Actress and television host Juggun Kazim recently opened up about her ‘English-medium’ upbringing, her inability to read Urdu, and the humbling lessons she learnt while working with Pakistan Television (PTV). Appearing on a podcast, Kazim candidly discussed the challenges of not learning one’s national language.

“I have this problem where I think in English,” she shared, admitting that it affects her ability to consume Urdu-language content. “When I was young, everyone in my house only spoke English. My nanny was from Sri Lanka, so we conversed in English, and I studied at Lahore Grammar School, which was also an English-medium school.”
Critiquing the obsession with English in private schools, Kazim recalled, “When I was in school, we weren’t allowed to speak any other language except during the Urdu period. I’m glad that schools no longer enforce this ‘English-only’ rule.”The morning show host stressed that being unable to speak or read one's national language is nothing to take pride in. “All of this is really unfortunate. I’ve suffered a lot because of it. Even today, I read my scripts in Roman Urdu because I can’t read the actual script. It’s sad, and I’m not proud of it.” Kazim credited her time at PTV for improving her Urdu and grounding her as a professional. “I was professionally groomed during that [joining] time, and working with PTV truly grounded me,” she added.