After making Pakistan proud time and time again, Mehwish Hayat achieved another major milestone achieved for Muslim representation in mainstream media. The London Nahi Jaunga actor has been announced as the first patron of the charity UK Muslim Film (UKMF).
Aside from the Pakistani movie star, Never Have I Ever writer-director Lena Khan has also been named the first patron of the charity UKMF.
Actor and producer Sajid Varda, set up UKMF with the aim to ‘change ingrained perceptions surrounding Mulsim characters on-screen‘, as well as amplify Muslim talent off-screen.
This is a subject Mehwish Hayat is passionate about. In fact she told Variety;
“Representation of Muslims on-screen is something I have been tirelessly working to highlight for the past few years. Misrepresentation has done untold damage to us and I sincerely believe has fuelled the rise of Islamophobia. With UKMF, I look forward to working with the industry to make sure that the way that we are portrayed on-screen, if not positive, is at least a lot fairer. It is equally incumbent on us as Muslims to tell our own stories. I am excited that UKMF will support emerging Muslim talent and help them get their work to larger audiences.”
On the other hand, Lena Khan, who has also directed the Disney original film Flora & Ulysses, agreed with the Gangsta Guriya, adding;
“Representation in films and television literally changes our cultural landscape—for better or worse. It impacts policy, how we see people, and how we operate with each other. And it’s not that hard to do. I hope we can continue to expand the scope and quality of how our fellow humans are seen on screen, and enjoy the ride and the stories along the way.”
The Pakistani starlet recently made her global debut in the Disney+ show, Ms. Marvel. Now she’s also a part of UKMF.
