Mehwish Hayat continued to make Pakistan proud by making significant progress in increasing Muslim presence in mainstream media. The actress from London Nahi Jaunga has been named the charity UK Muslim Film’s first patron (UKMF).

Lena Khan, the director, and writer of Never Have I Ever, has also been designated the organization UKMF’s first patron in addition to the Pakistani movie actress.

In order to “change ingrained perceptions surrounding Mulsim characters on-screen” and to highlight Muslim talent off-screen, actor and producer Sajid Varda founded UKMF.

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This is a subject Mehwish Hayat is passionate about. she told Variety; “Representation of Muslims on-screen is something I have been tirelessly working to highlight for the past few years. Misrepresentation has done untold damage to us and I sincerely believe has fuelled the rise of Islamophobia. With UKMF,

I look forward to working with the industry to make sure that the way that we are portrayed on-screen, if not positive, is at least a lot fairer. It is equally incumbent on us as Muslims to tell our own stories. I am excited that UKMF will support emerging Muslim talent and help them get their work to larger audiences.”

Lena Khan, who also directed Flora & Ulysses, a Disney original film, agreed with the Gangsta Guriya, saying “Representation in films and television literally changes our cultural landscape—for better or worse. It impacts policy, how we see people, and how we operate with each other. And it’s not that hard to do. I hope we can continue to expand the scope and quality of how our fellow humans are seen on screen, and enjoy the ride and the stories along the way.”