Key Points
- Kashmala Sameer came to Australia from Pakistan when she was 18
- Pursuing a career in modelling, she felt compelled to hide her profession from the community ‘
- ‘Until just recently, it wasn’t really acceptable for Pakistani girls to show much skin, publicly,’ Ms Sameer explains on her Instagram page
Ms Sameer, now aged 26, tells SBS Urdu she originally had no intention of becoming a model.
“I had dabbled in acting as a hobby,” she recalls, “but I never thought of being a model until friends suggested the idea.”
While beauty standards have evolved in the years since, she says being “tall and slender” gave her an opportunity when she started out almost a decade ago.
“At that time there was a specific criteria for models, so people looked at me and suggested that I could do this.”
She received encouragement from her friend circle at university, which she describes as being mainly non-Muslims from outside the Pakistani community.
“I was passionate about acting and I was training at NIDA [National Institute of Dramatic Art], when my friends insisted that I try modelling as well. So, I just walked into an agency and registered myself,” Ms Sameer recounts.
Plus, as a student, it was fun to look glamorous while earning good money.
Community concerns
Despite scoring high-profile jobs as a model, Ms Sameer was nervous about how those close to her in the Pakistani Australian community would react.
According to the World Economic Forum, Pakistan ranks as the second worst country in the world for gender equality in 2022.
The country’s fashion industry, which is enjoying a resurgence, is also the symbolic centre of a struggle between conservative values and the growing women’s independence movement.
Kashmala Sameer came to Australia from Pakistan when she was 18.
“In the back of my mind, I was always scared about what would people say, what would Pakistani people say about it [modelling]. So, while I worked as a model very actively, took part in huge shows and worked with Australian celebrities, I hid my profession from the community,” Ms Sameer says.
Uzma Akhlaq, a culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) community engagement officer based in Melbourne, says such worries about community acceptance are common among new migrants.
“Religious status and even sectarian discrimination are still common among migrant communities. Some people living in Australia are not ready to adopt Australian ways of living, and this can cause rifts across generations,” she tells SBS Urdu.
She says that in some communities jobs such as modelling are considered taboo for cultural or religious reasons.
In addition, individuals may feel pressure to meet expectations.
”For example, I also often encounter individuals who will hide their blue-collar professions, such as being a taxi driver, in order to feel community acceptance,” Ms Akhlaq says.
Ms Sameer went to great lengths to separate her work and private lives.
“I restricted myself. I never shared my professional work on social media. Not even to share my experiences. I felt like I couldn't tell anyone about how much I was doing at such a young age.”
However, Ms Sameer says it is now more acceptable to chase a career in modelling than when she first started out.
“Acceptance is still not there, but in the last eight years things have been changing. It’s very interesting that now girls are very actively posting things [like picture or modelling projects on social media]which are traditionally not considered appropriate in Pakistani culture.
Now I regret that during my active years from 2015 to 2018 I hid my profession and work from my own community
From her work in modelling and acting, Ms Sameer has noticed some big differences between Pakistan and Australia.
“Australia people, even those who are working in Hollywood, are so humble and private in their lives. They don’t post about their lives on social media. They don’t race for followers. But in Pakistan, it’s quite the opposite.”
Now I regret that during my active years from 2015 to 2018 I hid my profession and work from my own community. Credit: Instagram/ Kashmala
New paths
In 2018, Ms Sameer relocated from Sydney to Melbourne.
She says the COVID-19 pandemic, when Melbourne was plunged into almost two years of lockdown, led her to take an interest in spiritual healing and astrology.
“Let’s say the COVID lockdown became the perfect example of alchemy for me. Something negative was transformed into something positive, beautiful and productive.
By the end of the lockdown, I was a certified hypnotherapist with the American Board of Hypnotherapy, a Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) and Timeline Therapy practitioner, a yoga, meditation and mindfulness teacher, and a practicing astrologer.”
Aside from running her own wellness-oriented businesses, she has pivoted back to acting.
Kashmala has already appeared in multiple TV and web commercials and an award-winning short film.
“In 2022, my focus has completely moved back to acting. I’ve been continuously training intensively, networking, and doing acting work in film and TV,” she says.
“I’m extremely passionate and obsessive about what I do. However, I lack self-discipline and it’s up to my husband to push me forward sometimes,” she says.
“With fashion modelling, I’m not too sure what the future holds, but you never know.”
