Pakistani film and TV actress Mehwish Hayat recently spoke about the unfair difference between how men and women are treated as they grow older in the entertainment industry.
Mehwish started her showbiz career in 2009 with a short film called Insha Allah. She later appeared on TV in the drama Maasi Aur Malka. She became well-known after her 2012 drama Mere Qatil Mere Dildar, for which she also won the Lux Style Award for Best Actress.
After that, she appeared in many dramas and gained more fame. In 2014, she entered the film industry with an item song Billi in the movie Na Maloom Afraad. Her acting debut in films came in 2015 with Jawani Phir Nahi Ani.
Besides dramas and films, Mehwish also played a role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe series Ms. Marvel, where she acted as Aisha. She has also received the Tamgha-e-Imtiaz award from the Government of Pakistan.
Mehwish is counted among Pakistan’s top stars. These days, she is being praised for her performance in the drama Dayan.
Recently, during an interview on FUCHSIA Magazine’s YouTube show, Mehwish was asked if women in the industry face more criticism about aging compared to men.
Agreeing with the question, Mehwish said that in our industry, men are allowed to age with grace. Even at an older age, they can easily appear as heroes opposite much younger actresses, and no one sees a problem with it.
Continuing the conversation, Mehwish said that this is not the case for our actresses. People expect them to stop aging as if time should freeze for them.
She said that this kind of thinking does not exist in the West. In our society, there is too much focus on age. She questioned why people care so much about an actress’s age, even ignoring her talent, hard work, and skills just to talk about how old she is.
Mehwish added that no one can control age. Every person grows older with time. Those who criticize age will also go through the same process themselves. So expecting actresses to remain young forever is very unfair.
She said this is mostly seen in our country. Even in Bollywood, things are different. Many actresses there are still working at an older age. They are fit and active, and people appreciate them for maintaining themselves and growing older with grace.
Mehwish also said that in our industry, actresses are not even allowed to grow older. So aging gracefully is not even an option for them.
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