TV actress Sameera Sherief opens up about rejecting work due to pregnancy, her regime and more

Popular actress-TV host-social media influencer Sameera Sherief is currently enjoying the best phase of her life. The mom-to-be who always wears her attitude on her sleeves doesn't mind shutting a few trolls on her or her videos. In a no holds barred conversation with ETimes TV, Sameera opened up on her pregnancy, how negativity online affected her and much more.

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By SriRam Chelluri

Anwar and I both planned to spend some more time as a couple but I got pregnant accidentally. My goal in life is not to have kids alone. This was totally unplanned. But I've accepted the blessing of Allah. I've zero regrets whatsoever.

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Motherhood doesn't feel new to me. My nephew and niece have been like my own kids. I've learnt a lot about parenting and raising them. It was like a proper rehearsal (laughs) you can say. Earlier, whenever I had something to say, people used to ask me if I was announcing pregnancy. It annoyed me so much. It is not something a girl can or wants to hide. Now, when I finally announce it, everyone's got to tell me the Dos and Don'ts which annoys me the most.

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Some tell me I can't dance, play, do makeup, put mehndi, color my hair and some say I need to rest after I take a vaccine as if vaccination is some kind of illness to rest. Some have a problem with me showing my baby bump. But what's wrong with it? I'm not exposing my body, I'm just wearing skin tight clothes. Some even take the pain of reminding me that I'm pregnant. They say, 'Don't forget you have a baby in your womb'. A few elders keep saying, 'We've raised so many generations. Just deliver your baby, we will raise them.' Things like these annoy me to the core. I'm the mother of my kid and I know what's best for my kid. As an athlete I'm very much aware of what sport or physical activity I can afford to do. Above all, a girl's purpose in life is not to just get married and deliver babies so that someone else can take care of them. A girl can do more in life. She can dream and achieve more in life.

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Earlier, these negative comments on my videos and on social media disturbed me a lot. January and February were in fact the worst for me. These comments used to stay in my head and I used to get annoyed for trivial things. I used to get offended easily, felt ignored or neglected and I would vent my anger and frustration on my husband even for no fault of his. Moreover, I'm an emotional person and I used to cry a lot, too.

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Eventually I've realised that I'm getting affected by these negative comments which will not account for even 5% of the responses I get for my work. I've realised that I'm letting these 5% anonymous people affect me which is not healthy for me at all. Everything lies in your head. Mental health is very important, especially for me right now. I spoke to myself and I chose to ignore or at least not take any negative comment to the heart. Now, I laugh at some of those comments and I'm even able to hit back at a few of them without actually getting hurt.

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I recite the Quran every day. My one hour with the holy book takes off all my pressure and brings a sense of calmness. I would recommend everyone to believe that there is a higher supernatural power and try to connect with that everyday. You feel the change that it brings.

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Our (I and Anwar) views on parenting are different. I believe that fundamentals need to be strong and right for a kid and he or she needs to be guided properly in the right manner in every stage of life. Anwar has a different take on it. We debate and sometimes argue and then realise 'bahut time hai (there's a lot of time)' to all of this and leave it at that.

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I've accepted this pandemic and pregnancy. It was a deliberate choice to not work and stay home. Of course, I'm creating content online, shooting and editing my own videos. Of late, I feel like spreading awareness on many myths around pregnancy, pregnancy during this pandemic, menstruation and menstrual hygiene through my videos. Because until you normalise these things for you and everyone around, things will not change at large. Normalising such stuff excites me.

(Photo: Instagram)