You would think that as actors, sisters Urwa and Mawra Hocane would be sensitive about a subject as misunderstood and important as mental illness.
However, in a recent appearance on Nida Yasir’s morning show, where they were promoting their clothing line, UXM, they said some things that can be considered insensitive and ignorant.
They spoke about drinking water as a remedy to good skin, exercising, embracing positivity and focusing on oneself and spoke at great length about their brand. Fair enough. But things went downhill from there with no recovery in sight.
Nida Yasir made the remark (equivalent of body shaming) of calling an overweight person “moti” as Mawra advocated for women over 32 to wear jeans and know that there is nothing wrong with it. Great.
The ladies then spoke about what they eat, with Urwa confirming she’s a vegetarian. It is here where things went completely haywire.
Mawra spoke about eating clean and healthy and how a bad diet can make you lethargic the next day. “It can affect your mental illness,” added Urwa, before a lovely diatribe in which she said: “There are so many issues today, like depression and mental disease – it is all because of food. There is no other reason.” And then Urwa too, used the term “moti” instead of referring to a plus-sized person as “overweight”. “Moti” is a word commonly used to body shame in Pakistan. Not cool.
All problems do not occur because of food. A sane psychiatrist would tell them that a healthy lifestyle, including healthy eating is just one part of healing. Seeking help from a professional is another crucial step, a stable structured routine, exercise and medication (when and if needed) are also steps that people should take but because of stigmas such as the one shown by Urwa and Mawra, not enough is done.
Maybe it’s time the sisters read up on mental illness a little bit more before shooting from the hip on national television and blaming food for anxiety. With the kind of following they have, everything they say can and will make a difference, which is why it’s so important to say things responsibly and sensitively.
