‘Went out for a pack of cigarettes, still waiting for him to come back’: Ushna Shah talks about her absent father

Actress Ushna Shah responded to a thread on X, (formerly Twitter) which asked users to tell something about their fathers. The ‘Habs’ actress responded with a heartbreaking anecdote about how her father abandoned her.

“Went to buy a pack of cigarettes when I was an infant, will be back any minute…” the actress tweeted.

Went to buy a pack of cigarettes when I was an infant, will be back any minute… https://t.co/VLJOMTPjPh

— Ushna Shah (@ushnashah) September 22, 2023

Underneath the post, users expressed sorrow but Ushna said that because of her strong mother, she grew up to be an accomplished woman.

Not at all. Allah gave me a superwoman for a mother, alhamdulilah 💪

— Ushna Shah (@ushnashah) September 22, 2023

The actress shared a very important point yesterday about how she hoped dramas would stop turning issues like divorce into a stigma, and write scripts that encourage women to walk out of toxic marriages. She said her mother worked hard to raise Ushna on her own, which is something we also wish more Pakistani show producers would understand.

READ MORE: ‘Divorce is not a stigma, fix the drama scripts’: Ushna Shah

“Many scripts I work on perpetuate shame around divorce. While I can’t reshape the conventions of scriptwriting or opt for unemployment, I stand by a vision. As the child of a divorcee who hustled with three jobs to raise us, the stigma on divorced characters feels deeply personal. I’m eager to be part of a story that addresses the stigma of divorce and combats the shame of being single after, celebrating the journey to independence and joy. Convincing producers to back such a risqué script, which may face societal backlash, is very challenging.”