Child sexual abuse is a haunting subject to talk about and even more so for survivors. While starlets like Nadia Jamil have been vocal about their experiences in order to raise awareness, not everyone is that brave. Recently, Ayesha Omar was brave enough to open up about her story.
The Karachi Se Lahore star opened up about being sexually abused as a child in a recent interview.
“I was sexually harassed at a very young age. It happened early on in my childhood, and then later in my career as well, … It wasn’t a one-off incident. It was at a workplace of mine where I was a salaried employee. This was when I was a fresh graduate. When it happened, I was like, ‘What?’ It was a shock. I asked myself what was happening, what was that person doing, how was that acceptable? You wonder if it’s happening to other people. At the time, there was a lot of shame attached to these things, and also a lot of fear.”
She shared the fear attached to coming forth at the time and how calling out a person in a position of authority can lead to them harming you in other ways.
The Rehbara actress opened up about her disappointment in seniors that turn a blind eye to such behavior. This is the same attitude towards artist exploitation and delayed or usurped payments.
“The biggest bumps came during my professional life. The people who I respected and considered my seniors, the kind I expected to offer me protection in times of need, were the ones who turned their backs and hurt me, … People would delay my payments. I had no one to back me up. I’d go and collect my payments on my own. Back then, social media wasn’t a thing so no one was worried about getting exposed. There are so many people who still haven’t paid me my fair share.”
She also talked about her struggles of being the child a single parent in Pakistan.
“My father passed away when I was less than two-years-old. My mother was a single parent, so I felt the bumps in the road early on in life. I was fortunate enough to get a scholarship to Lahore Grammar School, which is the most prestigious school for girls in the city, and be admitted there. We couldn’t have afforded that education otherwise because we weren’t very stable during my childhood. There was no help from the family either. I was studying in a school with very rich kids, while I came from a family focused on necessities.”
According to Ayesha Omar, it was the lack of financial resources that fueled her drive to excel.
“I wanted to prove that you don’t need to be coming from a home filled with luxuries to be doing well. I was on top of my class, I’d be part of every school activity. I did theatre, puppets, dance, everything. So, I had that drive in me, which I guess came from the trauma I faced. Maybe it was a way of getting acceptance and approval.”
Previously the actress has opened up about her reasons for not sharing her sexual harassment story sooner.
