Daily Times

Rarely do lawyers get involved in anything related to comedy. Lawyer-turned stand up comedian Faiza Saleem, however, is an exception. Saleem is the founder of Pakistan’s all-girl comedy troup called ‘The Khawatoons’ which has been performing in Karachi, Islamabad and Lahore. She also featured in the recently-released film ‘Parchi’.

Daily Times talked to the comedian to know more about her work.

Faiza says she has always had a penchant for comedy. “Making people laugh was something I enjoyed the most. Even when I worked as a lawyer at a public policy think tank, I did not stop practicing comedy,” she says.

Talking about the time she started off as a comedian, Faiza says the field is dominated by male entertainers. “I love performing but I don’t like the fact that women performers do not have representation when it comes to comedy. Mainstream comedy that we watch in Pakistan today is misogynistic, which is one of the reasons I wanted to work as a comedian.”

Faiza says comedy in Pakistan still has a long way to go in terms of both quality and equality. “Getting practical training is important for a comedian because making people laugh is not a piece of cake”

However, Faiza says that things are changing for the better as more women are now coming forward to peruse their passion for comedy. Faiza’s comedy group also organises ‘Ladies nights’ where women enjoy their performance and also get to socialise freely.

Faiza says she had no intention to make money out of comedy when she began. “But now this is my profession and my source of income.”

She also says sometimes people resort to trolling when she chooses to promote a product online. “People don’t realise that it’s part of our job. There’s nothing wrong with promoting companies or products to make money. You give me money and I’ll promote you as well (laughs).”

Talking about her experience with ‘Parachi’, she said it was humbling for her to have been chosen by industry giants like Ali Rehman and Hareem Farooq to star in their movie. “After the movie, I got an overwhelming response from the audience. I thought I won’t get noticed a lot, but people do recognise me now. At first, it was only the youngsters and active users of social media who would recognise me in public because of my Facebook videos. Now I get recognised by older people as well because of my role in Parchi.”

Faiza thinks comedians also have a duty towards their audience and social issues that need to be discussed should also be a part of the comedy. The debate surrounding slogans like ‘Khana khud garam kar lou’ at the Aurat March last month was also part of one of the performances the group did recently.

Faiza says comedy in Pakistan still has a long way to go in terms of both quality and equality. “People here do not have a habit to put in effort but keep following the trends. Getting practical training is important for a comedian because to make people laugh is not a piece of cake.”

Published in Daily Times, April 30^th 2018.