Certain lines of profession come with certain gender roles in Pakistan for all the wrong reasons. For example, if a boy is a stylist, people don’t find it a respectable job for a boy. If a boy is a beautician, he gets criticized by people, by the community, by his society. Why? Because caring about colors, make-up, beauty, acknowledging feelings is feminine?
It is always in the eyes of the people that one can see and tell what they don’t like and judge one for. And sometimes, it is challenging to fight that perception. This boy, who is a blogger in Lahore, Murrad Rahim, talks about his life struggles in the media industry and we think it’s pretty impressive.
Unnecessary gender roles
He talks about the way he was criticized for being in the media industry, for the work he did, the way he dealt with people, and the line of the profession he chose. “It is as if no one cared about my work but the idea of a guy being in the media, managing PR for clients, attending events like other female bloggers customarily did. Well, I did it with pride and I did it well, and right now I have a huge following. And people love me for what I do so I’m happy about what I do.”
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A person is known by their hard work and struggle
“Every person has their own personality and traits. My life has evolved throughout this time. Every human being on this planet has set goals and aims which enables them to survive in society. I too had aimed and the foremost important aim was to become a self-made person. A person who is known for the hard work and struggle. I being an average student throughout the school made me re-think about the goals and adjectives. But with the passage of time, I observed, that selection of right path has enabled me to score well.“
What brought his strength?
His four inspirations
“With the passage of time, good connections and healthy relationships were developed with the students as well the industry. The turning point of life was the even named Festivasia. The transformation started with the help of the four (4) main women that were Ms. Sidiqqa Izhar, Ms. Maria Niazi, Mrs. Hifsa Saad Khan, and Ms. Nighat Chaudhry. Being the mother of two, Sidiqqa Izhar inspires me to be honest, simple, and patience. Maria Niazi being my teacher has enabled me to be self-made, hardworking, and enthusiastic. Hifsa Khan the makeup artist has taught passion, struggle, and politeness. Nighat Chaudhry the classical dancer has taught me how to ignore things that make my mind pessimistic and to move forward.”
“My inspiration comes from 4 women”
This blogger then goes on to talk about the four sources of inspiration that helped him be who he is. He doesn’t shy away from mentioning the names of three women, who he says, helped him grow and become the person that he is now.
This is what we like about him — he doesn’t think adding names of women in the list of inspiration, being a boy, would be criticized on. He has gone through it all his life and now he is at the point to enjoy only what pleases him.
Doesn’t hesitate to express his emotions
Once we see his blog, we see how greatly he is impressed and inspired by women in his family. Every now and then, he shares a beautiful picture with them to express his love and respect for them.
He can cook as well
Then other times, we catch him cooking — the concept lost on men of our society.
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He acknowledges his feelings
The list goes on and on. The blogger is an immensely creative person who didn’t let the stereotypes and gender roles come in the way of his work. He keeps moving forward without a care in the world and this is exactly what we like about him.
What’s for us to ponder over?
We obviously need to question the concept of masculinity. What defines it? specific attribute? It is about time to call out bullies, school them on hurling sexist remarks that make the life of a person living hell.
What do you think of the story? Let us know in the comments section below!
