The lawyer turned comedian based in Karachi, Faiza Saleem is the first female social media influencer to have pursued stand-up comedy in Pakistan and has also led and trained the subcontinent’s first all-female comedy troupe, The Khawatoons. Faiza has been active on television, debuting with the comedy film, Parchi.
In a field dominated by men, Faiza Saleem is one of the first female stand-up comedians which comes with societal pressures. In a conversation, she revealed, “For me to be a woman in Pakistan means that I may be breaking ground in comedy but I’m expected to look a certain way to feel beautiful and worthy. I feel it’s a huge part of my life and the lives of many other Pakistani women.”
As mentioned above, a career as a comedian is an unconventional choice in our society and for a Pakistani woman to pursue that is no child’s-play but Faiza has conquered those challenges. With her quirky personality and witty humour, she has been atop her game for her brilliant standup comedy, with repeated demands for more content. Her own celebrity interview series, ‘2 Minutes with Faiza Saleem’ that she launched on her social media pages last year, garnered huge success.
In an interview with The Nation, Faiza Saleem talked about her early life and her journey to becoming a social media sensation. She revealed that she always had a passion for the performing arts however she, unfortunately, was not able to attend art school. She also revealed that because acting and entertaining was her passion, money was never a concern to her. After her graduation, she joined an improve troupe and made videos and memes on her social media pages. Moreover, she shared how isolated she felt when she began pursuing stand-up comedy in the male-dominated industry, with no set formula or guidance, Faiza was lost so she created her own girl gang, The Khawatoons.
When it comes to body positivity and speaking boldly against body shaming, Faiza Saleem is a monumental figure in Pakistan, Being a plus-size model herself, she continues to combat the romanticised slim figures. She uses her platform to promote the heartfelt message of body positivity and overturns stereotypical depictions of women.
“I feel social media has given me a lot of leverage in the sense that not only do I get to play the characters that I want to, but I also get to work with whoever I want to. It’s my house, my rules with social media”
While talking about the toxic people of our society who constantly intervene in the personal lives of others and those who give their unwanted opinions, Faiza Saleem said, “They’re people who have absolutely nothing to do with your life, and I don’t understand why it (body types) bothers them so much; I’ve spent my whole life trying to figure this out. They’re so concerned with how you look and how you dress and the way you are. This uncle once said to me in front of my husband, ‘Beta, I really hope you’re trying to lose weight for your wedding,’ and I couldn’t stop staring at his face.”
“So there’s a male comedian, he doesn’t have hair and he’s referred to as Ganji Swag but if I’m overweight and if I don’t have hair or have acne, no one is going to call me Acne Swag or Moti Swag. And I find that really funny. It’s not about their looks. I do feel they (male comedians) are judged differently, I make it a point to go on their Facebook pages and check the comments (under their videos), and they are so different from the comments I get or other female comedians get. [Our comments are] about how we look and how we dress, whereas their comments are about their comedy. I don’t expect people to love my comedy, they could hate me, but don’t say, ‘Oh you’re fat.’ ”
Furthermore, Faiza Saleem also collaborated with Cadbury Pakistan and made carebaskets for the girls at Aisha Islamic Academy who live and study at the all-girls academy. The academy is located near Karachi’s bilawal chowrangi. Posting on her Instagram page, a video of herself playing with the girls, Faiza wrote: “A little love and effort is all it takes to spread some smiles… share the message of kindness.”
Faiza Saleem is a total powerhouse and blessing to the Pakistani society, there are a lot of women in the entertainment industry who are using their platform and their power as influencers to actually bring about a change. More power to her!
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