There’s a lot to say about regressive female characters on television, but every now and then there’ll be one that we want to celebrate.

Spiteful sisters, hapless weeping women and the ever popular scheming saas: what do these roles on television all have in common? They are not a fit representation of the average Pakistani woman. What storytellers need to remember is that with great adversity comes immense strength and that is the key trait to tap upon when depicting women on screen. It is high time the entertainment industry take stock of women’s success stories as inspiration for content.

That being said, it is imperative, now more than ever due to the dearth of empowered women in soaps and serials, to celebrate some iconic women characters from classic mainstream Urdu dramas and recall the courage and resilience that made them rule the screen.

Haseena Moin’s female characters deserve a book of their own. There’s probably no one who’s matched the ferocity and sensitivity of Zara in Tanhaiyaan. Played flawlessly by the ever graceful and effervescent, Shehnaz Shaikh, Zara was someone who was so grieved by the sudden and tragic loss of her parents, she took it upon herself to channel her sorrow and overwrite adversity.

Tanhaiyaan is not just an ode to womanhood but also to sisterhood and it celebrates the strength and self-reliance possessed by women of all ages. The female supporting cast was also exemplary. Zara and Sania’s single maternal aunt, Aani, took her orphaned adult nieces under her wing, and later chose to get married on her own terms. The dignified Vida (Zain’s fiance, played by Yasmeen Ismail) chose to part ways with her childhood love interest and husband-to-be, once she realized that he was unknowingly in love with Zara. She didn’t wallow in self-pity, or pine for him or worst case, attempt to end her life.

Every woman as a character in this play was replete with courage and resilience.

Similarly, Haseena Moin’s Sana Murad (Shehnaz Sheikh) in Ankahi is a care-free girl who makes it a goal to get a job after she graduates. Sana normalized women who were clumsy, eccentric, bubbly, forthright and ambitious with a desire to learn and grow. Daughter to a single mother and sister to a severely ill young brother, Sana’s life was replete with challenges and yet she always brought a smile on everyone’s face with her enthusiasm, energy and spirit. She took the lead in financially, emotionally and morally supporting her entire family.

Samia in the recently concluded Ghisi Pitti Mohabbat is the personification of an empowered and unconventional woman. Played by Ramsha Khan, Samia goes through multiple ups and downs and the resilience she displays while standing up for herself is laudable to say the least. She is harassed by male colleagues, cheated on by her spouses and pressured into marrying the wrong person by her family post her first divorce, but that does not lead her into a wallow of self-pity or helplessness. Her vigour is replete with witty one liners and her gutsy opinions make her claim her rightful space not just within her home but also at work and out on the streets.

Kiran’s character in Kankar (written by Umera Ahmed) dared to venture into uncharted and (sadly) unexplored territories in mainstream television. Played beautifully by Sanam Baloch, Kiran’s voice breached one of the most sensitive and controversial topics within Pakistani society: the rights Islam gives to women and what exactly the Quran says about how women should be treated. Her most iconic dialogue from the play is in (episode 18) when she confronts her mother-in-law and questions her immensely orthodox and religiously incorrect views on the role of a ‘good wife’.

“The duty of a good wife doesn’t include getting beaten up and perpetually humiliated by her husband. The Quran states that the human race is the noblest of all creatures; this equally refers to and includes both men and women, not just men. There is no mention in the Quran that a man has the unwarranted right to mortify and physically abuse a woman at the drop of a hat”.

As someone who came from a working class background and married into an excessively wealthy household, it took immense grit and guts for Kiran to prioritize her dignity over material comfort and social capital. She seeks divorce after being abused and makes it clear to her second husband that she will not tolerate his aggression. Kiran’s character went on to become a role model for young women who are conditioned till date to believe that domestic abuse is a by-product of marriage.

Also played by Sanam Baloch, Saba in Khaas made us realize that it is possible for women to survive alone, without the financial, emotional and moral support of a man. Her most memorable line in the play is in the last scene of the play when she explains to her friend Javeria, who simply wants Saba to re-marry her narcissistic and toxic ex-husband, that she has learned that there is no point in depending on other people for support.

Written sensitively by Sarwat Nazir and directed by Danish Nawaz, Saba’s journey in Khaas is a fight against invisible forms of abuse, like gaslighting, verbal, psychological, emotional and narcissistic abuse, which remain less talked about.

Maham (played by Mehwish Hayat) in MQMD is symbolic of every child, teen, woman or even a man who is bullied to the point where they alter their personality by 180 degrees in order to survive and later thrive despite their circumstances. Penned by Aliya Bukhari, the story is centered around a young woman named Maham and how she conquers the abuse meted out to her by her in-laws. After her husband divorces her, she undergoes a complete transformation that leaves everyone awe-struck. She marries her abuser cum ex-brother-in-law, takes complete financial and domestic control over the household and ensures that she teaches everyone who wronged her a fitting lesson.

Haleema, played by the vivacious Saba Qamar in Yahan Pyar Nahi Hai, proves that with a little bit of emotional and moral support, there is nothing a woman can’t achieve. For starters, her character shares an endearing, loving and amicable relationship with her mother-in-law, a dynamic rarely seen on screen these days. Haleema is an excellent home-maker, doting mother and dutiful wife with noticeable skills for interior design, art work and decoration.

Perpetually neglected and humiliated by her husband Saeem (played by Junaid Khan), Haleema never seems to raise her voice against him. But when Saeem cheats on her with her first cousin, Shumaila (Mawra Hocane), she undergoes a radical transformation. Supported by her family and even mother in law, she stands up for her rights and gets back on her own two feet.

Poignantly written by Faiza Iftikhar, this play is groundbreaking because it shows a married woman defying norms in an unforgiving manner.

We need to see more iconic and inspirational women on screen. Women across the world, starting from homemakers to corporate giants, are adept at managing the home, caring for their parents, in-laws and offspring whilst also juggling a full time professional job whether it means working as a cleaning lady, a nurse, a farmer or as a banker.

We want to see them as astronauts, bandits, superheroes, detectives, directors, ministers, entrepreneurs, wizards and scholars. May they be written, produced, and may they find the same mass audience that abused characters do.

– Afreen Seher is a
creative writer and a
Digital Media professional with special interest in Film, TV and pop culture. She can be reached at afreenu3@gmail.com.