Pakistani cinema often presents love through the male gaze—where women are written as fragile, childlike, and in need of protection, while male persistence is framed as romance.

In this episode of Dear Body, I analyze Neelofar as a case study to explore female representation in Pakistani films, the infantilization of women, and how cinema shapes ideas of desire, consent, and power. This episode connects body politics, gender studies, and media criticism to ask a larger question: what kind of love stories are we being taught to accept?

When Love Needs Women to be Fragile | EP 22 | Dear Body

The “mother-in-law vs daughter-in-law” trope is deeply ingrained in South Asian culture, but it is not harmless.

In Episode 21 of Dear Body, we examine:

 * How this dynamic is produced by patri-local family systems
 * The different forms of violence daughters-in-law face from in-laws
 * What South Asian research reveals about intergenerational abuse
 * Why celebrity opinions on national television spark such intense public debate

This episode is not about individual blame.
It is about understanding how patriarchy sustains itself, and why recognizing these patterns matters if we want to stop repeating them.

The Mother-in-Law vs Daughter-in-Law Cycle | EP 21 | Dear Body

What do we learn when women are repeatedly told, on national television, how to “save” their marriages?

In the latest episode of Dear Body, I reflect on the recurring advice given to young girls on morning shows in the name of marital happiness, advice that often centers women’s obedience, compromise, and silence, while leaving out the equally necessary responsibilities of men.

Instead of reducing a recent TV appearance to a villain narrative, this episode explores the deeper complexities behind such statements, the generational conditioning that produces them, and the quiet harm they cause.

This episode is an invitation to think beyond soundbites, and sit with the discomfort of what these conversations reveal about marriage, gender, and power.

 Is Saba Faisal a Villain, or a Product of Patriarchy? | EP 20 | Dear Body

What is the cost of education and financial independence in our country? Before you answer this question, I want you to think about yourself, especially if you’re a woman, a girl, when was the first moment it hit you that the rules are different for you because you are a female?

Imagine today’s episode as a roundtable conversation with lots of people filling up the whole room. You are sharing stories with one another about what it was like growing up in your home, what did education mean to you, what your relationship with your parents was like, and where you are in life now.

I will be bringing you stories from women who wish to remain anonymous but have poured their heart out to me. Some parts of these stories are too intense, even I broke down more than twice listening to them. So, let’s begin.

You can find me here: 

Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/pk/podcast/dear-body/id1642998095 

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@dearbodypodcast

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dearbodypod 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/saroshibrahim/

Why do girls grow up so fast? | EP 19 | Dear Body

Every year, we find ourselves having the same conversation about smog. Even though we know that Lahore’s smog isn’t limited to October through January, its visible haze is enough to jolt us, physically and emotionally. Deteriorating health, shrinking social life, and a growing sense of uncertainty make us question the future of our city.

This year, I spoke with citizens of Lahore to understand how smog is reshaping their lives, what they’ve experienced, what they’ve observed, and what, if anything, has changed. Some are battling serious health conditions; others are documenting the crisis through research and advocacy. But one emotion connects them all: hopelessness.

You can find me here:

Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/pk/podcast/dear-body/id1642998095

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@dearbodypodcast

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dearbodypod

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/saroshibrahim/

Substack: Dear Body [https://saroshibrahim.substack.com/?utm_campaign=profile_chips]

Is Smog Political or an Environmental Concern? | EP 18 | Dear Body

This episode of Dear Body explores the physical and emotional transformations women experience during perimenopause and menopause, phases that are rarely talked about but deeply affect how a woman feels, thinks, and connects with her world.

We talk about the exhaustion that doesn’t go away with sleep, the hot flashes, the headaches, the brain fog, and the growing irritation that no one seems to understand. But most of all, we talk about what it means to go through all of this alone, in a culture that celebrates a woman’s youth but silences her body as she ages.

This isn’t just biology, it’s identity, emotional labour, and survival.

Let’s break the silence around menopause, hormones, and women’s health in Pakistan and beyond. Because understanding these changes means understanding the women who raised us, nurtured us, and continue to hold everything together even when their own bodies are falling apart.

You can find me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/saroshibrahim/

#DearBodyPodcast #WomensHealth #Perimenopause #MenopauseAwareness #SouthAsianWomen #HormonalHealth #BodyAcceptance #EmotionalHealth #PodcastPakistan

What Really Happens to a Woman’s Body After 30 | EP 17 | Dear Body

In today’s episode, I open up about a world beyond social media, the 9 to 5 world. The world where being a Pakistani working woman means living by a different set of rules.  We talk about body image, feminism, workplace bias, mental health, and the weight of expectations women carry in professional spaces.   

Through real stories, this episode explores the unseen struggles of women navigating careers within patriarchal systems, from labels and rumors to the quiet ways our workplaces fail to support us.  

Tune in if you’ve ever felt unseen, unheard, or underestimated at work.

Why Workplaces Still Fail Women | EP 16 | Dear Body

In this episode of Dear Body, host Sarosh Ibrahim takes listeners into one of the most urgent and silenced issues in Pakistan: suicide among women. September marks Suicide Prevention Month, but here, conversations about suicide are often hidden behind whispers of shame and honour. Through real stories from Southern Punjab, Rawalpindi, and Chitral, and with insights from studies by Farooq Ahmed, Neha Jain, and Hussain et al., Sarosh explores how patriarchy, forced marriages, domestic violence, and family honour shape women’s lives, and sometimes, their deaths. This is not easy listening, but it is necessary because silence can be deadly.

You can find me on Instagram @saroshibrahim. 

All About the Hidden Crisis Women Face in Pakistan | EP 15 | Dear Body

What happens when more than half the women in a country are living with a condition no one talks about? In this episode of Dear Body, we’re diving into the world of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS), what it is, how it affects women’s bodies and minds, and why silence around it can be just as harmful as the symptoms themselves.

I’ll share stories of young women navigating shame, stigma, and confusion, while also highlighting the groundbreaking work of initiatives like PCOS Helps, who are reframing PCOS as not just a health issue, but a human rights issue.

This isn’t just about medical facts, it’s about empathy, awareness, and breaking cultural silences. Whether you’re living with PCOS or want to better understand the women around you, this episode is a must-listen.

Follow the journey and join the conversation with me on Instagram: @saroshibrahim [https://www.instagram.com/saroshibrahim]

The Untold Reality of PCOS in Pakistan | EP 14 | Dear Body

This week on Dear Body, I step into a story that is both urgent and deeply personal to me: the gendered impact of floods in Pakistan.

When we talk about climate disasters, we usually hear numbers: homes destroyed, acres submerged, lives lost. But behind every statistic is a body, often a woman’s body, carrying the heaviest burden.

That’s why I collected and wove together these stories. I felt the need to highlight them because these stories show that floods are not “gender-neutral.” They reshape women’s health, dignity, futures, and they demand a response that sees women not just as victims but as leaders of resilience. 

These are not my stories, but I carry them forward because they deserve more ears, more eyes, more urgency.

Please support the organisations named here: Mahwari Justice, Mama Baby Fund, Sujag Sansar, HER Pakistan, whose work restores dignity where disaster strips it away.

Floods, Women, and Survival: Pakistan's Hidden Crisis | EP 13 | Dear Body

Hello everyone, my name is Sarosh Ibrahim, and you're listening to Dear Body, a show where I, your host, unpack our stories, our experiences of living as Pakistanis in today’s world, in the social, domestic, political, and cultural space.

If you have any thoughts on any topic or issue, or you just want to get in touch with me about the show, find me on Instagram @saroshibrahim