Hadiqa Kiani responds to Hadsa Backlash, “Drama is not related to or based on the 2020 motorway rape incident”

Hadiqa Kiani has responded to the ongoing backlash at drama Hadsa.

Singer-turned-actress took to social media the clear the air about allegations made against the newly started drama Hadsa and denied claims that the story drama serial was related to the 2020 motorway rape incident.

As per the synopsis of the drama, “Hadsa follows the life of Taskeen (Kiani), a headstrong and opinionated woman who leads a happy and successful life with her loving husband and children. The wedding preparations for her eldest son’s marriage are underway however, a sudden and horrific incident shatters Taskeen’s world, leaving her grappling with its aftermath.”

Responding to the backlash, Hadia Kiani in a statement posted on social media said, “To know that something I have been a part of is being used to hurt and trigger a survivor is something I cannot stand for.”

“When I was asked to do the role of Taskeen for Hadsa my first question was ‘Is this related to the motorway incident?’ ‘Is this the project if it was based on anyone’s story’. The team behind the project explicitly told me ‘No’,” Kiani wrote on her social media.

“After many conversations with the team and only after reading the script I understood that Hadsa was not related to or based on the 2020 motorway story,” Kiani said, adding, “Hadsa is not based on any one person’s story, it is based on a sickly common part of our reality.”

While addressing the traumatizing aspect of showing rape and sexual violence on screen, she said, “Episodes should air with trigger warnings, with a caution for all those who have been exposed to such evils.”

Furthermore, she added: “I am in no position to say how survivors should respond — all I can say and hope for is that we bring the conversation regarding this evil forward, that we can all make strides to protect and empower survivors.”

The statement from Hadiqa Kiani arrives after journalist Fareeha M Idrees in a social media post claimed to have a conversation with the motorway rape survivor.

According to Fareeha M Idrees, the survivor claimed that the drama recounted the horrors of the 2020 incident.