Zaira Wasim’s apology sets a ’haanikaarak’ precedent

Zaira Wasim’s apology sets a ’haanikaarak’ precedent

Mangalore Today News Network

Jan 17, 2017: In a shocking move, Dangal’s little star Zaira Wasim took to Facebook and Twitter to apologise for her "recent actions", presumably referring to her meeting Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti.

Kashmir-born Zaira essayed the younger version of Commonwealth Games’ gold medal-winning Indian wrestler Geeta Phogat. Since the release of the film on December 23, Zaira Wasim has been lauded by critics and audiences alike for her performance.

Zaira and her family recently met Mehbooba Mufti where the CM spoke to her and her family. During the conversation, Mufti reportedly praised Zaira for shining in performance arts at a time when Kashmir was going through serious civil unrest.

Now, Zaira’s apology seems to have confused one and all about the specifics of the cause. Here is the full transcript of the letter:

This is an open confession/apology. I know that many people have been offended and displeased by my recent actions or by the people I have recently met.

I want to apologise to all those people who I’ve unintentionally hurt and I want them to know that I understand their sentiments behind it especially considering that what had happened over the past 6 months but I hope people can also understand there are certain circumstances that emerge which one cannot control and I hope people still remember that I’m a just a 16 year old girl and I hope you treat me accordingly. I’m sorry for what I did but it was not a deliberate decision and I really hope people can forgive me.

There are few more things which are very important and I want to clear them as well. The first and foremost thing is that I am being projected as a role model for Kashmiri Youth. I want to make it very clear that I do not want anyone to follow in my foot steps or even consider me as a role model. I’m not proud of what I’m doing and I want everyone, especially the Youth to know that there are real role models out there whether they be in this time or in our history.

To even consider me as a role model would be disgracing them and their disgrace would be OUR DISGRACE! I do not wish to start an argument here, this was a just a mere confession from my end which I really wanted people to know. May Allah bless us and guide us.

Judging by the reference to "what had happened over the past 6 months", it is a good enough guess to figure that Zaira was being targeted for the Indian Army’s brutal attack on Kashmiri protesters which happened under the eye of the state government formed by the alliance between People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Zaira in her letter asked people to remember that she is just a 16-year-old girl and thus, treat her as one.

It is highly unfortunate that people would go so far as to force and terrify an underage girl to come up with an apology just because of politics. Even though Kashmir has been the hotbed of unrest and political strife for the entire second half of last year, attacking a young girl for doing what she is clearly great at doing is simply wrong!

Take a look at the kind of comments Zaira Wasim was getting on a Facebook post about her meeting Mehbooba Mufti, which possibly forced Zaira to issue the apology.


One of the comments read, "Lanath ho tm donu par aur is ladki k maa baap par...harami madarchod", while another one was brief, which simply read, "Sluts."

Zaira goes on to apologise for what seems to be her profession as well. She writes that she is not proud of what she does and that young Kashmiris should not look up to her as a role model and that if one does so, it would be a disgrace for all Kashmiris.

This act of cowardly bullying which forced Zaira to apologise is heinous and despicable, and doing so stands in contrast to the very ethos of Dangal which was the story of two girls wrestling boys in rural Haryana at a time when people thought girls were only meant to cook, clean, get married and have babies. The real-life Geeta Phogat and her sister Babita Kumari showed what girls are capable of, besides conforming to traditional gender roles, while coming from the patriarchal badlands of Haryana.