Meesha Shafi rejects Lux Style Awards nomination

Renowned singer Meesha Shafi rejected her Lux Style Awards (LSA) nomination Tuesday, and asked for her name to be dropped from the nominees' list, a day after clothing brand Generation and makeup artist Saima Bargfrede announced to boycott the show.

In a social media message, Shafi expressed her desire to back down from the nomination, and wrote:

"I want to thank Eman Suleman. What she, Generation and Saima Bargfrede have said and done is what I consider my award."

She added, "In a perfect world, I would love to see women retain their space in the industry while being safe, so that the cost of speaking up is minimized, or even done away with altogether. A cost which is all too high at present. Our boycotts should not overshadow our achievements. With brave women like these, I feel optimistic about getting there one day."

Shafi's track 'Mein' has been nominated in the category of Best Song for the LSA. 

About her track, she stated, "Mein' is a song about finding our true self. Being aligned with a higher purpose. Being our own hero and being enough. I wrote it at a particularly difficult time in my life. When I needed to be all those things."

Shafi concluded her note by saying, "'Mein' stands nominated for the best song at the Lux Style Awards 2019. The irony is not lost on me given the current circumstances and I would kindly request that my name and work be removed from the list of nominees."

In April last year, Shafi accused fellow singer Ali Zafar of sexual harassment in the country's first ever high-profile #MeToo case.

She received overwhelming amount of support social media for speaking out against this culture of harassment.

"I have been subjected, on more than one occasion, to sexual harassment of physical nature at the hands of a colleague from my industry: Ali Zafar," she wrote on Twitter.

"These incidences did not happen when I was young, or just entering the industry. This happened to me despite the fact that I am an empowered, accomplished woman who is known for speaking her mind. This happened to me as a mother of two children."

"Ali is someone who I have known for many years and someone who I have shared the stage with. I feel betrayed by his behavior and his attitude and I know that I am not alone. 

Today I am breaking the culture of silence and I hope that by doing that I am setting an example for young women in my country to do the same. We only have our voices and the time has come to use them," Shafi said.