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Conduct becoming
It was a delight to meet Munira Nadeem. The young and candid PTV compere of youth programmes is a refreshing change from the many shallow media starlets of her age. She is a real charmer with her candour. Seated in a cozy little balcony overlooking the street, the young professor spoke about her unconventional life.
“Being a small family of four, my brother, my parents and I lived a very protected and emotionally close, joint family life. We lived in a single room together for many years in a huge house. For a long time I was the only girl among many male cousins, so I played lots of cricket and was a tomboy of sorts,” Munira says about her childhood.
Since her parents were not highly educated, her mother made sure that Munira achieved academic excellence.
“I was into reading so much that I would even start reading the blurb on soap wrappers if there was nothing else around,” she says, grinning. “My mother would ask my father to get me new books as I would go through all the ones in the house. My thirst for reading was also probably because my parents never allowed TV into our lives till I joined college. I feel the restriction on TV was worth it. To this day I don’t watch TV that much. I feel if one concentrates on education for the first couple of years, one is set for life.”
Munira’s voracious reading habits enabled her to become a top debater during her school and college days.
‘My thirst for reading was probably because my parents never allowed TV into our lives till I joined college. I feel the restriction was worth it. To this day I don’t watch TV that much. If one concentrates on education for the first couple of years, one is set for life’
“My mother would make me write my own speeches and later on ask me to rehearse in front of every uncle, aunt and grandparent. Thus, I evolved into a top debater, clinching prizes at nearly every competition all over the country.”
Munira’s fate was sealed when PTV called her for a youth programme that included a debate contest.
“It was back in 1996 when Karachi was very unstable. The compere of the programme lived in one of the troubled areas and out of the blue, the director and writer offered me to host the show. My parents supported the idea and from then onwards there was no looking back.”
That the writer of this series later proposed to and married Munira is another interesting story. Nadeem-ul-Hasan expressed his liking for Munira and asked for her hand in marriage. When Munira communicated this to her parents, a hullabaloo ensued.
“My parents were really upset. How could I have even thought of choosing my own husband? They were baffled as to how I managed not to choose anyone in Risalpur Cadet College where I would go every year for the contests. My dada finally intervened and decided that whatever I wished would happen, as I had been an obedient and docile child all my life. This was the only choice I had made and I stood by it. My father finally agreed and said I could marry Nadeem, but there were two conditions attached: firstly, I had to complete my Master’s and secondly, Nadeem and his family could not meet my family or I during the two years of my studies!” Munira says with a nostalgic smile.
“I respected my parent’s wishes, but I did communicate with Nadeem on the phone,” she giggles. “I got a gold medal in my Mass Communications Master’s to the surprise of my parents, who thought that I would not give priority to my studies after this new interest in my life. Nadeem’s family proposed the day after I finished my papers and we got married.”
Nadeem, an architect from NCA, has his own interior decoration company and has written some hit songs like Aye Jawan by Awaz and Jeenay Do by Dr Aur Billa.
Does she think her upbringing was too strict?
“Not at all,” she says. “I am what I am because of my parents. My father was very tender, taking utmost care to see that all my needs were fulfilled. He made sure I was a good human being. My mother is still my closest friend, as is my husband. That is why I try to raise my daughters by keeping a balance between discipline and affection.”
She does not mind being called a PTV compere.
“My husband’s friends do tease me that my programmes come on TV either late at night or early in the morning, but I enjoy my work and it goes with my temperament and character. I did the PTV awards once, but that wasn’t my thing. The biggest mission of anchors that day was reading the maximum number of lines, even if stolen from others!
Munira is therefore extremely selective in her work. One can see her in only a few programmes, but she leaves an indelible mark with her excellent articulation and grasp of the work she does. No wonder she is becoming extremely popular with not only Pakistani but international audiences as well; she’s also the first choice when it comes to hosting the Japanese Cultural Centre’s Urdu shows.
For a while, this dynamic young woman was associated with the Reuters news agency when she was finishing her Master’s degree.
“It was a wonderful experience as I interviewed major political figures and used my ability and qualification to the fullest.”
Munira is an ardent believer that women should contribute to the economy by repaying the time and money spent on their education. “Even if they can’t do a 9-to-5 job, they should somehow be independent and earn their keep,” she says.
As Munira shows me her dozens of medals and shields, polished and arranged by her mother, she says, “My batch-mates at college and university thought I was boring – with my whole focus on studies and debates.”
It is difficult to agree with her batch-mates: Munira Nadeem is certainly not boring.
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