As we all know now, Mehwish Hayat was awarded the prestigious ‘Tamgha E Imtiaz’ on the 23rd of March at the Aiwan E Saddar. Additionally, we all also know that a lot of people online have expressed their confusion and shock at Mehwish winning the award.

This got to the point that people began questioning her morality and decisions. 

Wo poochna tha @MehwishHayat ko #prideofperformance award “billi” song kee waja se mil raha ? #PTIGovernment #ImranKhan #pmik @pid_gov #pakistan @ArifAlvi @fawadchaudhry

— umar iqbal (@umariqbal1984) March 12, 2019

People were exceedingly against Mehwish getting the coveted award.

Does #MehwishHayat truly deserve to be nominated for the Tamgah-e-Imtiaz?

— Pakistan Poll 🇵🇰 (@ThePakPoll) March 20, 2019

People were stopping at no length to pull her down. 

Welcome to Naya Pakistan, so ashamed to say "is this a madina ki riiyasat? Where Promoting vulgarity is appreciated #MehwishHayat pic.twitter.com/USpA5JOLTb

— AWAIS BHATTIツ (@Bhattisays_010) March 23, 2019

After receiving the award, Mehwish posted a picture of her Instagram, giving girls all over Pakistan an important message.

She dedicated her award to young Pakistani girls and asked them to chase their dreams.

View this post on Instagram

An eight year old girl went to the PTV studios holding her mother’s hand tightly. She was totally clueless about all the hustle and bustle going on around her. But she was equally fascinated by the lights, the cameras and the way in which everybody was hard at work including her mother who was an actress. Even as a child the wobbly sets amused her but she could see on the screens the magic being woven in that studio creating dreams for so many people. Yesterday that same little girl arrived at the Aiwan e sadr holding tightly on to her mother’s hand equally bemused by her surroundings. That girl knows that she is blessed to be there receiving such a prestigious honour in the company of such distinguished people following in the footsteps of so many legends, so many of her own heroes. At heart she remains that simple little girl from Karachi who has been fortunate to live her dreams. Her journey from that PTV studio to the Awan-e-sadr has been a long one and by no means the easiest. But never in her wildest dreams did she see this recognition coming at such a tender age. Nor did she see the role she would go on to play in the revival of Pakistani Cinema and her contribution being acknowledged in this way…! Thank you to the Government of Pakistan and the President for bestowing this honour upon me and making the dream of that little girl come true. Today, I share this with all the other girls in Pakistan who have a dream, to them I simply say, "Hope lies in dreams, in imagination, and in the courage of those who dare to make dreams turn into reality." Thank you also to all my family, friends and colleagues who have shared this wondrous journey and above all to all the fans who have supported me each step of the way and made me worthy of this award! 🙏🇵🇰 #MehwishHayat #Tamghaeimtiaz 🎖#Medalofexcellence #pakistanzindabad 💚

A post shared by Mehwish Hayat (@mehwishhayatofficial) on Mar 24, 2019 at 1:14pm PDT

This did not stop the hate being targetted towards her. People were still angry about her winning, and quite honestly, there are more pressing issues one should be angry over- this is a non-issue.

As people were still targetting Mehwish, the actor took to Twitter to clap back and give us one of the meaningful rants of all time. 

Debate all you like whether you think I deserve the award. Every1 is entitled to their opinions. I respect that. However, I draw the line when my character is questioned. I’ve been called a tawaif, a slut, a whore & much more so often that it has stopped affecting me. Cont..1/3

— MehwishHayat (@MehwishHayat) March 26, 2019

She called out people for ‘gendering’ the issue and gave a befitting reply to all those people who claimed she got her award through ‘other’ means.

I never wanted to make this a gender thing but it is unfortunate that others seem to be. To suggest that I slept my way to this award is an abhorrent slur on all the hard working women in our country. We may be part of an industry that is seen to be glamorous – but it ..2/3

— MehwishHayat (@MehwishHayat) March 26, 2019

Mehwish talks about how the entertainment industry women are treated, and how their ‘morality’ is always called into question.

but it doesn’t mean that we have forsaken our morals. What gives anybody the right to drag my name into the gutter. You don’t know me! Thank you to all the supporters & also to all the haters, it has only made me stronger.Last couple weeks have been quite an eye-opener for me.3/3

— MehwishHayat (@MehwishHayat) March 26, 2019

This short rant touches upon a lot of things. Most importantly, the fact that this treatment seems to only be exclusive to female entertainers. If a male actor who’s Mehwish’s age won this award, no one would have batted an eye, so why is it that Mehwish is being targetted and called horrible names.

It is crazy to think that one actor getting a civilian award was the top conversation online for a good few days, and not in a good way.

Again, people can say all they want. Mehwish’s achievement and contributions to the Pakistani film industry are tremendous. She’s a woman with a lot of strength and motivation- heck, she listened to people blabber online for days and NOW said something. More power to you, Mehwish!

Mehwish Hayat Finally Received Her Tamgha E Imtiaz And People Are STILL Salty AF About It

Mehwish Hayat Finally Spoke Up After Receiving Her ‘Tamgha E Imtiaz’, And She’s Got A Powerful Message To Share

Cover Photo Courtesy: @mehwishhayatofficial / Instagram