This past Saturday, the 23rd of March, Mehwish Hayat was among one of the few Pakistanis bestowed with civilian honors by the President of Pakistan, Dr. Arif Alvi. Ever since the news of Mehwish getting the award broke, social media has been abuzz with people asking why she was selected for the medal.

Mehwish definitely seems to have turned a deaf ear to the hate, and proudly flaunted her ‘Tamgha E Imtiaz’ in this photo of her and her mother.

She shared a precious message about growing up, watching her mom work as an actress, and slowly being inspired to do the same. 

“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…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 honor in the company of such distinguished people following in the footsteps of so many legends, so many of her own heroes.”

“But never in her wildest dreams did she see this recognition coming at such a tender age.”

At the end of her post, she dedicates her award to all the girls in Pakistan, leaving them with this message: “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.””

You can read her entire message here: 

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

Mehwish’s colleagues and fellow actors poured out all their love for her and her achievements. 

Her ‘Challawa’ co-star, Zara Noor Abbas sent her good wishes. 

Ace-model, Nadia Hussain sent her best wishes. 

Mawra Hocane was super pumped by the news. 

Mathira was all praise. 

Veteran model, Fia, is planning a party in Berlin. 

Sports analyst, Zainab Abbas sent her love Mehwish Hayat’s way.

Ayesha Omar left her words of support under the post as well.

Sadaf Kanwal and Mehwish had an adorable exchange. 

Her fans weren’t falling behind in their support. 

Matlab treat tou foran hi maang li. 

This message is just so heartfelt 

Mehwish Hayat being awarded with a civilian honor at such a young age is a huge achievement, regardless of what people think about it, or her. You just need to do a quick Google search of box office numbers to see why Mehwish won this award. The actress has delivered hit after. Also, isn’t it a bit hypocritical to talk shit about Mehwish and her performances (especially her item song), even though almost all of us went to see her movies, and loved it.

We need to look internally and question our biases. Why is it when a young actress receives a state level award, our mind first goes to her morality and her status as a ‘parchi’? 

Bohat Mubarak Ho Mehwish! We’re oh so proud of you!

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Cover Photo Courtesy: @mehwishhayatofficial / Instagram