“Women are not born to fulfil anyone’s fantasy,” wrote actress Hania Aamir in the caption of a video she shared on Instagram recently. The video was from her speech at the 16 Days of Activism Against Digital Violence event in Islamabad.

“Somewhere along the way, I was made to feel like being too much was a flaw. Too loud. Too soft. Too ambitious. Too visible. Too many things at once,” she added. Aamir, who was appointed Pakistan’s National Goodwill Ambassador for UN Women last October, shared the clip from the event, elaborating on her emotions about the defining moment in her life.

“When I was younger, I thought something was wrong with me because I did not fit the version of a woman the world seemed comfortable with. I was never the problem. The boxes were,” she wrote, reflecting on the moment she addressed the audience.

During her speech, Aamir spoke openly about navigating public life as a woman online – and the scrutiny that came with it from a young age. She thanked the UN committee for reminding her that existing on her own terms was “absolutely fine”, saying the opportunity to serve as a goodwill ambassador reaffirmed that belief. Returning to the central theme of her address, Aamir underlined a message she has repeated both on stage and online. “Us women, we are not born to fulfil anyone’s fantasy of a woman. We are human beings and we will live as we want.”