LA Times on Pakistani Cross Dresser Ali Saleem

Most Pakistanis know Ali Saleem, 28, as Begum Nawazish Ali, a middle-aged widow who welcomes viewers into her drawing room on Saturday nights for a little gossip with the guests.

In a country where extremists rage against the cosmopolitan, Ali Saleem dons the persona — and sari — of a flirty middle-aged widow for a TV talk show watched by everyone from models to mullahs.

By: Bruce Wallace, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer.