Actress Mehwish Hayat was a guest on the Fuchsia Magazine Youtube channel where she discussed ageism in the Pakistani entertainment industry and how it impacts women. The actress, whose currently starring in the on-going drama ‘Dayan’ spoke about how ageism creates double standards because men are allowed to age gracefully and still get roles or work with younger women despite being in their forties, but the same can’t be said for female actors.
Mehwish Hayat went on to point out that in contrast to Pakistan, films in Hollywood and Bollywood often featured female actors who were in their forties or fifties, who received a lot of love from audiences rather than being shamed for it.
“Why are we so fixated on the age of an actress, rather than talking about her craft or hard work? Go beyond it. Everyone’s growing old all day, you’re also going to reach this age and you’ll have a different opinion about it.
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In Bollywood I see so many actresses who are still working and in great shape and they get love from their audiences. Here we are not allowed to age at all, let alone gracefully.”
Mehwish went on to stress that it was important for our artists and writers to normalise women embracing their age
“We have to start bringing up narratives featuring women in their thirties and beyond who are protagonists, and still remain strong and desirable. Thats the onyl way we can accept and cherish them. As artists we need to start being unapologetic about ageing…Does a woman’s life end after a certain age? No. There is no age limit or expiry to talent.”
Listen to her complete interview.
