ISLAMABAD: Pakistani celebrity Saira Khan broke down in tears on Loose Women as she revealed she was sexually abused by a family member when she was 13- year- old. Khan, 46, made the admission during a discussion on U2 frontman Bono being honoured at the upcoming Glamour Women of the Year Awards. The former Celebrity Big Brother housemate acknowledged Bono’s work with encouraging women’s rights, but said he should hand over the accolade to a woman. Khan suggested Mukhtar Mai be added to the list after she was gang raped in her village in Pakistan and forced to walk naked through the streets. Speaking about Mai – who walked a fashion runway earlier this week – Khan said: “I’ve never talked about this before, and this woman inspired me. At 13-years-old a male member of my family, who has died now, came in and did things.
“I would never have talked about it but I felt I had to because of what’s going on with this woman.” Khan broke down in tears as she continued: “[Mai] says here ‘I just want to be a voice of these women who face circumstances similar to what I did’ and she just inspired me to talk about something that happened to me that is just wrong." The Loose Women panellist encouraged young girls who have found themselves in similar situations to seek help. “If any young woman or child is going through something that someone is touching them without permission, it is wrong," she said. "Get help. "It is not culturally or religiously acceptable. It is wrong. This woman is a voice. It happens every day."
Khan received an outpouring of support from viewers with one tweeting: "What a very strong, brave woman you are Saira Khan! My heart goes out to you. Xxx." Another wrote: "Poor Saira Khan. Very brave to speak out about that. I hope she's getting the support backstage." A third posted: "In tears listening to Saira Khan.... heartbreaking! Well done for speaking out."
