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Actor and model Zhalay Sarhadi got real about the misogynistic attitudes surrounding women’s independence — and the casting couch culture that still lurks in Pakistan’s entertainment industry in a candid appearance on Excuse Me with Ahmed Ali Butt.

The conversation took a serious turn when Butt brought up a popular mindset in Pakistan that “aurat ki kamayi mein barkat nahi hoti” — the belief that a woman’s earnings are not as blessed or fruitful as a man’s.

“I’ve funded my own education, my own wedding, and bought my own car,” Sarhadi said firmly. “So I don’t see how my earnings are any less abundant than a man’s.”

The actor and model laughed when asked if she was the one to propose to her husband. “No, I made sure my husband proposed to me. My personality is very intimidating. What can I say?”

That sense of intimidation, she admitted, may have been a subconscious defence mechanism in an industry where young women are still vulnerable to exploitation.

“Possibly,” she said, when Butt asked if being intimidating was a protective trait. “I also had to give a shut-up call in the beginning to a couple of people. I faced it. I wouldn’t say that it was a very aggressive proposition. But I got it.”

She then detailed how she was once told that if she wanted a role of her choice, she’d have to play along with what “other woman would sleep with someone for”.

“I lost it, which is normal,” she said. “I told them that I’m just doing this to fund my education, and if anyone approaches me with an offer like this, I would slap them.”

Adding a cutting remark, she recalled that the man who propositioned her had initially rejected her for being “too tall”. He was much shorter himself, recalled Sarhadi. “Even though he was the director and had nothing to do with my height,” she said wryly.

When asked whether that man was still part of the industry, Sarhadi replied with a sarcastic, “MashaAllah, yes. Such people stay a part of the industry.”

Her remarks bring the deeply entrenched problem of power imbalance in the entertainment industry to the surface, especially when it comes to young women trying to break into the mainstream. She’s adding to the slowly growing list of women in Pakistani entertainment who are calling out harmful norms, and pushing for an industry that values professionalism over politics and propositions.

Recently, Alizeh Shah called out alleged harassment by seniors in showbiz, media bullying, and the drama industry’s toxic culture, where actors are forced to beg for their dues. She had also urged audiences and peers to reconsider how they treat public figures, especially women navigating deeply patriarchal workspaces.