Meet Zahra Haider, a Pakistani American whose parents are just about any desi girl’s dream. She’s 32-years-old, holds a Master’s degree from Rutger’s University, works at a tech company and lives with her parents in North Carolina.
Two days ago, Zahra had the most wholesome and hilarious exchange with her mother. She started off by telling her mom she’s in love with Keanu Reeves and her mom gave her blessings immediately.
She then gave her mom some background deets about Keanu.
To which her mom had an even cuter response.
Ammi took the bait and fell for it – which led to immediate guilt on Zahra’s part.
Here’s the entire exchange.
TIL that my mom has no idea who Keanu Reeves is, and I took full advantage. pic.twitter.com/gEVuEPwLlB
— zeher (@haiderzs) May 20, 2019
More than 1,600 people retweeted Zahra’s tweet and we’re all a little obsessed with her mom. What’s more, we’re not the only ones obsessed with her…she is too! No perfect relationship can be one-sided, correct?
Also I know none of you asked but here we are ☺️ pic.twitter.com/04klmcbVYz
— zeher (@haiderzs) May 21, 2019
“I’m obsessed with my parents,” Zahra told MangoBaaz. “They’re my top-priority”.
When asked about what she likes to do for fun, Zahra listed photography, music, being active on social media and… spending LOADS of time with her parents. So much so, that she recently moved back home from D.C. just to be with them.
Zahra’s relationship with her parents most definitely has been a journey for both them as well as her and her brother. She believes that they chose to be close to their children over log kya kahenge and that is what makes their relationship so transparent and incredible.
It is important to mention, however, that Zahra and her brother had to put in the effort to convey the ways in which they think to their parents, as well as understand what they expected from them. She also mentioned that due to her deep rooting in culture and religion, her mom’s relationship with her was not always free of strain. But of course, our moms love us, and they somehow worked a way out to sometimes agree to disagree.
“I can’t do this life without my mom and she can’t do it without me.”, says Zahra.
All this became evident in her mom’s reaction to Zahra telling her that she is, unfortunately, in love with Keanu. When Zahra called her mom after the exchange of messages, her mom’s reaction went from slight disappointment to laughter, and eventually empowerment, telling her daughter that she was will eventually end up with someone.
A staunch feminist and a Pakistani-American living in a white-dominant area, Zahra was also left somewhat upset by the non-Muslims who had negative reactions to her message stating “I’m sure he’ll convert if I ask him nicely”.
All the non-Muslims in my replies saying "DoNt cOnVeRt HiM" need to chill. Y'all have obviously never lied to your mom to get your way. Also your Islamophobia is showing.
— zeher (@haiderzs) May 21, 2019
“I really do not care about that stuff. But I know how important it is for my mom…that’s just how it works with us. You gotta marry Muslims, if not that, then people of the Book, so on and so forth. So if I do choose to marry a non-Muslim, the least I can do is at least ask him to convert. The rest is on him!”
And of course, Zahra is also no stranger to the rishta question.
Despite living abroad, she stayed on the receiving end of multiple proposals from the age of 17 to her late twenties, after which she says her mom realized it was driving a wedge on their relationship and chose to let her pursue her own mode of life. Zahra is an incredibly independent woman, and she believes that her financial independence also played a role in letting her form the opinions that she did.
Moreover, when she asked her mom to address the public with a message, her answer definitely warmed our hearts.
For everyone asking about an update. Brb have something in my eye 🥺 pic.twitter.com/3l7EDNotlh
— zeher (@haiderzs) May 21, 2019
Zahra’s relationship with her mom is definite proof that if we try hard enough, maybe, just maybe, our parents would eventually come around to understanding too. Or perhaps, she’s one of the few lucky ones.
What do you guys think? Let us know in the comments below!
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Cover image via Zahra Haider/Twitter