Actress Ayesha Toor believes that women often face less harassment in the metropolitan city of Karachi in comparison to other cities in Pakistan.
During her recent appearance on the FHM podcast, she shared her experiences living in Sindh’s capital, shedding light on the city’s complexities and impact on women.
“Karachi is a city full of problems. There are no roads, there are incidents of theft and robbery, and there are many problems, including water and electricity, but despite all this, I like the people of Karachi,” she said.
Talking about the treatment of women in Pakistan, Toor asserted that “When you leave home in Karachi, the people [men] will see you once, but then they will turn their backs and carry on with their work. People here do not harass women.”
“If there is any problem on the road, people come to your help,” Toor further pointed out.
“The people of Karachi do not have enough time to create problems for women. If I talk about myself, I have never faced as many problems in Karachi as I have encountered in Punjab,” she reflected on her experiences.
“I do not see as much dominance of men in Karachi as I see in Lahore or Islamabad. Although there is a lot of hospitality and love in Lahore, but male temperament is dominant there, while in Karachi, it is not like that”, Ayesha concluded.
The host, Adnan Faisal, also asked Ayesha Toor about her daily gym routine, to which she responded by discussing the balance between exercise and diet, especially in the context of cultural food preferences.
“In my opinion, the gym is just 20 per cent of the effort. Pakistani people say that home-cooked meals at night are very healthy, and dishes like karahi are common,” she said.
“To be honest, I love eating. I’m Punjabi and Pakistani, and life without karahi isn’t enjoyable; I have to eat karahi. My biggest issue is not food but my sugar addiction. I am addicted to sugar, and it’s a serious addiction,” she added, saying that she has struggled in trying to overcome her sweet tooth.
“My food is very clean and healthy, prepared in pure desi ghee. I pay attention to what I’m eating. But as soon as it hits 9 PM, I think, ‘Life is short; I need to eat cake,’ so I have a slice of chocolate cake almost every other night. It seems that your calorie deficit is probably not working out, considering the indulgences you allow yourself in the evening”, Ayesha admitted.
