling the truth?'" Omar said.
"And I said 'I would believe any victim'. They asked me if sexual harassment happens in the industry and that's the first time I said yes. They asked if it happened to you, and I said yes. I will talk about it someday, but not today. I still haven't named my monster but I've started talking about it," she said.
Omar and Hollywood actor and director Rose McGowan held a conversation on sexual assaults, victim blaming, and the #MeToo movement in general.
McGowan had opened up about her struggle in 2017, 20 years after she was assaulted by Harvey Weinstein.
In a live Instagram conversation, McGowan revealed how she gathered the strength to finally speak about the assault.
"I didn't have friends. No women's groups to help me, nothing,” she said referring to her ordeal.
At this, Omar shared the story of her own assault.
"A huge powerful man, twice my age. I had just entered the industry, I was this young 23-year-old, fresh out of college, and bam, this started happening. And it went on for years," she told McGowan.
"It wasn't a one-off incident, and I just didn't want to process it. I put in a box, I said okay, this is happening in my life, I have to deal with it. I didn't wanna share it with anybody. I let it stay there for 15 years, and I finally spoke about it to someone two years ago."
"A friend of mine from the industry also came out with her story, and TV channels started calling me up and asking 'Do you think she's telling the truth?'" Omar said.
"And I said 'I would believe any victim'. They asked me if sexual harassment happens in the industry and that's the first time I said yes. They asked if it happened to you, and I said yes. I will talk about it someday, but not today. I still haven't named my monster but I've started talking about it," she said.