Pakistan, June 29 -- There's an unspoken rule in Pakistan's entertainment industry: women must stay young or at least appear to. The moment time starts to show, the spotlight dims and roles that once came easily are suddenly out of reach. Somehow, the same rules don't apply to men who seem to bag all kinds of roles regardless of their age.

Actor Mehwish Hayat recently spoke about the prevalent ageism - which disproportionately affects female actors - in the industry during a conversation with Rabia Mughni of Fuchsia Magazine.

"Here, men are allowed to age gracefully, to appear as heroes and main leads with younger girls. That's okay. But with our female actors, we're expected to freeze in time," she said, adding that the same culture is...