Mahira Khan pregnancy post: her message on how women are treated

Mahira Khan has used her Instagram stories to say something many Pakistani women rarely say out loud. The note, widely reported on Monday, 9 November, said that how you treat a woman when she is pregnant or has just given birth will stay with her for the rest of her life, and that there is no re-doing that memory.

The actress, who is expecting her second child, did not name anyone or add any explanation, The Express Tribune noted.

Was it her own words?

Outlets disagree. NewsAlert described it as a quote she reposted, while 24 News presented it as her own note. Either way, she chose to put it in front of her millions of followers at a time when her own pregnancy is being watched closely.

Who was it aimed at?

She did not say, and anything more is a guess. Reviewit read it as a general call-out of anyone who mistreats a woman when she is at her most vulnerable. Minute Mirror suggested it was meant for people who fail to understand what pregnant women and new mothers go through. Some entertainment sites linked it to online comments about her age and pregnancy, but Mahira herself has not said that.

Why it struck a chord

The message travelled fast because it describes a familiar scene in many Pakistani homes: the new mother told to get up and host guests, criticised for how she feeds the baby, or expected to carry on as before while her body recovers. Doctors and mental health experts have long warned that postpartum depression is under-recognised in Pakistan, where it is often dismissed as tiredness or “nakhray”.

Background

Mahira announced her pregnancy on 12 September at the Toronto International Film Festival, Emra News reported. It is her first child with her husband, businessman Salim Karim, whom she married in 2023. She has a teenage son, Azlan, from her earlier marriage to Ali Askari.

She has not shared a due date.