Model and actress Saheefa Jabbar Khattak has been slammed by the internet after she posted a statement on her Instagram account lamenting how her house help ‘wasted’ away Rs 50,000 in two days. In a post on her account, the model expressed her grievance over how her house help, who made about Rs 1000-1500 per day, had splurged Rs 50,000 over clothes and a bicycle for their children.
“It hurts to see that when you try to help people who are underprivileged, they end up wasting money. Even for a middle-class person, 50,000 rupees is a lot. If someone is working two jobs, their husband is also working two jobs, and together they barely manage to make 1000 or 1500 per day, I just cannot comprehend how they managed to spend 50,000 rupees in only two days- just on clothes and a bicycle for the kids.”
Netizens have slammed Saheefa’s post for being ‘classist’ and for humiliating her personal staff in such a dehumanising manner.
“How do you get off being so holier than thou?” one user commented. “Why are the poor held to such insane standards? Why don’t you also speak up about the rich influencers enabling overconsumption in the first place or are only those who live below the poverty line held to such standards?”
Another user wrote: “This post is so unnecessary. You could’ve had this conversation in private but you decide to shame the person publicly. Also, how are you lecturing about overconsumption right after you brag about owning 300 outfits? Maybe don’t do charity if you think theres a right or wrong way to spend it.”
Many other users pointed out that the house help did not ‘waste’ her money, but used it to spend to fulfil all of her children’s needs first.
“5k for 2 suits for her husband, 2500 rs each, how is that expensive? 8k for a bicycle which she bought for her kids prioritizing their happiness? Aur 10k rs for Eid clothes for how many kids again? 50k isn’t that much in today’s economy, if someone is living off of 10k per month then it doesn’t mean k unki zarooratein puri horhi hai, they just don’t have any other choice.”
“She literally spent money on her children and her family for Eid! You should be happy for her. This is so weird,” a person commented.
Saheefa had defended herself in the comment section, writing that she always treated her househelp Mussarat like a younger sister, and was only lecturing her to save money because of the current state of the economy.
“I take Musarrat as my sister. And as an older sister, I will always slap the shit out of my sister for wasting money like that, especially when she is one of the needy ones. This is what my parents taught me, and this is what I teach my brother. I tell everyone to save money in this era because it’s so, so, so difficult to survive.
You don’t know how many houses you’re working in. If you’re working in three houses and one fine day, two of them tell you to leave because they don’t need you anymore, what the fuck are you going to do? You don’t have savings. You’re only living paycheck to paycheck. That’s why I always emphasize managing money and keeping money aside.”
In another post, Saheefa wrote:
“Initially, I offered money for her house. Her kids got all their toys from me because there were a few toys that were given to me from my childhood, and there were toys that my parents brought for her kids. My parents also brought chocolates for them. I’m not trying to defend myself, but I’m telling you the truth because there are things you don’t know, things you don’t fully understand.
My parents live abroad, and every time they come back, they bring chocolates for them. Since I don’t eat chocolates or meetha like that—though I would love to, but I don’t—they make sure to bring chocolates specifically for Musarrat’s kids so they can enjoy them. Along with that, they also bring Musarrat and her husband either a perfume, a watch, or a piece of clothing for her kids, just to make their lives a little better.
I have offered plenty of times to put her kids in school so she would be free and they would get an education, but she never accepted it.
At one point, you’re trying to say that I’m showing off what I have given. I have done charity so many times that you guys have no fucking idea. Even if Musarrat reads all of this today, if I read this to her, she will actually come forward and make a video telling you guys, what the fuck are you talking about? And if I actually take you to her house, everything she owns is given to her by me. And when I say by me, it’s not even me, it’s something that Allah has given, and I was just the zariya.
All I’m trying to say is that in today’s world, a middle-class person barely making 150k per month in a white-collar job, running a rented house with kids, is struggling. It’s so, so fucking difficult. And when I see people wasting money like that, it’s not alright.”
In a separate post, the ‘Bhool’ actress stressed that her intention was not to shame anyone, but just to emphasise on the importance of financial responsibility.
“In today’s world, making 50,000 rupees a day is not easy. It’s a lot of money, and wasting it is not an option. I believe in financial responsibility, not just for myself, but for those who work for me. I want my house help to secure her future, take care of her children, ensure their health and education, and safeguard her home and family.”
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We have to say how disappointed we are at the kind of entitlement and narcissism that is at display here, and the way Saheefa Jabbar doesn’t seem to understand that this was not the kind of conversation that required public shaming. Underprivileged people have the right to spend their money as they please and it is not up to us to dictate them about how they should spend it, especially when we have given it away as charity.
