Daily Times

In the current information age, television plays an important role in crafting the public perception. People’s way of living, prospect of thinking and their manners of dealing are largely impacted by the content aired on television. This is to say that unlike past generations, today’s values and norms are not derived from our culture but from the media. Many countries, keeping the power of media in mind, have created contents and scripts that to break the traditional dark side of the society.

However, the case in Pakistan is the opposite. The theme and content of Pakistani dramas nowadays have done more harm than good to our entrenched patriarchal societal patterns. It is believed that since most of the directors in Pakistan are male, they come up with the ideas that promote a male chauvinistic society. In almost all of our dramas, female characters are painted as innocent, submissive, quite, shy and least talkative. Contrary to that, males are portrayed as spoiled, rich boys having illicit relationships but finally ending up getting married to a pious lady. The character of Zaroon (zindagi gulzar hai) and Altamash (Ana) who repeatedly says “mujhe larkion ki kami nahi ha” (I’m not short of girls), endorse and provide impetus to this absurd idea in the society. Taking inspiration from such characters, boys take pride in hanging out with girls, going to clubs, partying and finally getting married to a pious woman; a homemaker who would spend her whole life life loving and caring her husband.

It is noteworthy that, on one hand, dramas are painting happy endings for fun loving and ambitious guys, while on the other hand depicting the gloomy picture of a girl who either speaks up for her rights, or dares to choose her own life partner and resists against her family to go on a pursuit for a career. These female characters in dramas face dejection and in the end they would give up their ambitions and lead their whole lives as perfect housewives and caring mothers: Happy Endings.

I am not hostile to the thought of a woman being portrayed as a perfect wife and a mother. In fact, I am an advocate of the idea of both, the male and female included, being painted as the perfect couple. This is exactly what our scripts miss out. Hardly ever has content been created that would exhibit the husband as both understanding and supportive of his wife to reach out for her dreams. It is high time for producers to realize this flawed angle to drama scripts. The content must not be male-centric but should also carry a theme which would draw the audience’s attention towards the husband’s responsibilities. A loving mother-in-law, dutiful husband and obedient children case scenario would altogether give a happy ending. Solely presenting the wife as an emblem of a homemaker would only add flame to the already burning issue of female suppression in society.

This is merely a single flaw in our dramas that is adversely impacting our society. Upcoming dramas are dispersing illusions that have little or no connection with the reality. Here I would like to draw a link between another critical issue; the high divorce rate in Pakistan and its portrayal in dramas. The female character once again portrays an exemplary mix of both outer and inner perfection. She would be soft-spoken and kind hearted and at the same time have a fair skin color, the perfect figure, long hair and big eyes. This is the picture of the perfect wife that dramas are presenting to us. Coming towards the male character; they would be rich, tall, and handsome who finally fell in love with a middle-class girl.

In reality, it is extremely difficult for us to find such type of characters portrayed in dramas. Due to societal pressure, both male and female give into the family choice and get married. What happens next, now that the girl will be looking for Ashar in her husband and the boy would expect her wife to be as presentable as Khirad (characters from Hum TV drama Humsafar)? It is rooted in human nature that whenever their expectations are hurt, they would revolt and try to escape the reality. When both husband and wife find themselves to be the opposite to what has been portrayed in dramas, they find it hard to live with the reality. The differences between them continue to grow until they divorce each other. This is the state of agony that the bond which is called the most sacred of all, falls prey to ludicrous portraits of our local dramas.

Keeping in view these consequences, it is imperative for script writers and producers to acknowledge these points before writing a drama to be aired on television. One way or the other, they are feeding the younger generation with new ideas and values that will eventually take a practical shape in their lives. Themes that would call for gender equality; man’s sketch as dutiful and honest, presentation of ordinary characters in dramas (those who actually exist in reality) and lessons of patience and tolerance for both the male and female are all indispensable to change the false perception of the youth of our society.