Comment: The mysterious identity of Ukhano’s wife

KARACHI: In the summer of 2019, Pakistani Youtuber Umar Khan, popularly known as Ukhano, was accused of sexual harassment by multiple women. While the country stayed divided on the situation and the allegations did nothing to impact his career, the news of his marriage in 2020 did come as a surprise for many. Of course, no one expected Ukhano to stay single forever but with him being publicly accused of harassment only a year earlier, people did want to know who had married him. While the pictures and videos from the wedding did go public on social media, and Ukhano seemed to be on cloud nine on his big day, the identity of his wife was not revealed. All of the couple pictures shared on social media only capture Ukhano’s face while his wife has her back turned to the camera. This is not the first time that an individual’s privacy has been maintained, specially when they get married to a public figure. But it has been five months and the nature of their couple pictures has not changed.

What followed their wedding pictures is a series of posts by Ukhano featuring his wife (except her face). From sponsored posts to going out for grocery or travelling around the country, Ukhano almost always has his wife by his side. But her face is always covered, either with a mask or her hair. Honestly, out of everyone in Pakistan, Ukhano’s wife seems to be the most compliant when it comes to following SOPs because she does not take off her mask even when it just her and her husband in the frame.

Then the question that arises is, what is the point of hiding her identity? To be more precise, what is the point of hiding just her face? Is there a religious reason behind the decision? Is Ukhano’s wife shy? Is it about maintaining the couple’s privacy? But then why does the youtuber have an entire series on his Instagram titled ‘WifeCamSeries’ that allows followers to experience a day in the life of the couple through the wife’s perspective?

Is the act a publicity stunt then? A way of keeping the followers curious. Or is it a way of keeping the audience distracted? Distracted from the controversy that Ukhano became a part of in 2019? Distracted from his last vlog that summarises the one-year-long controversy? The vlog that was perfectly timed to go up on 20th November, 2020, followed by the first picture from his wedding only two days later?

What is the real reason? More importantly, do we even care?