The seat-belt debate- it’s about time Pakistani celebrities were mindful about how their actions influence their fan base

It started with a simple reminder: be mindful about wearing a seatbelt when driving with your children. Activist Shaneira Akram directly addressed actor Feroze Khan when he was driving with his infant in his lap, in a clip he posted himself. The activist stressed on the how this scenario put the child at risk had there been a car accident.

“If your child is in your lap in the front seat and another car hits you even if only going 30km or less, your child will be flung from your arms, hit the dash or hit the windscreen or worse.”

But this exchange had led to a heated back and forth with Feroze Khan writing that the activist doesn’t have “strength of understanding” after Shaneira called him out for tagging her in a video depicting animal cruelty.

And now another actor Imran Ashraf has engaged in the argument when he was called out by Shaneira for taking inspiration from Feroze and uploading a clip of himself driving with his child in his lap without a seatbelt.
“Please say that this is wrong or little lives are at risk!” she posted on her Instagram stories

This all brings to question that why aren’t celebrities taking heed of Shaneira’s warning and dismissing it off as a simple controversy? As she had stressed in her posts, this was not about targeting a specific celebrity, or creating a spectacle out of something small, but shedding light on an urgent matter that has become a reason why many people lose their lives every year, all due to the careless mistake of not wearing a seat belt. As in 2020, WHO had shared in a report where data showed that around 1.93% of deaths in Pakistan were linked to road accidents. Similarly, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics published a report of traffic accidents in Pakistan from the years 2009 to 2020. The data they published revealed that more than 104,105 accidents had taken place out of which 44,959 were fatal. Moreover, due to such fatal accidents, 55,141 people had passed away and 126,144 were found seriously wounded.

Given the stress of the situation, is it not better that celebrities take precaution of their platform and the influence they maintain over their fan base, and remain mindful that their actions can have consequences? Other celebrities had taken it on themselves to educate their fellow actors, as well as audiences on how a simple action like wearing a seatbelt can prevent something traumatizing from occurring. Actors Ayesha Omar and Fia Khan had responded to a post uploaded by Niche Lifestyle on their Instagram by sharing that it was absolutely tragic that seat belt precautions are not being taken seriously by celebrities.

Fia had written: “Thank god @iamshaniera is being heard. Also these Parents who don’t bother to fasten the seatbelts when their kids are sitting at the back. What if you have to break all of a sudden? Where do you think God forbid your kid will go?”

Social media users had also taken Shaneira’s side in the whole situation, and had criticized celebrities for refusing to understand the precariousness of the situation and not taking the issue of seat-belt safety properly.

This twitter user pointed out how Pakistani roads can be described as “lawless” because of careless driving and little attention given to the importance of seat-belt precautions, and yet Pakistani celebrities choose to remain oblivious to this reality.

Celebrities are so braindead putting their kids on their laps while driving. Have you seen Pakistan’s urban traffic? Do you not know how lawless our roads are? Why put your child in danger just to prove Shaneira wrong when she is absolutely right??

— Ariha Fatimah Arain (@arihafatimah) December 18, 2022

Other users expressed the same disappointment that Pakistani celebrities refused to understand how dangerous driving without a seatbelt can be

So F puts his son at the front seat without belt and Shaniera points that out (rightfully). F sends the cryptic messages (not surprised🤷🏻‍♀️) and Imran Ashraf puts his son on his lap without seatbealt in solidarity 🤦🏻‍♀️

Dostyan nebhao, andhey na bano🤦🏻‍♀️

— Riz (@adambaizar) December 18, 2022

Can't believe these braindead celebrities are DELIBERATELY putting their kids at risk just to boost their weak egos and one-up Shaneira. MY GOD 🤦🏻‍♀️

— meh| free palestine 🍉 (@yaamiithinks) December 18, 2022

So like Shaniera bhabhi called out FK for ignoring safety protocols while driving w a kid and FK came back saying he is a racer and he shared a video of Khabib fighting bears followed by a shair by Iqbal? How does any of this make sense

— Rana Talha Asfar (@RTAluvzAfridi) December 17, 2022

What stupid response by Feroze Khan. Driving with a child in your lap is against the law & for good reason too. It is dangerous for not just the child or the driver but also for other drivers/pedestrians.
Relating it to a wrestler or to his racing skills is irrelevant. https://t.co/P4zpaUu1Er

— Raja Shaheryar Khan (@_rsk910) December 18, 2022

It’s disappointing that in 2022, driving safety is something public figures still need to be educated about. Anyone who is a household name would have a massive number of followers, and who could imitate their actions without a thought. Therefore argument should encourage celebrities to remember the power of their voice and be more mindful of the type of content they share with their audience.