Ever since Meesha Shafi accused Ali Zafar of sexual harassment, a lot of celebrities have come out in the open to lend their voice on the issue, some in favour of Meesha and some in favour of Ali.
In a recent post on her Instagram, Cake star Sanam Saeed spoke about the issue amongst all others. Though she did not specifically name Meesha or Ali, her stance clearly explained to those defending Zafar that anyone can ‘falter’. Alongside, she hailed Meesha’s courage for speaking up.
Sanam shared the post with the hashtag ‘#timesup’.
Her post starts off by saying, “She did it… she spoke up… she broke the silence. Good on her and every single person who is speaking up.”
“For the rest of you passing judgment, take a few minutes to consider that it doesn’t take an evil person, non-family person or an overtly, sleazy, ill-mannered person to cross the line. It can be a good friend, relative, colleague, boss, family person, ‘decent’ person, successful, loved and admired person who falters.”
She further stressed, “The tide is changing world over, they need to be shown, #timesup for this behavior to go unchecked.”
Sanam also showed her support for those who are afraid of speaking up against sexual abuse.
“For anyone afraid to speak up… we are here to support you. Let’s break the cycle together and support one another. Let inappropriate behaviour not go unchecked.”
She added, “No matter when you choose to #SpeakUp, regardless of days, minutes, weeks or years. Feel at ease that you have shared your truth. Their voices must and will be heard,”
With her words, she attempted to explain harassment for those who have been continuing to giving baseless remarks in support of Ali. The actor wrote, “When a person makes inappropriate flirtatious comment – that is crossing a line. If one takes polite rejection as sign of encouragement and continues, this is not persistence, it is harassment. It doesn’t flatter, it wounds.”
She concluded saying, “PS: for anyone who knows they have ever crossed the line, the correct thing to do is own up, apologise and to make sure it never happens again… to anyone!”
Last week, renowned singer, actress, and model accused singer and actor, Ali Zafar, of sexual harassment. In response to this episode, a war of words has broken out on social media, but the two starts involved are handling matters legally.