Pakistani actor and director Shahood Alvi has found himself at the center of an online backlash after making controversial remarks about housewives and married life during a recent television appearance.
The actor appeared on a private television program with actresses Leyla Zuberi and Fahima Awan, where the conversation turned toward relationships, marriage and why some husbands may eventually lose interest in their wives.
While sharing his perspective, Shahood made a comparison between the way some housewives look and smell after spending hours doing household chores and the environment husbands encounter at their workplaces.
“Most of the time women stink with the smell of ginger and garlic when their husband is at home, while in office he is surrounded with girls wearing perfumes,” he said during the discussion.
The comments quickly caught the attention of viewers, with clips from the conversation spreading across social media and prompting a wave of criticism.
Shahood also argued that husbands spending too much time on their phones can be a warning sign in a relationship. He suggested that wives should make an effort to keep the spark alive by preparing their husband’s favorite meals and dressing up before he returns home.
Leyla Zuberi supported the idea of making an effort for one’s spouse, recalling how her own mother would apply lipstick before her father returned from work. Fahima Awan also agreed that women could take some time to look presentable before their husbands arrived home.
However, Shahood’s remarks about housewives became the main talking point once excerpts from the show began circulating online.
The actor also shared personal anecdotes about his marriage while discussing the responsibilities he had tried to teach his wife. He said he encouraged her to learn practical tasks such as paying bills, grocery shopping and driving, but claimed she did not take to them despite his efforts. In a lighthearted moment, he referred to her as a “dheet haddi.”
Shahood further recalled an instance involving veteran actress Bushra Ansari, saying she had advised his wife not to learn driving. According to him, Ansari believed driving could simply add another responsibility, particularly when it came to taking children to and from school.
The discussion may have been intended as a conversation about keeping relationships strong, but Shahood’s comments struck a very different chord online.
Several social media users argued that the remarks unfairly placed the responsibility of maintaining a marriage on women while overlooking the amount of physical and emotional work performed by housewives every day.
