Mahira slams victim-blaming culture, says ‘it’s not my dress or conduct’

Mahira has once again come out against the culture of blaming the woman for being harassed, weeks after the actress broke her silence on the Ranbir picture controversy.

“It doesn’t matter what I wear or how I speak,” a resolute Mahira told BBC World News when asked the reason why women in the entertainment industry face harassment.

"It doesn't matter how I conduct myself or what I wear or how I speak or where I sit or what I do. That does not allow anybody to harass me," she said.

Mahira strongly disputed the notion that that a woman or her conduct invites harassment.

"So I am not going to say that I have a 'good conduct' or a 'certain conduct and that's the reason why I did not get harassed. No, that would be the wrong answer," she added.

She went on to criticise the pattern of abuse by powerful men, saying that from what she has seen and read, most women facing harassment are young and vulnerable.

“I have been lucky with the people I’ve worked with,” she said when asked the reason she has never faced such a situation, adding that she was not young and vulnerable when she started working.

“I started working after I became a mother, so maybe I was not at that age, or vulnerable,” she opined.

“There a lot of things that are a part of this and conduct is not one of them,” the actress concluded.

Mahira became a favourite of many when she in unequivocal terms defended herself after her pictures with Ranbir surfaced.

“It is my personal life and it is very normal for a boy and girl to hang out,” she said last month while speaking at the trailer launch of her upcoming film, Verna.

Otherwise Pakistan’s sweetheart, who has also made a huge name in Bollywood, Mahira faced severe criticism and was trolled after her pictures appeared on social media. Mahira was spotted with Ranbir Kapoor in New York and the pictures were taken in July when Ranbir was filming for Sanjay Dutt's biopic.