I believe in gender equality, not feminism, says Saba Qamar

We’ve been loving Saba Qamar’s wholesome YouTube channel content so we were a little disappointed in what the actor had to say in her latest interview.

In conversation with Samina Peerzada for her #RewindatHome series, the Hindi Medium star opened up about working with Irrfan Khan, alongside love and the meaning it brings to her life.

"I want to live life, not just spend it," says Qamar, as she reveals she is afraid of abusive relationships and the expectation from partners to compromise.

"I would never marry a stupid man. Someone who argues, someone who fights, I cannot stand that."

She went on to say, "We're still stuck in male, female, feminism. I don’t believe in, you know.. I believe in gender equality."

"Men and women are equal," said Saba. "They feel hurt equally. It's not solely a man’s responsibility to get five sisters married. In Pakistan it happens that one man has 10 mouths to feed, we have to change that. We don't have acceptance, we are not taught otherwise."

She was joined in by Peerzada who agreed that everyone should be economically independent.

While we get that Saba’s heart is in the right place, we’d like to point out that according to the Oxford dictionary, the word feminism literally translates to "the belief and aim that women should have the same rights and opportunities as men."

Saying you believe in gender equality and not feminism is like saying you believe in breathing, just not oxygen. It’s strange to see actors like Qamar, who have always unapologetically advocated for feminist values, avoid the term like the plague.

It is feminism which advocates for little girls to receive an education, for women to be economically and financially independent and to be able to contribute to that same household that Saba thinks people eat from "dishonourably" when they're dependant on one breadwinner.

Yes, the burden of running a house shouldn't solely be on men; that's why we say traditional gender roles hurt everyone involved.

Kalki Koechlin said it best when she said: “Anyone, who believes men and women are equal, is a feminist. If we would have been living in a matriarchal society I would be a meninist, fighting for equal rights of men.”You can watch Qamar’s entire interview here.