Pakistani celebrity, Anoushey Ashraf, schools colleague on respect of personal space and calling her ‘babe’ in a cryptic message on social media. In her message, she asked her colleagues about the difference between professional and personal relations.
“Just because we worked well on a project together, doesn’t mean I am now ‘babe’ and you can hold me by the waist to take selfies at events,” she wrote, adding, “we are colleagues, not friends. Know the difference [and] understand the concept of personal space,” she said it in a tweet.
Her tweet garnered mixed reactions on social media. Some appreciated and supported her for calling out people while others started victim-blaming.
A user asked her why she did not call out that person then and there. She replied: “It was a massive event and I didn’t want to create a ruckus.” She added that “But I’m just putting it out there for people to understand the difference in the future,” she added.
Just because we worked well on a project together doesn’t mean I’m now ‘babe’ and you can hold me by the waist to take selfies at events. We’re colleagues, NOT friends. Know the difference. Understand the concept of personal space. #rant
— Anoushey Ashraf (@Anoushey_a) November 29, 2021
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Another user said, “If you want to live in a liberal society then it will have side effects, tolerate them.”
To which Anoushey Ashraf said, “Wow. Personal space ka pata hai apko? It’s called giving people respect, irrespective of their profession, work, and friendships. Uff it’s like preaching to kids in grade two. Oh sorry, even they know better than some of you men!”
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Ushna Shah also joined the conversation and said that she can guess who might have triggered this reaction from Anoushey Ashraf.
“I have a feeling I know exactly who triggered this rant,” she commented. Her tweet ensued a debate between social media who argued that if she should accept this behavior or be brave to enforce her boundaries with other people.