Actress Amna Malik, who has been the talk of the town recently for her performance in the drama serial Jama Taqseem, spoke from personal experience in a recent interview how women who go through miscarriages don’t get the sympathy they need from people around them. They offer kind words, she said, and then “expect you to try again in three months”.

Malik, who suffered three miscarriages herself, told the interviewer she had to give herself strength and keep herself going when nobody else would. In a candid moment, the actress said her mother was initially supportive but then gradually joined the chorus nudging her to try again.

The actress lamented people’s attitudes towards children, saying people were more upset about her losing baby boys in her first and second miscarriages. They’d come to me and say, “Gaya to gaya, beta chala gaya? Oho… (What’s gone is gone, but you lost a son? How sad).” They wouldn’t have been so aggrieved had I lost daughters, she shared. She shared that she had come from a household of four daughters, all of whom were showered with love by their dad, so she never internalised the idea of sons being more valuable.

For girls going through a similar experience, Malik offered some words of advice. “Take care of yourself [first],” she said.