Comedian Shazia Mirza slams the Islamic State for luring schoolgirls into Syria
In her latest show titled "The Road to al-Baghdadi," comedian Shazia Mirza continues her trademark deadpan delivery, this time looking into the details behind the story of the four teenage schoolgirls who disappeared into the Syrian border.
In an interview with The Guardian, Mirza said the theater hosting her show asked her to change her initial title since it could get the attention of the ISIS and might lead to potential repercussions.
After hearing that the theater heads wanted her to change the initial title, she said, "I thought, are you serious? Heads of theatre companies are now so scared they will change the names of shows?"
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Mirza went on to share how her new show has been inspired "by her sense of affinity, if not sympathy, for the girls who have left."
The "Last Comic Standing" season 6 semi-finalist said her time as a teenager was somehow similar to what the girls of today are experiencing, though the difference is "[I] didn't see Gaddafi on TV and think, 'Phwoar!'"
Mirza also shared that she has been researching about the story of the four London girls and she said that one of the hearings revealed a list of the things that one of the girls packed before leaving.
"It was an epilator, a packet of new knickers, and body lotion. I thought, 'You're going to join a barbaric terrorist organisation and you are thinking of your bikini line?' That's why I think these girls had no idea what they were going to — and they are going to get there and not be able to get out," she said.
Referring to Islam, she clarified that there are many people who wrongfully think that the religion is "barbaric, awful, women-hating," and evil, adding that ISIS is very different from it. "Everything ISIS is doing is horrific to women: raping, enslaving, shooting them in the head. Look at me — they would stone me to death!" she argued.
The show, now titled "A Work in Progress," is the most political-toned routine that she has ever done since she set foot on the world of comedy.
