Blind to Bounds

VEENA MALIK VEENA MALIK VEENA MALIK

Everywhere you turn, is the name of Veena Malik.

I close my eyes and your image flashes..
I slept last night and I dreamt of you.
Oh Veena you have captured my heart and mind like no one ever did before.

Yes you are a smart and a talented girl. I was a fan of your acting and mimicry in the HUM SUB UMEED SE HAIN when you hosted the show.You carried the roles of almost anyone from Benazir, to Kashmala Tariq to Fridous Awan to a two plait juniour school girl with such awesome accuracy.
When you left the show I missed you. I did not enjoy the show for weeks after that with the new anchor.

When you had your the affair with Asif, the alleged marriage and then the breakup–I didnt gossip about it . For it was your personal life . None of my business. Exactly the way it is none of anybody’s business to know about my personal life.
I really felt sorry for you when you split with Asif and you narrated your tragedy of abuse and your finanacial help to a broke Asif, even when you were ridiculed. And you know all those cricket loving guys turned against you and called you millions of names. Yes they were such immature  to take Asif’s side. None of them knew what was the inside truth in it. Your story was right or wrong, was none of my business.  For I looked at you only as an actress and Asif as a cricketer who got wickets for the team.  Nothing more nothing less.

And yes when the news came that you and Ali Saleem were selected for the BigBoss, I just heard it one minute and forgot it the next.  Not because I was jealous but because I have different priorities. I dont watch such shows. Yes you do such shows or millions watch them. It’s their choice.  None of my business to judge you or anyone.

What ever you did on the show–I just heard off and on, and sometimes stalked the link to check–people frowned at you and raised their eyebrows on your morality. Yes these people have small minds.  But to me it didnt matter. You are a showbiz girl. Showbiz is your bread and butter. I know, you have a huge family if unmarried sisters and a brother to feed.
Kudos, to you for being a ‘man’ of your family.
You seek publicity. People call it cheap publicity. Sometimes I also blurt out such unethical words. I’m sorry for that. I need not judge you. You only know how hard it is to survive in a competitive world,  that too of showbiz.  You only face the hardships that any woman has to face in an industry where a  woman is taken as a selling commodity.

You survived long in the show. Whatever method you used was your business. You had to do it and you had every right to choose how you survuved. If you flirted with whoever that tall guy was, you did it with yourself. You did not push me to sit in his lap. Those who called this haram –they are bigots and idiots. You will be answerable for   your deeds in the grave. They may not be sitting in some ones lap doing haram but they take bribes, tell lies and most of all bitch about you–it lis like they are eating the meat of their dead brother. They too will be questioned in their grave.

They gave you fatwas and fb pages erupted asking to not allow you to come to Pakistan–but you came.
Bravo. You are not a coward. You are a brave girl. You are a son to your mom. I commend her.

You came on the Kamran Shahid’s show . The clean shaven ‘God fearing’ anchor and the unkemptly bearded Mullah  both  interrogated you about your ordeal. You answered to the best of your aptitiude. Some blogger said you looked sexy–well he is an ass, you did not come there for glamour. You came to clarify yourself.

The mullah and KS asked you all kinds of stuppidd questions and emotionally blackmailed you for Pakistan or Islam. But MashAllah, you are so honest, you shut up those arguments by saying you represented you not  Pakistan not  Islam. You said in so many words that  you went there with your own agenda. Yes Allah  rewards honest and punishes the hypocrats. You definitely are not a hypocrat.

Yes it is first you and your family to be fed. If you are well fed then only can you love your country or your faith. Singing Qaumi Tarana  or  reciting Surah Rehman will not give you and your family the basic needs of food, shelter and clothing. If you have no money,  no Mullah or no Pakistani  patriot will bring food for you for free.  So it is no one’s business to judge you from the Islamic or Pakistani angle. You never took refuge with  anyone to save you. You never begged anyone to give you money. Instead you gave sooo much money to Asif that he couldnt even digest  it and hence puked it on your relationship.

When you could not bear no more you cried and screamed.  As a woman I did not like it.  A strong woman neither cries nor screams to put her views across. A strong woman makes others cry, instead.  Yes next time they make you cry, you make them cry in return.  But then it was you not me. I shouldnt have judged you again.

Yes I pity you for what hue and cry is going on about you. And the mullah with or without beards,  are crying fowl for you. But these bigots and Mullah, they are a pain for everyone, not just for you.   And these Fatwas are a peice of crap.  Allah doesn’t get pleased by such Fatwas.  This is their thriving business you see. So please dont give a hoot to these Fatwas.

These religious bigots  killed Taseer recently, they are after Sherry Rehman, they call Asma Jehangir all kinds of names. They hate Beena Sarwar for her values.Yeah, they even killed Benazir. They were the ones who hanged Bhutto too. They even killed Gandhi in India, yaar.  We are fighting them since years. We have to go on fighting them. Good you are taking them head on . I like it. Keep it up.

But then Veena you are so lucky, so many people have fallen in love with you. Girls dream of at least one person falling in love with them, and you have so many. Maa, you’re a lucky girl. I know you are getting so many SMSs with their love notes. Save them for life in the hard disk. They come pretty handy when you feel low for some other reason in you later life.

But Veena I have one issue with you.  No no, not with  you but with  all those enlightened chocolate hearts in which you have made a permanent home. They are so overwhelmed by you and your bravery that they see Veena Malik in every woman. Yes they see Veena Malik in me too.

But ‘m sorry. You are you and me is me.  And every woman in Pakistan is ‘SHE’ herself.  Everyone has her own story. Everyone has her own modus operandi to survive.

Please tell all your beloveds– I know you have many among the cleanshaven guys and hijabless gals– to please spare me and my other Pakistani sisters.

You have been fortunate to get fame, name, money, Asif, even sympathy.

Many many million of my sisters here dont get even a proper two full meals because their brothers are fed first.

You enjoyed such wonderful Indian cuisines in  the Bigboss.

They dont go to school because they have to look after their sibs. They cant even step out of the house.

You went all the way to Bombay, India to do Big boss.

No one asks them when they are married off to older men, whether they love the groom or  not.

You got married to your love  Asif by your choice and then you split,  then you will marry again by your choice ( Oh! now you have a huge choice).

No one comes to their rescue when they are beaten by their husbands, brothers, or fathers.

You got such overwhelming love and hearts melted  when the Mullah or Kamran just talked to you so rudely.

If my poor sisters oppose their parents or dont obey them they get killed in the name of  honour.

If you will get such threats you will fly back to India fast and be safe.

Nobody loves them, not even their fathers, brothers or husbands.

And you have sooo maaannnyyy beloveds.

So, Veena did you see now, there is no comparison between you and them.
You are you. They are they. Me is me.
We all have different stories . We all have different journeys.

Please tell these beloveds of yours, in whose chocolate hearts you reside, not to tag you to those poor women.
I know you are not doing this yourself.  But these silly infatuated souls, their love for you is blind. So they tag you with every woman of Pakistan. They are immature you  see. They arent grown up yet. But you are pretty grown up I know.

I understand their sentiments, but you see Veena, my poor sisters feel depressed that their plight is underestimated by comparison to you. Their issues are far more serious and deeper than yours. They have a tough day to day struggle of their survival.

Thank your stars for that. You are born luckier than them.

But then they have to live their fate and fight for their existence  far more hard. Their road of life is far far more rocky and their journey far too long.

Please I tell you to make a humble request to your  admirers,  from my behalf to untag my poor sisters of you.

If your status is sky their status is the bottom of a deep pit on this earth. You are far more fortunate.

You are you. They are they. Me is me.
So please tell your beloveds to untag you from my really oppressed sisters  for good.

Let us not mix the two struggles and entangle or  complicate the situation.

I love you too , Veena.
But behn you are not ‘me’.

Ilmana Fasih

P.S. This is written in light of the various articles and blogs that came up with valid sympathies for Veena`s moral policing. But am afraid they all went over board in linking her individual struggle to the struggle of millions of oppressed women of Pakistan. And that just because she screamed at the Mullahs on the TV she came to be the Champion of the Oppressed women en masse when she made it aptly clear that she is fighting for herself not as a Pakistani or as a Muslim.Yes she has every right to fight her battle the way she likes. To link her to the oppressed women of Pakistan in general is as deplorable as our Mullahs link each or our action to Islam or Pakistaniat.

We do not need Veena`s crutches  to fight for our liberal values–aptly said by Ali Naushad.

Bottom line: Some people are born oppressed, some get oppressed later, some have Oppression thrust upon themselves.