00:00Anita Baloch is with us in the studio. Thank you so much, Anita, for joining us.
00:05And you are representing Balochistan's culture.
00:10First tell me, how did you start? Are you a vlogger or a stage artist?
00:17Are you more related to short films? What are you?
00:21Basically, I started with vlogging.
00:24Before vlogging, I used to make lip-sync videos.
00:26I used to make videos that the public doesn't do.
00:30Like dub-smash videos.
00:32Exactly. I made dub-smash videos at the same time.
00:34I made a lot of dub-smash videos, but I didn't have the courage to post them.
00:37That's how it is. I didn't do it either.
00:40But then I met you.
00:42I used to work outside Pakistan for a few years.
00:46And until then, we were told that the Baloch women in our area don't work on-screen.
00:53They don't upload their pictures on social media.
00:56So, I never uploaded them out of fear.
00:59But since I was outside Balochistan and Pakistan, and I lived alone, I thought…
01:03So, you had the courage.
01:05I said, I don't want to go to Pakistan. I don't want to face anyone. So, I'll upload them.
01:08So, the people liked what I uploaded.
01:11Anyway, when I came back, I had to face a lot of criticism.
01:16I came back in 2015. My mother passed away.
01:19So, my father was alone.
01:20So, I had to leave my job and come back.
01:23And then I had to face my family.
01:26Because I didn't know that I would have to face them.
01:29So, after my mother's death, I was very close to them.
01:34I was in a depression phase.
01:36My father took care of me.
01:38So, I started watching some vlogs.
01:40I started going to meet-ups of the vloggers in Karachi.
01:43And then I made my social media public, but I didn't upload pictures.
01:47Because my father's consent was very important.
01:50Because the men of our family face the society.
01:53Women usually stay at home.
01:55So, it took me a long time to convince my father.
01:58Which is a different kind of struggle.
02:00How did I convince my father?
02:02So, he said, you have to hide your face.
02:07Your videos will be faceless.
02:09Exactly. Either you wear a mask or don't show your face.
02:11And this was my opinion.
02:13Because I kept seeing on Instagram, how many women from Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad
02:17used to show their lifestyle, dresses, make-up, etc.
02:21It inspired me a lot.
02:23So, I told him, I want people to recognize me.
02:26I want people to know that there is a girl from Gwadar who is active.
02:30At that time, I didn't have in mind that the whole of Pakistan would recognize me.
02:33And I didn't even know that I would be the first female vlogger of Balochistan.
02:38There was no female before me.
02:40So, after convincing him, I started working.
02:43I uploaded videos on YouTube.
02:44So, after a while, because I am in journalism, I also do reporting.
02:51I am the first female field reporter of my area.
02:56So, we used to have trainings.
02:58People from different institutions used to come and give us training.
03:01So, during that time, when I got a boost in my account and social media,
03:05someone made a small report of me.
03:08At that time, I had some issues that people used to threaten me a lot.
03:11That you are spoiling the name of Balochistan.
03:12That you have uploaded your picture.
03:15And they used to misuse me in different ways.
03:18There was also a system of blackmailing.
03:20And I didn't give any importance to these things.
03:23I didn't think about it.
03:25I used to say that people have become so educated and smart.
03:28They will know the difference between fake and real.
03:30So, a lot of my accounts were hacked.
03:33My account had reached 70,000 subscribers.
03:37It was given strikes and deleted.
03:40And I didn't even recover them.
03:42Your journey is very different.
03:45Obviously, you are in an environment where these things are culturally not allowed.
03:51You broke a barrier from there.
03:54And you said that you struggled a lot for this.
03:56This is one aspect.
03:58The second aspect is that you felt that why can't I be famous like other girls in the rest of the countries.
04:05The third thing is that these things also have a monetary factor.
04:09People also upload their content on social media so that it gets monetized.
04:14So, is this a journey for you?
04:18Has any platform been monetized for you?
04:21Basically, I came here because I was inspired by other girls.
04:26They used to show makeup videos or their lifestyle.
04:29But when I came on social media,
04:31I remember that once I uploaded a makeup video on Eid.
04:35And my father got thousands of calls.
04:36Why is she doing makeup on a video?
04:39People used to look for me for small things.
04:42So, I totally changed my content.
04:45And I came towards traveling and exploring Gwadar.
04:50And as far as monetization is concerned, I was at one point.
04:54And at one point in 2018-19, I was earning well.
04:59Imagine, no one cared about it.
05:01But my YouTube videos were going very well.
05:03Millions of views were coming.
05:04Then what happened?
05:06Someone sent fake strikes on my account and blocked it.
05:12A lot of people told me that I can recover it.
05:16So, YouTube has a lot of influence in this regard.
05:18But I never recovered because I was so...
05:21Tell me one thing, Anita.
05:23When you create content,
05:25I see that it is a lot of hard work.
05:28Because obviously, we are also related to this side.
05:30But we see that sometimes there is a video of 10 seconds or 30 seconds.
05:34One second.
05:36In short, you find it very interesting.
05:43And sometimes it is a very useless thing.
05:45Like nowadays, I don't know what it is.
05:47It is like a sound.
05:49One second.
05:51Millions of views are coming.
05:53So, what is the mentality of people?
05:55So, I also switched to my content.
05:57I am not so active on YouTube now.
05:59I also make 1 minute 30 seconds content on Instagram and Facebook.
06:0290 seconds.
06:04I like it a lot.
06:06So, what is the takeaway from your journey?
06:08Should we give a message to people?
06:10That you are persistent.
06:12You should be consistent.
06:14But because people nowadays want to know
06:16if there is any parallel income.
06:18So, it is said that you can earn a lot through social media.
06:21Is it true?
06:23Unfortunately, it is possible that I earn in other areas.
06:26Or they get more reach in other areas.
06:28But unfortunately, I have not been a part of any brand campaign till date.
06:32I have not been invited to any program.
06:35Because I have a very good reach.
06:38I get very good views from my videos.
06:40I have a very good following.
06:42But no content creator from Balochistan has been invited to other provinces.
06:46It is often said that you have to reach out to such people yourself.
06:50I have sent a lot of emails and messages.
06:53To all the delegations or visits.
06:56Whether it is a brand or a promotional work.
06:59So, I have nothing from my social media right now.
07:02Let's hope for the best.
07:04In the sense that you made it here.
07:06And you are representing Balochistan.
07:09You are the first Balochistan vlogger, theatre artist and do short films.
07:13I am sure things will be better for you.
07:15You have a lot to do.
07:17And you have a long way to go.
07:19Take care of yourself.
07:21And try to recover your YouTube channel.
07:24Thank you so much Anita for being a part of our show.
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