The other day my friend told me about Udaari and mind you this friend isn’t the sort who would watch Pakistani shows at all. So I thought I’d give the show a chance. On figuring out that the show is a co-production by Kashf Foundation, I knew this was going to be an eye-opening one. The show has everything similar to a typical Momina Duraid Productions with an amazing cast and an outstanding direction. But, then the ‘very nice’ PEMRA people come in and labelled the show as unethical.
People seem to be shocked by what PEMRA did. I, on the other hand, was not surprised at all. After all, we all live in a country where the use of words like rape is considered ‘haram’. Not the act itself, but the use of the word, yes! Thus, quite obviously the basic message behind Udaari’s screenplay is something most of the people around us, condemn.
For those of the readers who aren’t familiar with the message behind the show, let me clarify that the show depicts child abuse, lack of women empowerment and the importance of education itself as well as the role parents play (if and when) they let their children pursue their dreams. You are probably thinking that with such a strong message the show was bound to be held as immoral or unethical. That’s what the society has done to us!
Instead of thinking of ways to condemn such things, we; who argue to be the educated class, stand against such taboos. We will always be against child abuse even if we hear the burning of a 13-year-old servant by the person who she works for but we ourselves will shush our children if they come and tell us that a certain person touches them in a way they don’t like. We tell our daughters to cover up in front of male relatives. But, do we ever act bold enough to snub those male members of the family to not slyly look at our daughters? Do we make sure that our daughter feels protected and safe among her uncles or male cousins? No, we do not. We just call her ill-mannered. Or we say that she has an attitude that needs to be taken care of.
Then comes the people who I consider in an equally pathetic place; the women of our country. We are supposed to respect our mothers and sisters and daughters, wait do we? We burn our daughters if they dare say that they want to marry the person of their choice. We burn then. Yes, literally burn them. We beat our wives because they don’t cook for us properly or even demand anything. Why do we do that? Well, that’s because women are slaves and only slaves! They can be beaten, tortured, hurt. Nobody should care about their feelings. (Do women even have any?) And mind you, they do all this to their own women. Just imagine what they’re capable of doing to those women who they don’t know. Staring at every woman, irrespective of age; catcalling and howling, is that respect? And the best part, women are supposed to live with it and not say a word!
What is education? Is it going to school? Is it having a proper degree? Or distinguishing right from wrong? Education does not come in the form of a degree. It does not come from going regularly to school, either. Education is the need of a child who learns to say no to injustice and immoral things. It is the importance of the child to tell their parents everything. It is the idea of telling children that elders can also make a mistake.
Perhaps the most important issue the show raises is how the educated slot of people forces their children to live according to their own rules. I used to think that education transforms people. The show proves exactly how it doesn’t. How, no matter what, the parents believe that whatever they’re doing for their children is in their favour. They least bother about their happiness and prohibit them from doing anything according to their wishes. Why? Because parents can’t be wrong, can they? Because parents know it all, don’t they? This makes me sick. I’m not saying that parents are wrong or anything. But yes, I strongly believe that children should be trusted enough to make their own decisions. What’s the worst they can do? Make wrong a decision isn’t? Do parents always make the right ones? Parents are, like their children are humans too and if they cannot let the children lead them they should at least make sure that they’re walking together.
This is Udaari for me. It’s heart-breaking that morality and righteousness are only achieved if it falls under our own made-up definitions. If anyone believes that Udaari is immoral, they should cast an eye on our society rather than the show that exposes the truth and declares it out to the open world.