Khirad and Farida's unexpected, twisted characters based on class.

Normally, when a drama starts with the backdrop of a typical Hyderabadi 'mohalla', I would expect to see either of two things. A woman yearning for independence, radically challenging the usual patriarchal society in Pakistan or a completely 'Jahil' being, far removed from the world of education and class  (as the view of Khirad held by the elite ladies of Humsafar, namely Mrs. Baseerat (I cannot refer to her as Farida because to me she has NO identity of her own whatsoever). Khirad as a character during the first few episodes is somewhat different. Rather she is a refreshing change, for she comes across as the perfect balance between 'ghar ke kaam' and handling the outside world in terms of acquiring a job when need be, as reflected in her immediate refusal to take aid from her uncle and will to take up a job to pay for her mother's medical expenses. Agreed, that this may be because of her 'khudaari' but generally in a Pakistani society not many lower middle class women would be so independent. Usually such women are depicted as desperately seeking the perfect 'rishta', to marry off and settle down as soon as possible. Khirad on the other hand is self reliant. In this way the image in my mind of a typical lower middle class woman was somewhat blurred when analyzing Khirad's character during the early episodes.

On the other hand, there is Mrs. Baseerat who appears strong headed and manipulative in keeping the reigns of her household in her own hands, yet she is nothing but a puppet at the hands of her husband, who very conveniently takes out the divorce card to shut his disobedient wife up. Here, what one would expect from a lower middle class woman such as Khirad and her mother that is more dependence on the male figure for sustenance is seen in the ladies of the upper class. Even though she is portrayed as more accomplished in terms of her thriving NGO that helps 'selabzadgan', her public sphere is perhaps more reflective of what one would expect to happen in a typical close knit mohalla, where idle women engaging in petty gossip (of course in Mrs.Baseerat's case its' exhibition is done with a lot of poise and sophistication) seems to be the order of the day. Furthermore, I also expect typical 'rishta aunty business' to be a characteristic activity of lower middle class. However, here this role is played by Mrs.Baseerat where she lives in hopes of marrying off her niece Sarah to her son Asher. Such behaviour as exhibited by Mrs. Baseerat seems to run against the whole idea of a strong, accomplished women of the elite class as seemingly projected in the onset of the drama.   

Hence, the whole idea of women and class appears to me a bit twisted in terms of how the two characters are shaped. The lower middle class woman, Khirad in her private as well as public sphere is perhaps more empowered and accomplished in terms of how she is her own boss as compared to the elitist Mrs.Baseerat who even in her public sphere is nothing but a show piece (so far in the drama at least), who is dominated under the patriarch of the family, forcing her to restore to strange activities such as gossiping and arranging an eligible rishta for her son.