2021 might feel like it was the shortest year but it has also given us a lot of things to look back at. From Prime Minister Imran’s comments about rape to Pawri girl’s viral video, here are all things that the Pakistani internet went crazy about in 2021:
January: Cannoli Café Soul faces backlash for elitist comments
In the start of 2021 a video of the owners of Cannoli Café Soul in Islamabad, Uzma and Diya, went viral in which they both could be seen mocking and ridiculing their restaurant manager for his English speaking skills.
February: Allama Muhammad Iqbal’s Statue, Groove mera and Pawri ho rahi hai:
The internet was not pleased about a statue of poet Allama Muhammad Iqbal that was installed at the Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park in Lahore. The statue started a meme fest on social media, and it eventually resulted in the removal of the statue.
Groove Mera:
Iqbal was not the only topic to be discussed by social media users in February. Naseebo Lal also made social media Groove with her PSL special song.
Pawri Girl and her party
How can we forget Pawri girl? She took the internet by storm not only in Pakistan but in India too. Pawri Ho Rai Hai became a trend on social media with many people including celebrities sharing their own take on it. The Pawri girl Dananeerr Mobeen can be seen in an ISPR sponsored drama these days.
Many people recreated the video.
March: Strings Split broke hearts
Many hearts were broken in March because on March 25 Faisal Kapadia and Bilal Maqsood announced that they have parted ways and are ‘concluding’ Strings after producing music for 33 years. Social media talked about it for days.
April: PM Khan’s problematic statement about Rape
Prime Minister Imran Khan in April, during an interactive session with the public, blamed the rising cases on vulgarity on what women wear. His comment sparked an outrage on social media, prompting Pakistanis to not only bust myths related to rape but also call him out for his insensitive remarks. Some even shared their own personal experiences to make it more clear that why rape happens and why it is never okay to blame the victim.
May: Kissing couple on local flight
May was all about the man who could not handle a public display of affection on a local flight. Internet users debated every kind of opinion on it.
On May 25, the news of a couple kissing in a flight that was going from Karachi to Islamabad blew up on social media and people expressed their anger over the public display of affection. The hashtag #airbluekissing trended for days.
June: Firdous Ashiq Awan vs Qadir Mandokhel
A video of Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan slapping Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) MNA Qadir Khan Mandokhel went viral on social media in June. Twitter was flooded with memes.
July: “Our Culture is our husband.”
“Our culture is our husband”, was the most talked statement of 2021 in July. Sadaf Kanwal’s problematic statement on a woman’s role in a marriage went viral on social media. Her comments caused quite a bit of anger among Pakistanis online.
August: Junid Safdar’s singing
In the last week of August, Mariyam Nawaz’s son tied the knot with Ayesha Saif. The marriage was the talk of the town, but more than the marriage, Junaid’s singing skills were the center of attention. Junaid was seen crooning to the chartbuster song, Kya Hua Tera Waada from the hit Bollywood film Hum Kisi Se Kam Nahi starring Rishi Kapoor. Junaid’s hidden talent won the hearts of Pakistanis.
September: Nida Yasir’s Formula 1 car
In September, an old video of Nida Yasir surfaced from Good Morning Pakistan. The Nadaniyaan star was finding it tough to understand the meaning of a ‘Formula 1’ racing and Internet did not forgive her.
Even her husband could not stay away from the trend and re-created the video.
October: Pakistan beats India
Pakistan defeated India in T20 World Cup for the first time and obviously the internet went crazy about it. From Shaheen Shah Afridi’s explosive spell to Rizwan and Babar’s record breaking innings, Pakistani social media just could not stop praising the Pakistani team. It was overall a good year for Pakistani cricket.
November: Malala tied the knot
In November, Malala surprised everyone by tying the knot with Asser Malik. She tied the knot in a small intimate nikkah ceremony.
People talked about the couple for days. Some even dug out all the details about Asser.
December: Junaid Safdar, Ayesha and Katrina, Vicky’s wedding
December is known as the month of weddings and Junaid Safdar and Ayesha’s, and Katrina and Vicky’s wedding was all over internet.
After the nikkah of PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz’s son, Junaid Safdar took place in London, the wedding festivities took place in mid of December in Pakistan.
Katrina Kaif and Vicky Kaushal’s wedding :
Katrina Kaif and Vicky Kaushal officially tied the knot on December 9. The star couple got married in a traditional Indian wedding ceremony and their fairy tale wedding was one of the most talked about on the Internet in Pakistan and India.
