Malala Yousafzai has spoken in defence of Joyland, a film about trans love that has been banned in Punjab.
Joyland was to be banned across Pakistan after the government rescinded the film’s censorship certification.
A statement from the Information and Broadcasting Ministry wrote that the decision came after written complaints of “highly objectionable material” which went against “decency and morality”.
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Malala Yousafzai wrote in defence of the film, directed by Saim Sadiq. She is an executive producer on the project.
“When a film like Sadiq’s raises up working class or trans characters, and women struggling to assert themselves against rigid and very real social norms, we turn away,” she wrote in Variety.
“In doing so, we reject the spectacular talent of Pakistani artists that a film like Joyland represents.
“So many of our best and brightest — from Kumail Nanjiani to Kamila Shamsie to Shahzia Sikander — have found more success in Europe or the US.
“What message are we sending to the next generation who, like Sadiq, want to make films in Karachi or Swat Valley, when we ban art by our own people?”.
The film, starring transgender actress Alina Khan who plays Biba, a trans starlet, was the first Pakistani film to be selected for Cannes Film Festival.