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An open letter to Maya Khan

January 22, 2012

It started with this video.

Dear Maya Khan,

My name is Mehreen. I like browsing through morning talk shows when I’m waiting for breakfast made by my mom who, like your colleague said in a particular clip, is like my friend and I confide in her often. Sometimes I don’t. Sometimes I do. She’s never demanded an oath of eternal confidence in her. We’re humans, and we love our private space. You might be thinking, “Why is she telling me this?” I thought I should let you know about the knitty gritty of my personal life since you do enjoy delving into deeper details. Wise people always do.

Maya? I love parks. Parks are amazing. Did you know that the top ten parks in the world are located in London, Vancouver, San Francisco, Tokyo, Lisbon (don’t worry – not ‘lesbian’), Chicago and Bangkok? If you show up in Lahore in the same park that I go to, it might become the most famous park in the whole world for what happens right after we encounter each other. Parks have lots of nice, lush grass and benches. I love benches. Parks also have trees and swings and sidewalks for people to walk on, and sometimes chase people after. Parks are amazing. My dad used to take me to my favorite park when I was little, you know? Sometimes couples passed by us and my dad would bring his Sony high definition video camera out and run after them, inquiring of their marital or non-marital status based on his idea of morality. Kidding. My dad just yawned and pushed the swing higher for me.

Hey, Maya? Sorry, I know I’m rambling. Just bear with me. Come on, we’re girls, we should confide in each other. I really like someone. Most young people do. It’s natural, don’t worry. Nothing extraordinary, absurd or heinous about it. We hang out often. Since we’re on a nice, equal wavelength, we enjoy spending time in places that are simple, easy to go (unless someone decides to chase us with a cell phone camera to document our stray presence) and open-spaced because I love sitting in the sun on a winter afternoon. Do you know where we go?

A local park.

That’s right.

Young people fall in love all the time. Sometimes they don’t – it’s just infatuation. Sometimes they do and they’re confused as hell and they still go out to understand the significance of the other. In the process, they pick a location like normal people do where they can sit down and spend time together. I’m sure you liked someone when you were in college. No big deal. See, girls fall in love pretty much every single day of the week and so do boys. Sometimes they make the right decision, sometimes they make mistakes. It’s called being human. But trust me, they don’t need a team of middle aged women hounding them down public places to enlighten them about their decisions. And trust me, their mothers will handle whatever happens. No one asked you or anyone else to take the responsibility of scrutinizing them. See, what worries me a lot is when public figures like you with considerable influence on viewers morph into moral police. In a country like Pakistan where public vigilantism has exceeded levels of brutality, the last thing the youth needs is a team of moral watchdogs sniffing around for “impure” behavior.

If indeed your concern is sincere (which I still have qualms with – since the privacy of a person’s choice is most cogent; they’ll ask for help when they ask you) then invest in sex education or how a female can avoid getting hurt in various situations. Better yet, do a segment on respect for privacy. Now that’s a talk show I would make my entire neighborhood subscribe to. I understand that you might be fretting about the welfare of young women in this society. I do too along with thousands of other well-to-do folks. But there’s a difference between you and me: I don’t publicize their actions on a local TV channel, I don’t chastise them for going out on a date and I don’t expect people to slut-shame the girl or the boy into hiding. I let them be unless and until they ask for help or if there is eminent danger.

Hold on.

I’m Muslim too.

However the ethos of my faith urges that unless I am perfect in my moral conduct, I have no right whatsoever to point my finger at anyone for anything. Whatever is done is left between the individual and their conscience. Hell, no one ever told me to demand for someone’s nikah-nama when they’re sitting together. It doesn’t concern me or you or anyone else. Sometimes I am ashamed to be from the same faith when I see people like you dictating immaculate morality for others. Furthermore I am mortified as a Pakistani when I see wardens of rectitude making dangerous spectacles of common citizens simply to boost hits on their show or to become shining role models for people of equally disappointing, mediocre thinking.

If that young couple gets hurt – which happens inevitably as a result of your irresponsible moral policing – you will be held accountable for reinforcing the sick obsession our society has with prying and needling into privacy. I thought media ethics would’ve taught you and several others the art of letting people be. It’s not too hard, really. All you have to do is mind your own business and find other mature, commendable ways of increasing popularity for your show. Say, have you seen that reporter who raided on someone’s residence for possessing alcohol? Don’t you think it would’ve yielded a decent conversation if you, let’s say, entered Cosa Nostra or Espresso or CTC or Cinnabon, where privileged folks like you go to, and accosted an unmarried couple for sitting together in their unmarriedness? Isn’t it pathetically convenient to interrogate a harmless couple in a park? Can someone please explain why haven’t these righteous correspondents ever barged into a conspiring terrorist’s household to expose their plans? Or maybe into a conservative political figure’s cozy room when they call over hookers (I don’t even care about that, honestly) or when they approve of policies that render our lives a lot more miserable than it already is? That takes guts.

You’re smart enough to understand by now that I am legitimately aggravated and so are others. Invasive moral policing is not just hypocritical, it is harmful. A petition against your program has been initiated on Change.org and I’m signing this while making yet another sinful plan of sitting in a park with the guy I like. Is this a one-way ticket to hell and destruction? I’m sure it is. No skin off my nose.

Assuming your action was religiously motivated, I was wondering how you would react if a raging maulvi decided to hound you on his morning talk show for not covering your hair. And assuming your action wasn’t religiously motivated but only carried out as a display of social concern, I wonder how you would feel if someone verbally quartered you for making the decisions you have by telling you, you were foolish and misdirected for doing so.

Now if you don’t mind, I have plans to make. I’m spending unmarried time with the guy I like in a few days. We’re so unmarried, it’s amazing. Sometimes in our high unmarriedfulness, I hold his arm and we walk through the park past closet Maya Khans and Zaid Hamids who genuinely detest us for our open display of joy, comfort and affection. I can’t wait to have you show up and ask us for our nikah document. This is what I’ll give you as proof:

It’s legit.

 

Stay out of my park.

Sincerely Sitting Unmarried On a Bench in a Park With a Guy,

Mehreen.

This post was originally published here.

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The views expressed by the writer and the reader comments do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of The Express Tribune.

 

Readers Comments (671)

  • Reply ghaallib kemal Jan 23, 2012 - 3:50AM

    reallly hated MAYA khan for this ,,,no one should interfere in anyones life ,,,maya khan show SHOULD BE BAnned!!!!Recommend

  • Reply Zaigham Jan 23, 2012 - 3:54AM

    that is a disgusting act by Maya Khan .
    and regarding the question “whats wrong with maya ?” she has absolutely nothing reasonable to talk about on her show .Recommend

  • Reply Akhan Jan 23, 2012 - 4:00AM

    Maya and the Jahil brigade what a shame!!!!!!Recommend

  • Reply Fahd Al Jan 23, 2012 - 4:04AM

    I second you Mehreen, Infact all the counting goes to your account for bashing this medusa of the morning. There was once another wannabe (Nadia Khan from Geo-TV) who thought that the world was beneath her unethical dillusion. You were very polite and decent with the lady. I would say “Dont put your nose in my business”.Recommend

  • Reply Natasha Jan 23, 2012 - 4:13AM

    Just when you think Pakistan’s talk shows cannot get more twisted they come up with stunts like these. If I am not mistaken isn’t this the same park where the Rangers shot a guy and it was recorded by a Sindhi channel and the video went viral? Maya and her producer should be banned from TV for violation of privacy and harassing people for TV ratings. Shameful media ethics.Recommend

  • Reply Aviator Jan 23, 2012 - 4:14AM

    This is one of the MAJOR problems with pakistani society : roving Aunties always up in everyone else’s business, gossiping, backbiting, stiring up trouble between people just to create gossip!

    Aunties like Maya Khan need to get a life!Recommend

  • Reply Lofted Shot Jan 23, 2012 - 4:17AM

    Wooohooo this is not slap, a Sucker Punch. Live LongRecommend

  • Reply Anon Jan 23, 2012 - 4:18AM

    @Ahsan Mansoor:
    I think its completely okay for your sister or anyones sister to go to a park as a date if you think you can. this double standards of yours are not in islam as well :P

    I dont know why guys are so open minded about themselves but fail to allow their sisters the same privilege?Recommend

  • Reply RKA. Jan 23, 2012 - 4:24AM

    who gives these tv show hosts the right to harrass people, invade their privacy and demand answers from the people they are interviewing? the people sitting in the park havnt broken any laws, however, the hosts have.
    And the lady who assumed that the girl in the abaya was a college student just because she was wearing a white shalwar? seriously retarded.Recommend

  • Reply misha Jan 23, 2012 - 4:29AM

    oops realli its height besharami . I think we must take stand against it n media. bcoz dis is happening all over Da world but non of them.are exposing their country like our fool media is doing. our media is playing Da worst part n our lives.Recommend

  • Reply Mahjabeen Jan 23, 2012 - 4:32AM

    This is so derogatory and disrespectful to both the society, parents and the victims of this harrasment and to top it with lying about the camera and mic being off, is just the height of shamelessness.

    Moral edbucation is needed for this society but certainly not in the way its being done with a total lack of regard for people’s privacy. How about condemning the “liberal” dramas and music shows that go on air on the same tv channels, which actually promote the very mentality that Maya ‘claims’ to target. She is part of the media that feeds this society all kinds of crap and then she picks her escape goats. What a shame !!Recommend

  • Reply Fatima Abbas Jan 23, 2012 - 4:38AM

    I am seriously seriously disgusted by this.I mean wow these women are showing how illiterate and narrow minded they are.Iv been rendered speechless, Maya Khan u disgust me and so do all those other weirdo freak women with youRecommend

  • Reply Awais Jan 23, 2012 - 4:40AM

    @Here’s an IDEA!:

    Sounds pretty decent, although I can’t make it.Recommend

  • Reply Rubina Kamaal Jan 23, 2012 - 4:43AM

    Awesome article. I wish Maya Khan shows up when i am in a park with my love, we will teach her a lesson she will never forget. I am an unmarried girl and i not only go on date with my love but have been enjoying sexual relationship with him as well. To us it’s not a sin. So Maya Khan keep your moral values to yourself.Recommend

  • Reply Momo Jan 23, 2012 - 5:36AM

    First off, Mehreen, you’re a genius. Thank you for writing this letter.

    And: this is abosolutely, completely and without a doubt, the most stupid, disgusting and horrifying piece of junk I’ve ever seen. I mean, the people of this nation are distraught enough as it is without all this twisted ‘moral policing’ to screw them up ever more… and I swear, I’m so furious right now I’m finding it hard to string together coherent sentences. And I’m not even HALFWAY THROUGH the video. My God.

    Seriously, what is Pakistani media coming to? There are so many people out there with so many issues, so many things they need help with, so many things they’re trying to overcome and then people like Maya Khan come along with their cheap tactics and it’s just… UGH.

    What did she hope to gain from this, anyway? Publicity? Well, whoopsie doo, good luck with that, Maya.

    Seriously.Recommend

  • Reply Uruj Jan 23, 2012 - 5:42AM

    I guess I can’t go anywhere with my brother now. People like her have pointed at me and my brother at the time when we were learning how to drive, and yet there was a driving teacher with us!! And I thought I was a desperate attention seeker.
    Mehreen, this post was indeed awesome.Recommend

  • Reply What..the..what Jan 23, 2012 - 5:43AM

    First let me say that I am not FOR dating unless there is a clear pretext for marriage between the two people. In my humble opinion, Islam gives all the rights to both men and women to talk to each other and see each other so that they can better judge for themselves as to what sort of life partner the other person seems to be but not for just being boyfriends and girlfriends.

    Now about the matter of Maya Khan. The kind of moral policing that has been a trademark of our society for sometime now stems from our own insecurities and inhibitions about personal life and privacy. Beating thieves on streets, burning criminals on the streets just portrays our collective state of mind. We are a nation in a constant state of denial where everything is a “yahodioyoun ke sazish (Jewish Conspiracies) and everyone is a self proclaimed righteous religious scholar”. Maya is another extension of this prevalent mindset and the thing that struck me the most was their feeling of utter disregard of privacy and the naive righteous moral compass that these women have so that they can tell others what is right and what is wrong. Unfortunately, media demands sensationalism which indirectly implies dumbing down of real issues so that the average common man can feel himself to be a part of the larger intelligentsia at play. We are all part of the problem.Recommend

  • Reply Mony Ahsan Jan 23, 2012 - 5:48AM

    Salutes to you .. i love reading your blog. Since I belong with the same field of expertise, that doesn’t mean am here to defend her. na na not at all ! Unfortunate part with this profession here in Pakistan is that we have our first Tv channel in 1964 i.e Ptv, and the very first media graduate passed out in 2007. During the whole time from 64- 07 who got hired in tv channels. That was the time when all the immature having no knowledge of media entered in this profession. All the ones who are lil white or have blonde hair entered in this profession.

    We love to watch TV, infect that’s the first thing we turn on after entering our home and then the lights, but our mothers still have the very same dream that she wants her boy to be doctor or engineer. How many of us actualy been to this industry and tried to make it a lil better. Still the average qualification of the people in this industry is hardly intermediate.

    But still thumbs up and keep writing. :)Recommend

  • Reply Kashif Alvi Jan 23, 2012 - 5:53AM

    strong textThanks to you Maya….you made some dating-desi girls go frigid for ever.Recommend

  • Reply Maria Jan 23, 2012 - 5:58AM

    What people like Maya Khan don’t understand is that it is a slippery slope to where extremist crazies will first chastise her for walking in public without a headscarf, then they will chastise her for going outside without a male family member and finally they will chastize her for not staying home and daring to go out. If she wants to live in the Taleban’s Afghanistan or Saudi Arabia or Iran, I suggest she take a trip there but leave Pakistan for the likes of more moderate people. Since when can’t couples sit in the park in the open?Recommend

  • Reply Samir Jan 23, 2012 - 6:00AM

    Good job!Recommend

  • Reply Uruj Jan 23, 2012 - 6:01AM

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qFuxbjafdM

    As one of the top comments say, where is your Nikah Nama now, Maya khan?
    She was talking about people being Mehrem/Namehrem, lady you don’t even the basics of Islam I think. I am not being an extremist, just trying to make a point here which is about ‘hypocrisy’.Recommend

  • Reply Omer Irfan Jan 23, 2012 - 6:02AM

    JUSTIFIED! THANK YOU MEHREEN.. BOOYAH MAYA! +1 for youth who is daring enough to go out and be liberal about their lifestyles.. 0 for rating hungry moral shamelessness infested Maya Khan!Recommend

  • Reply waqqas iftikhar Jan 23, 2012 - 6:05AM

    mehreen….i think i just might be in love with you…..

    unmarried dude from a park bench

    (I see Maya Khan around the corner….I say lets give her the rotten eggs treatment)Recommend

  • Reply Rana Jan 23, 2012 - 6:13AM

    This article could have been so much better!!Recommend

  • Reply waqas akbar Jan 23, 2012 - 6:23AM

    Hum larkon keh liye yeh sisirf aik poondi hai ….thats it…and tthats all its ever gonna be for uus …and ddo u know why its bcuz oof plzces like these that provide us sanctuary to behave like this… if anyof you think that what she was doing was wrong then i challenge you to and open debate ….with me anytime anyplace u name it…but right now iam having exmas give melike 10 days to get back to youRecommend

  • Reply Rushad Jan 23, 2012 - 6:28AM

    Stop invading peoples personal spaces, i personally think its their right to do whatever they want in public, free nation, and the people who talk about MORALS RULES are the biggest hypocrite out here.JUST LIKE THIS ONE DAY IF I INVADE YOU”RE PERSONAL SPACE (of whatever kind) We’ll see your reactions maya khan!!Recommend

  • Reply Ayesha Jan 23, 2012 - 6:40AM

    @Author

    These girls and boys who go into the dating will bring shame on their parents and they should be made to publicly apologize. My family would slice up into tiny pieces these filthy boys who dared try to bring shame on us. Listen you may call your self a Muslim but in eyes you are not.Recommend

  • Reply sara Jan 23, 2012 - 7:19AM

    I just saw this clip after reading all the status’s on facebook. OMG, what is this woman doing with her show? what were the producers thinking? How can they do this? These people are sitting in broad daylight in a park, with the world as chaperones. Where would all these crazy women like them to meet instead? It is normal to be infatuated/inlove or whatever you may want to call it, please let these people be – they are sitting in the few open places that are available to the young ones in pakistan, where exactly would you like them to take themselves? Browbeating people like this doesnt change behavior just makes them more devious! Please get a life and let others live theirs.Recommend

  • Reply Shaheer Jan 23, 2012 - 7:25AM

    Although I disagree with most of the detailed content mentioned in this article, however, I do agree what Maya khan is doing is not justified. Yes it is our duty as Muslims to enjoin what is good and forbid what is evil but Maya khan is using the wrong means, furthermore, if you are going to correct some one on the basis of Islam, then you have to make sure that you are not doing the same thing that you are stopping other people to do. Does Maya khan fulfil the criteria of modesty in Islam? NO, Then she cannot stop others. And Going to parks and stopping people is not the right way, it has to be done be the parents or those who are closely related. I do not believe in dating before marriage and as a Muslim you cannot justify it. If you are doing it, then be aware that you are sinning.Recommend

  • Reply Aun Jan 23, 2012 - 7:47AM

    I loved the way you put it Mehreen, simply marvelous!

    Exactly, Maya Khan has no rights to interfere (or I should say intervene cause that’s what it looks like) in anyone’s life. She should be more concerned about what’s going on with her in her own Studio.

    Maya Khan: I hate the way you cry (fake), I hate the way you talk and even walk and I’m sure most of the people out there too.

    I still remember your fake show of a couple claiming to have religious marks on their body and their other stuff which proved out to be just fake marks.Recommend

  • Reply kickass Jan 23, 2012 - 8:51AM

    @SAMAA_TV who is maya khan to dictate anyones morality?Disgustinf+Pathetic.see what facebook users have to say about her!! Demand apology!

    Copy paste to your twitters.Recommend

  • Reply maira Jan 23, 2012 - 9:12AM

    someone should file a report in police station against this idiot women…..boycott her morning showRecommend

  • Reply MA Jan 23, 2012 - 9:21AM

    Send you complaints to PEMRA, lodge your protest, get Maya Khan banned and taken to court:

    http://www.pemra.gov.pk/feedback/Recommend

  • Reply Faruq Jan 23, 2012 - 9:22AM

    Watch the chase scene while playing the Jaws theme tune. It seems to kinda fits in for meRecommend

  • Reply Amir Jan 23, 2012 - 9:23AM

    The time when people take moral laws in their own hands is a sad time indeedRecommend

  • Reply Sara Sajjad Jan 23, 2012 - 9:23AM

    @Anon:
    If I were not in love already and hopefully getting engaged soon, I would ask you to marry me!!!
    Way to go, friend!!!!!!!!!!!Recommend

  • Reply farhan Jan 23, 2012 - 9:31AM

    Awesum reply!!Recommend

  • Reply Sana Jan 23, 2012 - 9:41AM

    You go girl !!Recommend

  • Reply Mehreen Jan 23, 2012 - 9:44AM

    Hello everyone,

    I have created a FB page to spread awareness about this issue. Please ‘like’ and spread the word! Thank you.

    “Maya khan/Samaa TV should apologize for their defaming behavior”Recommend

  • Reply Far Jan 23, 2012 - 9:45AM

    You my friend are a Legend
    ThanksRecommend

  • Reply Usman Jan 23, 2012 - 10:02AM

    Brilliant Stuff !!!Recommend

  • Reply Syed Arbab Ahmed (@SyedArbabAhmed) Jan 23, 2012 - 10:24AM

    “Played the clips of young couple on national television, who requested to turn off the cameras.” hmm… if they were clear from any guilt and they told their parents where they are going and not lied to them, then why they wanted camera to be turned off?
    Why we are going for two extremes?
    http://bit.ly/vCkftYRecommend

  • Reply Syed Ahmed Rasheed Jan 23, 2012 - 10:28AM

    I fully endorse Mehreen. I really felt ashamed watching the clip of the show online. where is electronic media going? shame on both of anchors maya and beena qayuum khan.Such type of shows will never be welcomed by educated and civilized people.Recommend

  • Reply Ed Jan 23, 2012 - 10:32AM

    I hope Maya Khan reads this and understands it too… Although I’m pretty sure that she knows what she’s doing but sticks to it just for the ratings…Recommend

  • Reply Shah Jan 23, 2012 - 10:40AM

    Thanks Mehreen…! Maya Khan’s behavior was disgusting.Recommend

  • Reply Syed Ahmed Rasheed Jan 23, 2012 - 10:43AM

    Dear Mehreen,
    pls paste the complete link of your page on fb. we fully support your initiative.

    All the bestRecommend

  • Reply samir Jan 23, 2012 - 10:52AM

    @MK:
    Regarding your comments what my point of view is yhen why just harass the middle class they also have a right to date if they cant afford to go to a restaurant i am not going for personal attack but what Maya did i dont even know who the hell she is was just ridiculous why didnt she go to gloria jeans ,starbucks,cinnabon etc. in a date no one would rape any one thats for sure if you want to be so much islamic then bring a hijab law in place when it is not implemented so just dont try to bring islam or basically atleast not IMPOSE forcefully on some one.Recommend

  • Reply Wajahat Jan 23, 2012 - 10:55AM

    Completely agree with you Mehreen! Truly its a great job! People like Maya Khan really should get a lesson, they should know that even they are accountable for things they do! They just cannot get up go to a random park and start interviewing “shareef” people! Specially when you have a hell lot of other important matter to discus then this! So true, why doesn’t she go interview a terrorist??? well we normally call it “sasti shohrat” what shez doing!!!!Recommend

  • Reply samir Jan 23, 2012 - 10:58AM

    @waqas akbar: any time dude any timeRecommend

  • Reply F.K Jan 23, 2012 - 11:06AM

    Good post mehreen.However I do not think an online petition will impact any of the seths of our media houses which run shows like this. If we as a community want to interact change then we should be asking the signers of this petition to gather on a certain date and lets all visit samaas offices together. No protest just about 200 people speaking to their management. If that does not work we can go to the brands that sponsored this show. That is how real change is affected?Recommend

  • Reply TB Jan 23, 2012 - 11:15AM

    Get a life Maya Khan! You have NO right to invade anyone’s privacy! no right!!Recommend

  • Reply shah Jan 23, 2012 - 11:20AM

    Excellent job done by Mehreen….it should be a slap on Maya khan’s face.Recommend

  • Reply anonymous Jan 23, 2012 - 11:20AM

    High five!!!! amazingRecommend

  • Reply Shaheer Jan 23, 2012 - 11:22AM

    @Ayesha:

    You can not decide whether she is a muslim or not as she is not doing any shirk, however as a muslim i can say that the author does not speak for me.Recommend

  • Reply Hamid Javaid Jan 23, 2012 - 11:31AM

    Huh, looks like Maya Khan is ready to loose her right of privacy in Public parks. Tomorrow, people would be asked in collages and universities for their nikah nama. Why can we live in our own circle?. Why we are inclined to poke our nose in every bodies life? When we will learn to respect each other and private life of others.

    Advocating to have nikah nama in your hand at public places means we want our police and maulvis (corrupt to the core) to play with our lives they way they want to play. What about people who will start business for producing fake nikah namas. Have you ever thought before sharing your philosophy, about this dilemma through which the people will pass through and 99% would become victims of these forces.

    Why don’t we mind our own business. What’s the fun in miseryfying the life of others.Recommend

  • Reply Sara Jan 23, 2012 - 11:33AM

    What the hell is wrong with these women. Not everyone is a Muslim. They should mind their own bloody business! Just because they are bored by their lives doesn’t mean that they have the right to emotionally and verbally harass the youth of Pakistan.Recommend

  • Reply asif nadeem Jan 23, 2012 - 11:53AM

    Thanks for a brave step……

    Someone should go to the court against such programs…..

    we are all not so brave like you, MehreenRecommend

  • Reply shahid wafa Jan 23, 2012 - 11:58AM

    Pseudo-intellectuals appear on the script-n-mind-n-ethics-n-objective-LESS morning shows and try to appear as the saviors of society and custodians of those ethics of which they are themselves deprived. The objection on the said program of Maya khan is very much valid but the question, which is even bigger than the objection itself is that, does she have the traces of sensibility to understand all these arguments…….Recommend

  • Reply asif nadeem Jan 23, 2012 - 12:03PM

    Just lauched a complaint about her program on PEMRA’s Site…you all must do …http://www.pemra.gov.pk/feedback/Recommend

  • Reply sheheryar Jan 23, 2012 - 12:05PM

    Dont Agree With Mehreen … Sorry but face it girl and guys cheating over there parents dating in park missing out studies … is this right for you ??? parents send there children assuming that they are studying hard to make them some worth for this society some day and what they are doing in parks oooo man gimme a break … im not being old fashioned but you should keep this in mind too that we are muslims and live in a culture where this is if not sin but rather a desparate type of act by those who are ruining there lifes and careers.Recommend

  • Reply Naveed Jan 23, 2012 - 12:13PM

    Very well written Mehreen! I haven’t watched the show and I never will however what Maya Khan (aka loser with no life) is doing is simply unacceptable. Who gave her the right to invade in to peoples’ privacy? How would she feel if someone shows up on her door step and asks her why isn’t she wearing hijab or why is she wearing makeup or why she is working with a plethora of Na-mehram men.

    Our media unfortunately has sunk to the lowest of level of esteem, has plunged miles across boundaries of moral values and resorted to the most immature behavior.

    @Rizwan, I seriously wish the person you directed your narcissist comment at would give you a good bashing.

    However dude seriously…seriously…that’s the most you could gather out of this blog. Resorting to cheap below the belt shots at someone your rarely know. Obviously you have a brain the size of a dinosaur because you totally missed the whole essence of the article. The purpose here is not to defend people dating in the parks but to defend our right for privacy.Recommend

  • Reply Fazal Ahmed Jan 23, 2012 - 12:22PM

    Maya you are simply Disgusting. I am telling you guys she was just having fun and for so called TRP for her program.Recommend

  • Reply Pappo Piplia Jan 23, 2012 - 12:23PM

    Maya Khan is a female version of Aamir Liaqut Hussain.Recommend

  • Reply Talha Jan 23, 2012 - 12:25PM

    Brilliant job and write up Mehreen!Recommend

  • Reply Adil Jan 23, 2012 - 12:26PM

    This sort of nonsense and invasion of privacy can only happen in our country! If a couple is sitting innocently in a park, fully clothed and enjoying the outdoors, why would anyone in their right mind question the legitimacy of this scenario? This channel should be taken to court for this gross violation. We love to put ourselves on a pulpit and be the moral judges of society. I dare this stupid woman to go to a restuarant in Zamzama and question some couples having lunch there. I assure you that she will have her teeth bashed in by someone’s guards before she is able to finish her queries. This is the last time I will watch this channel or listen to what this stupid woman has to say.Recommend

  • Reply Ahmed HM Jan 23, 2012 - 12:41PM

    I don’t like this Maya show, but I simply do not agree to what the writer has expressed.
    I simply do not agree to her diet version of Islam.
    How many of the people commenting here have kids of their own?Recommend

  • Reply jawad khan Jan 23, 2012 - 12:46PM

    well awesome answer mehreen ..:) and everybody who says what if it was my sister??
    so if she enjoys having good time what am i supposed to do torture her, dont let her go out, make her life misserable, make her mentally sick on the name of islam, yes i love my sisters and i love those whom she loves and one day she will have to be married and i just cant force her to marry someone its her choice her life not mine. i will let her choose and let her live her life with those she likes to live with and i dont feel ashamed because i love my sister and i want her to be happy on any cost. change yourself dude our woman have been suffering for a lot of time and those were your ensisters who used to enjoy mujras and used to beat their woman for nothing this needs to be over this is unlawfull and unkind. and who the hell on earth is maya khan .. . thankssRecommend

  • Reply Duaa K Jan 23, 2012 - 12:48PM

    Isn’t this the same Maya Khan, who a year or so back was prancing on stage in a Bodybeat production? Shall we start passing ‘moral’ judgements on that as well?Recommend

  • Reply jaff zaidi Jan 23, 2012 - 12:49PM

    well done goood job mehreen….
    the only question is wht the hell she thinks of her self…? the 1st play she did was some sort of the same story that the guy and she was in love and bla bla… if maya khan was soo much resposible she would have not done that play at 1st…secondly the producer should be held responsible for pushing this maya khan and the rest of the women running after couples…i wished one of the ladies had their own son or daughter ova there.. but no they wount be there as it was just a park where poor guys and girls date… their own sons and daughters go somewhere HI5 to date where this sama tv ppl cant even gt their camera stuff to make their video… this is a slap on media face…who gave right to media to do such events? media roll is to tell whts happening around in world(pakistan) media got no right to follow someone and ask y the hell they sitting in park…….i wish to sue the channel and maya khan as well….worthless ppl and our media…who cash such jerks …..Recommend

  • Reply Madiha Syedain Jan 23, 2012 - 12:52PM

    So true!
    What does Maya think of herself….This is the height of unethical and irresponsible journalism….Recommend

  • Reply Maira Jan 23, 2012 - 1:03PM

    Hi,

    Nice article Mahreen. I would disagree with you for one thing, This type of dating in parks is not new in our society. It existed even 20 years ago. You are right that young people have always feelings for someone but that does not mean that they start hanging around with arms on shoulders. Every place has its own norms and culture which should be respected.

    Secondly, what Maya Khan did is without any doubt shameful. But, rather we should teach our girls that what disrespect they would bring to their parents if khudana khawasta their tape or nude pics or anything similar come out. And try to remind them jaisi karni waisi bharni. Tomorrow, their daughter can be on their place dating some stranger.Recommend

  • Reply maira Jan 23, 2012 - 1:11PM

    eeekh…young ppl interact all the time, y doesnt she go to an elite party where girls n boys will be open to conversation…to hound these couples in the park is disgusting, this stupid lot might have seriously damaged some girls life…for a crime no bigger than sitting in the park !!!!!
    The rifts in the Pakistani society are sad…most-online-english-readers and the man in the street come from different planets…he doesn’t speak our lingo, understand our ways…can’t laugh at our jokes…his children will never go to the same schools as ours…and he might shoot his daughter for sitting in the park with the love of her life…and this woman, is pompous bitch for choosing to exploit the compromised , she knew these girls were going to run…
    all these maya khan=veena malik=exceptionally wierd women of pakistan should not be a benchmark to judge us normal folk…and i know the likes of this disgusting woman would be happy to have caused a stir and joyous to see the number of views of her youtube video go up…i sincerly dont believe in cursing people, but i hope one day her daughter is caught on tv in some park with some guy….and that maya has to feel what its like to do something so trivial and yet pay a price so heavy that it outweighs the ‘crime’ manyfold !!!Recommend

  • Reply DaNy Jan 23, 2012 - 1:17PM

    Woahahaoo well written Mahreen ! Well done !Recommend

  • Reply tanya Jan 23, 2012 - 1:20PM

    welcome maya khan, new Zia ul haq of 21st century pakistanRecommend

  • Reply SG Jan 23, 2012 - 1:22PM

    Mehreen you pointed out good pts. In the end, You seem ribilious to me like all those fellow conmenters who instead of discouraging wants to go to the pars.
    ‘How’ maya khan did it, running after couples n busting their asses on local TV was purely wrong. If her concern was securing family parks from such activities, she should Hv gone to the authorities and motivated them to increase security measures. Maybe allowing the couples but Hv a watch on them so that they won’t get hurt. This way even parents would be satisfied that they can’t stop they kids frm dating or meeting someone but they are safe where ever they go.
    If her concern was morals, she should Hv gone to cares n restaurants to, where elites go. Like everyone, she didn’t go there, cause she didn’t want to pungafy with the elites.
    She could Hv found better ways to spread awareness. In her effort, she motivated the rebels to go to such parks and wait for Maya. I agree to MK who said if something happen to the girls they won’t be to get justice.
    Let me narrate a story which happened around 3 years ago. She was a girl from Punjab university. She had male frds n used to hang out with them, like most of us. But her parents didn’t know much. One of her frd murdered her brutally after raping her cause he was interested in her while her parents engaged her to smone else. After her medical examination it was found that she was not even virgin when she was raped. Her father was so ashamed that he wanted to take the case back. I know the detailed story cause my father was in chemical examination and this case was under him. I m sure her father didn’t know how n when she used to hang out with guys, and what happened she end up being raped..dead.
    My point is such activities end up in such incidents. Even the girl doesnt know wt the guys real intension is. Ghalat ko Ghalat Kenna chachiyh. Such activities are wrong, if they are so right why the parents don’t know.
    Please if maya khan reads this, one the. I Hv to say to her. Please find better way then this cheap stunt, the issue was important but this was not the way to properly address it.Recommend

  • Reply Pinky Jan 23, 2012 - 1:30PM

    Both of the videos posted in the blog have been removed from youtube..
    ET kindly update the post with the video on this link
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqCRxTkziR0&feature=player_embeddedRecommend

  • Reply Shoaib Jan 23, 2012 - 1:43PM

    * Great Job Mehreen *

    I would like to ask Ms. Maya Khan that when she was 16 or 18 .. did’nt she ever dated anyone in her life? or loved anyone in school or college .. trust me she must have done more than what she encountered in that park that morning, which was a shameless act .. Ms Maya Khan we know we’re muslims but at least this thing of asking people of what they are or were doing doesn’t suits you at all because even in Islam you are not suppose to roam outside at street without covering yourself or at least your head and doing morning shows with fancy cloths and shades on you .. Shame on you.. You’re nothing but a show off..

    Cheers!!Recommend

  • Reply ishaq Jan 23, 2012 - 2:07PM

    Maya Khan Has showed us how to gain Ratings by cheap tactics.Recommend

  • Reply yourSister Jan 23, 2012 - 2:10PM

    @Anon and that other guy who tried the sister card:

    Double dates would be awesome, won’t they?, everybody sees/knows everybody and there’s no hiding from anyone leading to issues.
    Besides, dating in a park is so much safer than you-know-where.Recommend

  • Reply me Jan 23, 2012 - 2:15PM

    @Rizwan: Thats a different case, That would be my SISTER and hence make in MY business. The people Maya khan chased were not related to her, hence not her responsibility and none of her business. Would you appreciate it if randomly one day she jumped out of your bedroom closet and deem your private affairs as immoral and wrong?Recommend

  • Reply Afshan ashfaq Jan 23, 2012 - 2:22PM

    I think maya khan and the whole sama team has lost minds. This is really sick she and no one got any right to do so. A real sick thing
    That women in white shirt and all the other team are trying to have fun in morning!!
    country is facing bizarre situation an all this sick women got to focus is people dating?
    I dont think they are causing any kind of harm to anyone infact you are causing troubles for lots of people miss maya khan and what I suggest for you is you should retire now GhAR PE BAITh KE ALLAh ALLAh KRO BAJAYE LOGON KO TANG KRNY KE!!!Recommend

  • Reply M.Kamran Jan 23, 2012 - 2:35PM

    Dear Mehreen,
    It is indeed very thoughtful of you to write about the indecency shown by Maya Khan.Its pathetic to see educated women of Pakistan to think and act in such an immoral way like Maya Khan did,but actually people who do such things themselves are quick to point fingers at others.In urdu we call them ‘Munafiq’.
    I would like to add, though,that your reaction is quite aggressive and I do not like these parks to be meeting places for lovers.Lovers usually end up in unsuccessful marital relationships.Proper and loving relationships should be encouraged in a positive manner.Recommend

  • Reply sobia Jan 23, 2012 - 2:40PM

    Hypocrisy….Id like to give this video the tile of “Acts of Desperate house wife’s!! “At least that’s how Maya & the other women in the video are acting! What I don’t get is who gave her this right, should we enter her home & tell her what she is doing wrong!!!

    Cheap way of getting high ratings for the channel!!!Recommend

  • Reply rabail shaikh Jan 23, 2012 - 2:40PM

    this has to be stopped at this step or its parks this time, next time it could be people’s bedrooms, u never know!!Recommend

  • Reply Osama Jan 23, 2012 - 2:42PM

    Great article Mehreen! you wrote all those thoughts that would come to every sane and educated person’ mind after watching these disgusting videos.Recommend

  • Reply Sara Kazi Jan 23, 2012 - 2:45PM

    absolutely brilliantly written. maya khan needs a real smack (or a hundred) for the stunt she’s pulling. disgusting! my question is, HOW IS THIS STUFF ALLOWED TO BE AIRED???Recommend

  • Reply Ahmed HM Jan 23, 2012 - 2:52PM

    Mr. Moderator, what is the issue with my post here? Is it wrong if I quote a Hadith here?Recommend

  • Reply sana Jan 23, 2012 - 2:57PM

    i have noo idea what the anchors of our age are trying to achieve! they are either playing a matchmaker or they are being a snoop dog!
    if these, so called, “intellectuals” are so desperate to make change then why cant they do something good! we have the example of Oprah, she is the most powerful personality of the industry, she has really made “difference” in peoples life!Recommend

  • Reply -Chughtai Jan 23, 2012 - 3:09PM

    Spot on!Recommend

  • Reply Saad Sheikh Jan 23, 2012 - 3:13PM

    Agreed 100%… i wish somebody can expose Maya’s personal life and her skeletons just like she thinks she has the right to do.. i would love to see that.. .Recommend

  • Reply Balaj Jan 23, 2012 - 3:18PM

    It is beautiful written by the Mehreen, Maya Khan dont have a right to interfare in any private life, its more good if we ask her about her private life, is she ever love someone or she is trying to pretend her self most neat and clean person.Recommend

  • Reply Waqas Ahmad Jan 23, 2012 - 3:21PM

    @Mahjabeen: Cudn’t have said it better.Recommend

  • Reply Urmanah Safvi Jan 23, 2012 - 3:24PM

    too good!!! Thankyou very much Mehreen, God bless you…Recommend

  • Reply Uzma abbasi husain Jan 23, 2012 - 3:32PM

    This is beyond disgusting!! What kind of crap is this? Sama tv and Maya should behave a little responsible. These people are all responsible adults, they can do what they want. Who is Maya Khan to embarass people like this? Do you even realize the cosequences if these girls are exposed on tv? Its not about right or wrong but nobody has the right to act like moral police and run after ‘couples’ like blody lunatics!!Recommend

  • Reply begharit brigade Jan 23, 2012 - 3:32PM

    Live and let live!Recommend

  • Reply Ali Siddiki Jan 23, 2012 - 3:50PM

    Thank you Mehreen, These so called anchors are no more than illiterate people who make mockery of civil society. Let her visit Nisar Shaheed Park or the Aunty Park, I assure you all those aunties and guys will be running for cover if I catch up with them in the park with any female friend of mine. No one can ask anyone their relations or comment on it, that is the problem with our society be it religion or civil matters, we dictate what we think is right.Recommend

  • Reply Ayesha khalid Jan 23, 2012 - 3:52PM

    Maya may had good intentions but the way she chose 2 point out this problem was disgusting.
    No one has right to unfold anybody’s privacy without his/her permission.Especially she should had realized that she is gonna show it live on media and these kinda acts even can cause death to any girl as we had some such cases in our society…….if we dont talk about Islam, They were just sitting in a park so do many boys and girls do in college…whats the big deal…..
    we should hide others faults that’s what our religion says but even if she wanted to spread awareness she could just sit in the studio n could discuss pros and cons of dating etc….this was ridiculous and disgusting how they were chasing running after them and trying to have an adventure on the cast of someones respect…really condemnable.Recommend

  • Reply Maleeha Azhar Jan 23, 2012 - 3:54PM

    Kya bakwasiyat hai yaar…..who is she to ask the people about things….who is she?????Recommend

  • Reply Ferocious Tiger Jan 23, 2012 - 4:25PM

    I am really surprised to see the comments favoring mehreen’s notion, How could you encourage a wrong doer to practice an illicit activity on a place where families takes their along children along!! what will become the precedence for our children?

    Moreover, does our religion allow us to act this way?? Wake up guys, this is a crap, Criticizing on person who may have tried to put a stop to such activities. Thus, being humiliated by people supporting this act of nonse.

    My question to U ALL, would you allow your daughters / sons to follow the same path, if yes than surely this nation will one day have an open sex bars……

    Please Please do not discourage people who are trying to unearth wrong doing rather stay quite instead writing against it.

    Lastly, I agree to a point that such a surprise should not be restricted to parks only YES it must be on high profile caf’e too.

    Its just the way I thought of it …… Good LuckRecommend