
Pakistani actor Shahroz Sabzwari appeared on a TV show and addressed the criticism his wife Sadaf Kanwal received for saying “our culture is our husband”.
Sabzwari said that Kanwal’s statement was an “expression of her love for her husband” which was “in line with Islamic values and the hadith.”
He continued, “First of all I’d like to point out that only 10% of Pakistanis are against Sadaf, I will talk about them later. But 90% are standing with her."
The actor added, “No woman would willingly want do everything Sadaf said she would do for me, unless she is happy with her husband and not oppressed. This should tell you that Sadaf is not oppressed and she said what she said because it is her way of expressing her love. And likewise, in return, I am willing to do more.”
He added, “But black sheep are everywhere in the world and by that I mean women around the world are subjected to violence and that does not mean the violence is justified. But If my wife is listing down ways she feels she can express her love to me and it irks 10% of Pakistanis who share her old videos to justify their claims, then they have weakened their case themselves."
He further added, “Islam gives us the chance to repent, and you don’t know if someone has repented, how can you bring up their past to throw dirt on them? Sadaf and I, and my family stand with the oppressed women. But we don’t stand with women who want to normalise vulgarity.”
Actor Salma Zafar was also present during the TV show. She told Shahroz that his wife may have used incorrect words to convey her message. To this he replied that feminism is being used to spread vulgarity.
Sabzwari asserted, “Similarly, If ‘Mera Jism, Meri Marzi’ has been misconstrued, then so has what Sadaf said. And we believe whatever Sadaf said was in accordance with Islam and hadith. And I agree that feminism is meant to give a voice to the women who are oppressed but don’t you think people are using feminism to normalize vulgarity?”
Zafar responded, “I will tell you that more than half of the oppressed women think feminism means women can wear jeans and leave their homes without taking their brothers’ permission.”