Karachi [Pakistan]: Pakistan actor Ayesha Omar has expressed her concern about the safety of women in the country and said that "freedom and safety are a basic human need which is not here", reported Geo News.
"I don't feel safe here. I want to walk on the road, as it is every human's need to go out for fresh air. I want to cycle but why can't I do it?" she said while speaking during a podcast.
According to Omar, the only time women could go outside was during the Covid-19 lockdown. "I feel stressed and anxious in Karachi and I just don't feel safe, and I don't think many women do," she said.
"Men can never understand what Pakistani women grow up with no matter how hard you try. The fear a woman faces in this country cannot be understood [by a man]. You feel anxious every second."
She stated that she felt much safer in Lahore than in Karachi when she was in college and that she used to commute by bus. When asked about her experiences in Karachi, she stated that she had been mugged twice.
She lamented that she cannot walk in Pakistan freely without fear of being kidnapped, raped or mugged. "Freedom and safety are a basic human need which is not here," she stressed, according to Geo News.
"You are not even safe in your home. Crime happens in every country but you can still go out and walk freely. I can't even go to a park [in Pakistan] without being harassed," she added.
Omar, on the other hand, stated that she adores Pakistan since it has given her everything. "I love the land and if I have the choice to choose from anywhere in the world to live, I would choose Pakistan," she said.
The actor said that her brother has moved abroad from Pakistan and lives in Denmark and her mother also plans to leave the country, reported Geo News.
—ANI