Dupatta Business in Humsafar

In the first few episodes of ‘Humsafar’ the usage of dupatta in public and private spheres by women is quite interesting to observe.  Dupatta is symbolic of cultural and religious traditions especially in the South Asian context. The girl cladded in a chadaar is believed to be virtuous and pious (think Khirad) and the girl who takes off their dupatta and try to imitate men by wearing jeans and shirts (think Sara) is believed to be “modern and liberal” with no respect for her religion. These are precisely the cultural tropes on which Humsafar dwells. However, the story has been written so as to incorporate the various ways in which the way the dupatta is perceived by different segments of society. 

The picture below shows the women in their respective households (private domain).It could be observed that there is nothing common between the Hyderabad’s apartment and Asher’s house in Karachi except the fact that women are seen wearing a dupatta. Even the way they are wearing their dupatta is different but this shows the importance it holds in different classes of society.

The second picture shows the usage of dupatta in public domain. The lower middle class widows cover their heads while going to teach in school or visit hospitals whereas the upper class women only Farida is wearing a dupatta but just as a mere accessory and not to cover herself up. Sara on the other hand is never seen as wearing dupatta.

Similar to her mother initially Khirad is seen to be covering her head when in public (for instance when she is in hospital or when she goes to university) and even in the company of her uncle and his son.  The picture below shows her not wearing a dupatta when with her mom, but as soon as she leaves to call her uncle her head is covered.

However Khirad’s case is particularly interesting as initially in her marriage when she feels she does not  deserve to be Asher’s wife (“main standard, education, status sab mei unnse kamtar hun”) she is not really comfortable around him. The picture below shows a scene where she is on the phone with Batool khala and Asher’s enters the room. As she is not wearing her dupatta, she changes her direction (looks towards the swimming pool) and then picks her dupatta and leaves (even though she was not wearing it).  

Moreover the only time Khirad does not cover her head is when she goes to a party with Asher. This is particularly interesting because it reflects the perception of dupatta in upper class society (as opposed to the societal view).

In one of the scenes Sara while talking about Khirad remarks:

Lekin aaj mujhe pata chala tum mere muqable mei chadar mei lipti hui jaahil ladki ko select kar rahe ho”

(Interestingly the picture below shows how Khirad and the domestic help look exactly the same when they have covered their heads )

Covering one’s head is no longer viewed as an act of virtue but of “backwardness” as remarked by Asher who judges his cousin purely on the way she looks and says “meri cousin itni backward hai. I don’t even know usski nature kesi hai”. A contradictory statement in itself. But reflective of the way Khirad dressed herself (which was mostly covering her head) and how she was viewed by the upper class.