Saheefa Jabbar Khattak is unhappy about the scripts she has been offered lately. According to her, they are not up to the standards of story-telling and she doesn’t feel comfortable endorsing ‘escapism’ and ‘masculinized ideas of female empowerment’.
The model turned actor took to her Instagram and posted a long note about her reservations with the scripts she has been getting. She had a lot to say about the type of content being shown on TV and addressed her concerns categorically.
“I am writing this today because a few rumors have made their way back to me and it does not feel nice to hear untrue things about yourself.”
She clarified that she has not quit acting and is still being offered roles of leading characters in serials.
“No, I do not perceive acting as a bad profession. I consider it to be art, and it is an important part of my life. I only hold a positive opinion on the field of drama and it remains to be my core professions,” she said.
Saheefa Jabbar Khattak is sick of stories oppressing women
“As I am writing this, I am trying to be excessively sensitive to my fellow professionals in the industry. Artists, producers, writers, technicians and their collective labour is admirable. Their strife is real, and their struggle has helped us integrate dramatics into our culture and have the field recognised and respected. I do not intend to ignore the work of my fellow hard working professionals but sadly I am not being offered good scripts,” she added.
While delving into the details about monotonous scripts, Saheefa explained that there is always a household with a girl trapped inside of it and marriage is her only possibility of escape.
“I am not comfortable endorsing escapism. I am not comfortable endorsing masculinised ideas of female empowerment. I am not comfortable with the lives of the characters I play, with the choices they are offered, and the root causes of conflict in their lives. I do not like the homes, the worlds, and the inherently associated oppression of such places in the one-liners I read daily. DAILY!”
“Why do our women in drama remain oppressed?,’ asked the Teri Meri Kahani star.
Saheefa Jabbar Khattak wishes the narrative could be shown in a better light.
“I am not saying that women don’t struggle with such problems. I know them to be true. All I am saying is that there are better ways out of difficult instants for women. I know them to be true too.”
The actress asked people to send her scripts with “well-thought-out characters, a coherent plot and intelligent dialogue”.
