Karachi, beyond any doubt, is home to some of the finest eateries in the country. While the city is already over-flooding with food places of every kind, new ones are cropping up everyday and it’s hard to keep a track of them. Similarly, given so much competition, restaurants are finding it equally hard to stand out among the so many eateries that inundate the city.
So, this new restaurant that recently opened up thought it would be a great idea to leverage the prevailing patriarchy in the country and took it upon themselves to make sure that patriarchy is perpetuated every time someones does as much as take the restaurant’s name.
Khair, breaking the suspense, the restaurant is called Second wife.
Oh yeah, you heard it right.
Even though the menu is super normal and does not include any dishes called ‘Let me make a sandwich for you’ etc., the page does have images that subtly suggest that women belong only in the kitchen and are mostly there to make the chai experience worthwhile for you. I mean what else they are there for anyway?
The caption of one of the picture reads: Wipe out your lethargy with our #DoodhPattiChai at Second Wife
Geddit?
Here’s another gem
So if your first one isn’t the ‘ideal’ wife by cooking for you all the time, worry not. You now have ‘Second wife’ to cater to your stomach needs. I mean?!?
Even though the page is relatively new on Facebook and doesn’t have a lot of followers but looks like the ones who do follow the page really love the name, men in particular (that’s hardly surprising)
While others are confused as to why they didn’t just name it the first wife?
Akhir patriarchy bhi tou kisi cheez ka nam hai.
There were some who tried talking sense
But anyway, people still liked their approach because it will help the restaurant in getting ‘hot’ in no time. I mean marketing over patriarchy any day, man!
The restaurant doesn’t really have answers to these questions but they do they have one thing to say
While the restaurant team might have chosen the name in good humor, it is important to realize that ignoring such subtle signs eventually helps in perpetuating stereotypes against women because patriarchy and internalized misogyny become hassi mazak eventually.