Dawn Images

Armeena Khan shared an integral part of her pregnancy journey with fans, with stunning photos documenting her path to motherhood but alas, haters know no bounds. The actor is getting trolled because her pregnant body is apparently making some people very uncomfortable. She is not letting it slide though — Khan called them out and encouraged women to claim their space and openly and proudly embrace all aspects of motherhood.

The Bin Roye actor recently shared pictures from her maternity shoot on Instagram. While a vast majority dropped down to congratulate her and flooded her comment section with love, there were some trolls who could not come to terms with a woman being comfortable in her body — that too, her very visibly pregnant body.

Sharing a comment by one such hater who reduced the glowing mom-to-be’s shoot to a “Hollywood copy” and said it was “unfortunate that women have to feel empowered by copying the kuffar [disbelievers]”, Khan responded, “Hey ladies! Don’t be like [her], she is a hypocrite.” She followed that up with a PSA saying that she plans on talking about her delivery and all the details involved. “MY SPACE, not yours. If I haven’t triggered you religious fanatics enough yet, watch this space,” she added.

She also shared a comment by a well-wisher saying she wishes she had done such a shoot when she was pregnant. Taking inspiration from Khan, she added that she will be doing one next time. The Janaan actor encouragingly replied, “Absolutely ladies, claim your space. Motherhood and all of its aspects are indeed beautiful! We should discuss and share our experiences, let’s lift the ‘shame’ which isn’t even Islamic but more to do with misogyny and an oppressive culture. I’m right there supporting you beautiful beings.”

Addressing another netizen attacking her religious beliefs, she said, “Boss, tell me one thing — when you see a pregnant woman on the streets, do you attach ghoray walay blinkers [horse blinders] or do you avert your eyes? I doubt you do either. When you have such a low mentality, your gaze follows suit.”

It is seriously disappointing that even in the 21st century, women have to keep justifying the ownership of their bodies. News flash — pregnancy is a natural process, there is nothing to hide about it and certainly not anything to feel ashamed of. We, as a society, need to work on removing the stigma attached to pregnancy. At the very least, we need to stop trying to dictate what women should do with their bodies. Please, let women be.