Thinking to leave Pakistan as I don't feel safe here: Ayesha Omar

Pakistan actor Ayesha Omar is thinking of leaving Pakistan given the current economic situation and the safety of women in the country. 

"I don't feel safe here. I want to walk on the road, as it is every human's need to go out for fresh air. I want to cycle but why can't I do it?" she said while speaking during a podcast. 

Omar said the only time women could walk outside was during the COVID-19 lockdown. "I feel stressed and anxious in Karachi and I just don't feel safe, and I don't think many women do," she said.

"Men can never understand what Pakistani women grow up with no matter how hard you try. The fear a woman faces in this country cannot be understood [by a man]. You feel anxious every second." 

She said that when she was in college in Lahore, she felt much safer there than in Karachi, adding that she used to travel in buses. When asked if she had any incidents in Karachi, she said that she had been mugged twice. 

She lamented that she cannot walk in Pakistan freely without fear of being kidnapped, raped or mugged. "Freedom and safety are a basic human need which is not here," she stressed. 

"You are not even safe in your home. Crime happens in every country but you can still go out and walk freely. I can't even go to a park [in Pakistan] without being harassed," she added. 

However, Omar said that she loves Pakistan as the country has given her everything. "I love the land and if I have the choice to choose from anywhere in the world to live, I would choose Pakistan," she said. 

The actor said that her brother has moved abroad from Pakistan and lives in Denmark and her mother also plans to leave the country.