A Pakistani film star is pitting herself against conservative clerics after wearing shorts and swimming with Baywatch star Pamela Anderson.
After attacks from religious leaders, Veena Malik, star of more than a dozen "Lollywood" (Lahore's Hollywood) movies, has called for women to be freed from conservative dress and the horror of honour killing.
"If a woman is cool with wearing a burka, she should wear a burka. If a woman, being a Muslim, wants to wear jeans, then she should wear jeans. That's your right," she said.
Malik, 32, whose former boyfriend Mohammad Asif, the Pakistani Test cricketer, was embroiled in a betting scandal last year, has become a champion for Pakistani liberals after appearing in Bigg Boss 4, a version of Big Brother, on Indian television.
The repeated showing on Pakistani television of two clips, one in which she is seen wearing shorts and another in which she hugs an Indian actor, prompted a backlash from clerics.In a fiery confrontation on a talk show last week, Malik defended herself against Mufti Abdul Qawi, who denounced her behaviour as immoral, despite admitting he had not seen the videos.
She retorted that he was attacking her because she was a woman. "I'm a Muslim woman, and I know my limits," she yelled at Qawi, who seemed too shocked by her fury to reply.
Malik said Pakistan's culture of fear had intensified since this month's murder of Punjab governor Salman Taseer.
"I'm not scared of anything. Being a woman, you will just go for me because I'm a soft target. But I won't take it, even if I die," she said.
The actress pledged to fight for women's rights. "Why aren't men being beaten? Have you ever heard they've thrown acid in a guy's face here in Pakistan?
"We should emphasise education and improving the literacy rate, but we're still stuck in 'Look at her, she's not wearing shalwar kameez (traditional dress), she's wearing jeans'. Please, get a life."
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