Blog 8: Sheena vs Sara/Khirad

The women of Dhoop Kinaare differ greatly from the women of Humsafar in the way they deal with tragedy. Let us compare Sheena with Khirad and Sara. Sheena faced tragedies similar to both of them, the poor soul and yet was able to come out of the whole ordeal better than either of the “modern” day women.

Sheena had a very Sara-esque tragedy where she was unable to get the man of her dreams but she dealt with it much better than the suicidal maniac, thank God for that.

Sheena did not let Ahmer’s refusal of her, which was very similar to Ashar’s
refusal to Sara (you’re my friend, main tumhare baare main us tarah nahin sochta and all), define her entire life. She walked away with grace and heck even got herself hitched to what seemed like a nice guy. She acts rationally and practically once she realizes that her love for Ahmer will remain unrequited “khwaabein ko peechay bhaagne se behtar hai, kisi aise aadmi ka haath thaam le jo baray shoq se batha raha ho”.
Sheena, for me at least, is more “modern” than Sara could even think possible. She lives on her own (the Khaala hardly counts), works in a predominantly male field without relying so heavily on any of the man in her life. This becomes really obvious when after she is betrayed by Nasir Jamal, she doesn’t run around looking for support and sympathy; “maine kabhi kisi se khairaat nahin li kisi” She deals with it on her own and even breaks under the pressure which leads to her attempted suicide but still doesn’t need Ahmer to help her; “Ahmer please tum chale jao is waqt...Mujhe kisi ki hamdardi ki zaroorat nahin hai. Mujhe tumhari bhi humdardi ki zaroorat nahin hai.” She resumes her life after this one moment of weakness and doesn't let it stop her from being the strong woman that she is.

Another interesting aspect is that, unlike Khirad, who relies heavily on God and the divine intervention, Sheena has no such expectations. This is again in line with how Sheena takes charge of her own own fate. She ends it with Nasir Jamal on her own terms and does not even consider taking him back, something which Khirad is more than happy to do. She, despite being alone and living on her own asks Nasir Jamal for a divorce and never once considers how the society will perceive her as a divorced woman or how she will deal with being alone. Although earlier, she is seen having those concerns “is muwashray main aurat ka akela rehna bohot mushkil hai”, she is seen breaking away from that idea after Nasir Jamal betrays her. Even earlier when she is contemplating accepting Nasir Jamal’s proposal, we see her trying to break away from the compulsion to marry “isi liye aurat ko mard ka sahara lena parta hai, lekin maine toh nahin aisa socha tha”. After her divorce, she tells Ahmer “main mutmaeen hun”.

Sheena basically embodies the possibility that being a single woman is not the end of the world. Whereas women in recent Pakistani dramas are on an eternal quest to find domestic bliss in form of a husband, Sheena represents a very progressive idea, progressive even by today’s standards that the ultimate fate of a woman is not to find a husband but be fulfilled and happy on her own terms. She is accepting of her refusal and learns to make the best of her situation“main jaanti hun main jo kuch chaahti hun mujhe nahin mil sakega”.