It’s safe to say that we as a nation are hooked on our TV dramas. From the times of PTV to now having countless channels, we’ve seen a massive progression with the shows that are produced. The sets got grander, as did the costumes, oh and who can forget the cinematography; however, another factor has changed and we usually forget about it.

Over the past few years, female characters have developed tremendously. These characters don’t just represent one type of woman any longer, they build a wide web and represent a lot more Pakistani women than ever before. 

Initially, things were simpler. The most common character would be the everyday Pakistani housewife, her problems would be stereotypical as would be her friends. For quite a while, this was the image of the everyday Pakistani woman.

Recently, as Pakistani dramas began to transform themselves, the female characters began to be written better. Their stories would be more complex, their dialogues and personalities became more in-depth and more complicated. There was finally a break from the ‘traditional’ depiction of women and it really was a breath of fresh air. These new age female characters still had to fight the societal forces that are prevalent; may it be the patriarchy or how judgmental and ‘classist’ our society is.

A chief example of this is Kashaf from ‘Zindagi Gulzar Hai’. 

Based just on appearance she seems like she would be conservative, however as the show begins, we see that she’s a big believer in equality. She’s a university-going student and turns out, she also wants to be part of the Civil Services in Pakistan. Kashaf despises Zaroon and is someone who is very willing to tell him off for his chauvinism. Later on, in the show, she has to balance married life (with its countless problems) as well as her job and eventually even motherhood. At the end she’s able to pull it all off and bonus points; she helps Zaroon see the error in his ways and he finally grows as a person 🙂

‘Udaari‘ is another example of women coming together, from different walks of life, however, co-existed peacefully and making change happen.

You have a ‘high society’ girl like Milli taking in a Meera, who’s from rural Pakistan. They both come from such different backgrounds and worldviews, however, we see them build each other up and take on seemingly impossible tasks. In the parallel story, Sajida and Zebo fight off the abusive Imtiaz; they run away with nothing and build a whole new life for themselves in the ‘big city’.

Female characters have recently been shown as fighting the odds that are against them and succeeding at that with such finesse. They’re banding together and proving to the world that they can do anything they set their mind on. It’s hard to exactly pinpoint why this shift happened because it seems like this shift in female characters is a reaction to the international wave of feminism and debates around the representation of women on the TV and film. There is also the fact that some of Pakistan’s biggest screenwriters are female, so it is very possible that they took it upon themselves to represent women in a better light, thereby showing younger generations a positive and strong image of women on screen.

Now while female characters improved, it seems like male characters remained stagnant.

Often times they are written as chauvinist and super macho. Almost always, these super masculine characters find themselves in all sorts of trouble and distress and it’s the more empathetic female leads that help them figure stuff out. While male characters eventually come out as better people, all the mard follow very similar trajectories. It is incredibly rare to see a sensitive or an empathetic male character, and if there is one, he’s usually the plucky sidekick or the irrelevant brother.

It’s great to see women coming up in Pakistani dramas. It is true that this transformation of characters is less than perfect; the themes in some shows and the circumstances these characters are placed in can be read as regressive however we are taking a step in the right direction. As female leads and characrers become stronger, the process of our storytelling will become better. So here’s hoping this trend continues and that it extends onto male characters.

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Cover image via: Hum Network Limited