Pakistan’s tallest man – who stands at a whopping 8FT high – has admitted he is struggling to find love due to his size.
At just 23, Zia Rashid is only three inches shy of the world record for the tallest man on earth.
But Zia, from Multan, said he has been unable to find a life partner who is tall enough for him.
“I’ve not been able to find my life partner so far. I’ve not found someone who is tall enough for me. It is almost impossible,” Zia says. “Also, my family has struggled to find a match for me. They took my marriage proposal to several families but no one showed interest in me. Personally, I’ve stopped thinking about it.”
Apart from finding love, the young man is also facing lot of other problems as well – looking for clothes that fit, shoes of his size and even being able to travel in local buses.
“I can’t find ready made clothes of my size in the market,” he says. “A tailor makes clothes for me and I have to order shoes from Karachi.”
He adds: “The biggest problem for me is I can’t travel on public buses. I can’t sit in the seats because there is not enough leg space in public buses.”
Zia says he was of a normal height during his childhood but things changed at the age of 10.
“At the age of 10, suddenly my height started increasing. My whole body became weak,” he says. “Doctors said that the weakness was due to calcium deficiency and advised me to eat calcium rich food. But within a year, I became tallest person in our family.”
Zia has not been able to find a job so far but is hopeful the local government will recognise his uniqueness and offer him a government job.
Though he has faced a lot of problems due to his height, it has also made him very popular as well.
Over the years, he has been invited to several private events in Dubai and Saudi Arabia and has recently received an invitation from Zimbabwe as well.
He adds: “Despite all the odds, I feel proud of my height. I feel proud that I’m different from others. It gives me a lot of happiness that because of my height people come and take selfies with me. I get a lot of love and attention from people and that makes me feel proud.”
