Pakistan’s advertisement and entertainment industry, like many cut-throat competition in other countries, simply shows whatever sells and in our case it is objectification and even subordination of women. From women posing upside down on front pages of major news dailies holding mobile phones to dramas where a desperate woman’s sole ambition is being accepted by her inconsiderate in-laws and sometimes even abusive husband. But there are notable cases that contradict this trend, though they are comparatively rare. The recent Q-mobile ad which got particular response from writer and retired civil servant Orya Maqbool and the likes, is one of them.
The advertisement shows a short story of a girl named Sara, deeply passionate about cricket, who faces the same social resistance that most of the girls with similar dreams suffer in our country. Sara’s father, portrayed almost symbolic of the outlook of the entire society, believes that girls don’t play cricket.
This does not merely imply a restriction for a certain sport, but it represents the patriarchal bias that strips women of their wider humanness, limiting them in a role behind the kitchen counter.
The mother, who is more of a neutral figure, shows pride in her daughter’s ambitions but like several others, she does not have the power to convince her husband.
While leaving the house Sara’s mother asks her to talk to her father where she says, “We can’t talk to Abu, you can only listen.” She looks with desperation at her father and exits the house.
It goes on with Sara being selected for the national team, she gets their first win with a wicket on her last ball and becomes player of the match. It ends with the father visibly moved and proud of his daughter, He calls Sara up and congratulates her. While receiving her award she is asked how she plans to spend her Eid, she replies emotionally, “With my Abu, I have so many things to talk about with him.”
This advertisement is not only a story that shakes patriarchy and lack of confidence on the daughters in our society from its roots, it is also a reminder of a common deprivation, the story of a child whose emotional distance and void of compassionate understanding with her father is bridged. If any parent takes up any one of the lessons in this story, it would mean a world of difference for their children and their family.
But distressingly unfortunate is the fact that influential people like Mr Jan found this advertisement “obscene” and “misguiding”. They took to their television cameras and Facebook pages pointing out that the bowling motion of the girl and her movements were fahash or vulgar. This was in no way the problem of her fully clothed body or any part of the advertisement for that matter, disappointingly, it is a problem of Mr Jan’s sight and perspective, uninfluenced by any part of the heart warming story. It would be beyond understanding how a fully dressed girl bowling or running around celebrating, would arouse erotic sensations in any sane or normal person’s mind. The idea is just as repulsive and disgusting as it is disappointing.
But it did not stop here, they also attempted to supplement their argument with the case of Haleema Rafiq, a 17-year-old women cricketer who committed suicide in 2014. Haleema along with her colleagues made allegations of sexual harassment against the Multan Cricket Board and its chairman Maulvi Alam on a TV talk show. It was also reported that Haleema did not have much support from her family after the show. Maulvi Alam pressed defamation charges against her, she committed suicide a day after they received summons from the court.
This story itself is another example of the unfair effects this patriarchal structure has on women. Haleema had lost support of her family and all hopes of proving herself and this was her last resort. Implying that she suffered this fate because she followed her ambitions is a horrific misstatement of the reality, if you follow that, you might as well boldly say, “You may be raped if you dare to step out of the kitchen.”
The most urgent matter at hand is not whether an ad should be banned just because it arouses erotic sensation in our dear Jan’s mind, it is much more crucial to stop this silent legitimisation of sexual harassment and offences against women by blaming the victim, it is much more intensely important to get rid of this unspoken fear of women dominating “our turf”. Instead of blaming them we should open our eyes and look at the almost 70% Pakistani women being harassed. Our dear Jan and his followers need to realise, the faster the better, women do not need to be tamed, now we men who should be trained.