Pakistani actress Ushna Shah deactivates her Instagram account after being "bullied" over her ‘Indian-style’ wedding

Islamabad, Mar 2: Pakistani actor Ushna Shah recently married golf player Hamza Amin. For her wedding she wore a red bridal lehenga for the wedding which did not go well with several netizens who slammed the actor for 'dressing up like an Indian bride' and wearing a 'Hindu style' wedding lehenga. Ushna had then schooled people policing her wedding outfit, and said they had not paid for her red lehenga. Now, the actor has announced that she was taking a break from social media after the backlash.

 

On Wednesday, Ushna Shah took to Instagram to share how she 'worked very hard' to keep her wedding private, but felt 'violated' when her photos were shared online without permission, and she was in turn ‘bullied’ for wearing a red lehenga. Announcing that she was 'signing off' from Instagram for a few days 'for the sake of her mental health', Ushna said she did not marry the way she did to 'offend Pakistani culture'. She also apologised for 'letting down' people with her wedding outfit.

 

 

Ushna Shah said, "For desperately trying to keep my shaadi (wedding) my own. For being upset that my nikkah (wedding ceremony) got interrupted by a drone and for feeling violated. Hundreds of thousands of messages. This is beyond cruel. Please forgive me for wearing what I wore and for trying to protect what was meant to be only mine. I did not sign up for any of this. I am bowing out of this narrative."

 

 

Ushna Shah further announced she was deactivating her Instagram account. She wrote on Instagram Stories moments prior to taking the step, “I haven’t reacted to online trolling for years, but I am a human being at a very vulnerable time of my life. A new bride in a new home. From hiring photography teams who signed NDAs to hiring security and strict guest lists at the door, I wanted to protect our union and only share what I was comfortable with, I worked very hard to make this time private. Several people invaded that privacy to exploit our happy occasion, including disrupting our nikkah. As any bride would be, I was mortified, only times a million. I had a human moment and I reacted, I exposed the first person I learned invaded my privacy, I defended myself, I even retracted because they apologized, and I learned others were also involved, in worse ways, and because the damage done to me couldn’t be undone either way.”

 

Ushna Shah also wrote, "I have read many of the comments, they don't seem to stop. Please believe that I did not get married to offend our culture. That was not the intention, and if that is what people feel I have done then I apologise for letting them down. I am going to sign off from this platform (Instagram) for a few days for the sake of my mental health and to spend this precious time and energy on my wonderful husband and my new family, who are a blessing. I am also questioning if I am cut out for this job. Thank you for the love and prayers."

 

Earlier, Ushna had questioned those slamming her wedding outfit, by taking to her Instagram Stories on Sunday. She wrote, “To those who have a problem with my dress: you weren't invited, nor did you pay for my shade of red. My jewellery, my jora (wedding outfit): purely Pakistani…”