Cross-dressing Pakistani hails media freedom

KARACHI, June 16 (Reuters) Every Saturday night Pakistani actor Ali Saleem puts on a bright saree and chunky jewellery and transforms himself into glamorous widow Begum Nawazish Ali, who teases guests with flirty questions on a television chat show.

Begum Nawazish exemplifies changing media trends in predominantly Muslim Pakistan as the still-conservative society struggles to reconcile traditional values with brash, modern ways.

Saleem's ground-breaking chat show is hugely popular and he's making no apologies.

''There's acceptance of my character. I've received no threats or hate mail from anyone,'' Saleem told Reuters as he puffed on a cigarette in the coffee shop of a hotel in the city of Karachi.

By day, Saleem dresses in a casual white shirt and scruffy jeans. Only his bronzed hair and blue nail polish hint at his Begum Nawazish alter ego.

Begum Nawazish has attracted heavyweight politicians, actresses, businessmen and Indian film stars to her plush drawing room set where they are greeted with a peck on the cheek or an elegant handshake.

Saleem, the clean-shaven 27-year-old son of a retired army colonel, has been doing cross-dressing acts for five years and said he had no fear of dressing as a woman.

''I've always been honest with myself and my family and I don't see Begum Nawazish as a cross-dresser. It's my tribute to femininity and women like Margaret Thatcher and Benazir Bhutto,'' he said, referring to the former British and Pakistani leaders.

''My programme is a celebration that we are a free nation.

It is a statement against the prevailing hypocrisy in society.'' Begum Nawazish's is not the only new programme pushing the boundaries and provoking debate in drawing rooms, and on newspaper letters pages, across the country.

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