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Hania Aamir is a lot of things. She’s an award-winning actor, she’s a prominent voice for women’s rights and she’s also… tired of society’s disdain for empowered women.

In a rant posted on her Instagram account, Aamir said she had been suffering from self-doubt recently and decided to take some time off to rethink her life and her career.

After weeks of trying to figure out what’s wrong, she said she was hit with a stunning realisation: “People just hate happy women.”

Aamir was of the opinion that women living their best lives tend to be dragged and bullied by strangers on the internet and entertainment industry colleagues alike. “The hate is not good for women,” she sounded off.

She was quick to point out that it wasn’t only men doing this ─ women were also guilty of unnecessarily criticising other women.

The Kabhi Main Kabhi Tum actor explained that people have a problem with audacious women who dared live beyond the validation of others.

“Of course she’s hated on, because, how dare [she] not fit into the mould [sic] that we have for [her] in our brain?” she said.

Aamir pointed out that despite the contemporary perception that the concept of Log kya kahengay? (What will people say?) was archaic and dying out, she didn’t believe that to be the case.

“The conversation is the same,” she explained, “We’re still pitting women against women. We’re still [calling women] black, white, fat, thin. We’re still doing all of that, but the font has changed and now it’s on Instagram.”

Although she believes that social media can be a force for good in society ─ and has been part of many good communities because of it ─ she pointed out that receiving a disproportionate amount of hate on social media is unfair and “not good for women”, who have to fight against it.

“Can we just clock the fact that it’s not working?” she asked.

She appealed to others ─ women especially ─ to stop “aimlessly pointing guns because women are not existing how you were taught to exist”.

The actor recalled how she had earlier posted a picture with another celebrity who was wearing the same outfit she was and people started asking “This or that?”

She said she was not at all ready to accept the question was purely about fashion because male celebrities could wear similar outfits to events without raising an eyebrow.

She said she had a great amount of love in her heart for all the amazing men in her life who support her, care for women’s rights and give women the space to exist, but the bar was so low that, “Anytime they put on a brooch or they put on a lapel pin or wear jewellery, oh my god, the internet rejoices and you’re like, wow, we have one [sic] as a nation.”

Aamir touched upon the need for self-reflection amid discomfort when faced by images of women on social media that viewers might not agree with.

“Are we hating on this person because… she just got popular? Did she achieve too much? Is it just because she’s out there? Is it because she’s really enjoying her life? Is it because she’s not existing how we would want to exist?” she probed.

A world where safety for women is conditional is not okay, she said, adding that those who dared ruffle any feathers were put down by society, only (for some) to be memorialised after they died.

She ended her inaugural bathroom rant ─ she said she had enough to say for a few more of these ─ with a message for the world: “Stop gaslighting and bullying people in general to water themselves down and their personalities. Let them be whoever they are.”