According to Haseena Moin, the drama of the 90’s brought reform and
were written in order to cure some illness in society or to empower women. However,
contemporary dramas seem to instead just reflect the current narrative of the
nation, something which is disapproved by Haseena Moin; for the purpose of the
Pakistani drama is now being lost.
So what exactly is the current narrative of the nation these days
and what is it saying about it's contemporary viewership?
Not only is the Pakistani drama a mere reflection of the narrative
of the nation, but it seems to reflect and reinforce the confused values our
nation seems to hold, be it about morality or patriarchy. The drama can be
boiled down to the fact that the virtuous one always has things worked out for
her, whereas the not-so-virtuous or the bad guys (bad women in this case) don’t
last long. The bad one is seen as being social, bold, dressed in western
clothing, whereas the virtuous one is shy, innocent, simple and adorns eastern
clothing. This stereotype is being reinforced since quite a few dramas now, and
it seems to me that we are just one big judgmental nation who doesn’t know what
to think anymore. Western clothing is the norm now, yet dramas, specifically
Humsafar depicts it as a sign of evil. So what is it going to be? Are women going
to keep being judged by their appearance rather than their personalities? Does a
woman’s character really come down to pieces of cloth worn differently? Not only
are dramas like this misleading, but they are reinforcing the fact that women
are to be judged by what they wear. Period.
Similarly, the male in the Pakistani society is a figure of great
importance and significance, but one can say that there is a change in our
society (perhaps a teeny bit), which has allowed the female to function
independent of the man to some extent. However, the drama seems to bring down and
shroud the little progress our nation makes by pointing out how everything revolves
around the male zaat, and it is the male only who can bring protection to
the woman. We see Khirad and her mother living alone, self sufficient, yet they
need Baseerat. Similarly, Fareeda has to bow down to Baseerat eventually if she
wants to remain within her private sphere of protection. Again we see that the
only way Fareeda could have kicked Khirad out was in the absence of Ashar, for
it would have been the male presence which could have overpowered her own power
over the household. Hence the drama successfully pulls down the female,
although in a very pretty manner, leaving the audience star struck and dazed by
Ashar’s gazes, without even giving the poor Pakistani woman a chance to realize
what she is being pulled into accepting.
Hence for me, Humsafar, although entertaining, has led the nation
into becoming even more judgmental and confused, especially when it comes to
what it’s supposed to think, and how it’s supposed to function.
Perhaps by depicting the evil character as wearing western clothing and the good character as wearing eastern clothing, the drama intends to reflect the wider anti imperialist narrative that seems to be popular in our nation currently. In this narrative, the West is seen as responsible for all that ails our country and there is a general emphasis on carving out our own place as a nation in the world system. While previously ‘to follow the West’ was the road to progress, today, as the hegemony of the West in the world system declines, there is a recognition that we must turn back to our roots, our culture, and make our place in the world on that basis.
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