Daily Times

In this day and age, women are emerging as a stronger force than before; the stigma attached to smoking is still quite popular in Pakistan. The ‘Hindi Medium‘ actress posted a photo from her latest photoshoot on Instagram with a caption, “Mard peeyein toh wah, Hum peeyein toh haaaa. Tum khao toh chips, Hum khaain toh aaloo.”(If men smoke then you go wow but if we [women] smoke then you criticise. If you eat then they are fries if we eat they are potatoes).”

She concluded, “Smoking is injurious to all, not only to women.”

The photo displayed Saba posing lightheartedly in cool and casual attire with a cigarette in her mouth and 80’s stereo in her arm.

Saba’s latest post comes, in an evident reference to Mahira Khan’s multiple smoking controversies. Those incidents stirred up a controversy on social media, the smoking police bashed Mahira. However, many spoke out in support of the actress, questioning why nobody objects when men smoke and that it is her personal choice.

Saba is not the only one tackling the stigma attached to women smoking. The recent film, Cake, also showed the lead actresses, Sanam Saeed and Aamina Sheikh, smoking a cigarette publicly.

Published in Daily Times, April 14^th 2018.