Why is domestic abuse the selling point of Pakistani dramas?

Women in these dramas are damsels in distress that need to be rescued by a rich man in his Corolla.

The drama industry in Pakistan has grown exponentially and is a very valuable export of ours. These dramas have turned Fawad Khan and Mahira Khan into household names. For Pakistanis living abroad, they serve as a potent link to life back home and provide a much needed break from reality. However, there is still room for improvement.

One particular thing that really irks me is the propensity to show violence against women on screen. There have been numerous incidents where a young member of my own family might be playing with a toy and they are suddenly transfixed to the TV screen, because they can hear loud screaming and women being pushed around like cattle. I have to think quickly and change the channel to avoid any permanent emotional damage being done to them.

Just like smoking on screen includes a cautionary proviso in small print underneath the screen that it’s dangerous for health, some of these dramas should come with a warning that the drama may be violent. If not that, they should at least cutback on the inherently distressing scenes being shown so brazenly.

Just by way of example, there is one drama in which a woman is continuously harangued and vilified by her husband. He uses derogatory language against her all the time and even violence. She is pushed around, thrown onto a bed and treated just one step short of a trash can. What’s worse is that the wife quietly tolerates the abuse being meted out against her for the sake of her daughter.


These images are not healthy. They are not helpful for women who are facing this reality every single day.

This was just one example; there are many other dramas where women are either being violently abused, beaten and/or constantly faint upon facing extreme external pressure. Are our women so fragile and devoid of reason that they have to be shown like this? Why is fainting considered to be a way of dealing with our emotions?  Is this what actually happens in real life?

I understand that the purpose behind such dramas is to mimic and exaggerate public life, but there is something very disturbing with the manner in which it is being shown on TV. These dramas try to harness drama, in every sense of the word, to exaggerate circumstances and make them entertaining for viewers. Not that I’m deriding the purpose behind how ‘dramatic’ these shows are, because that is their appeal. However, why is it always at a cost to gender? It’s as if there is no more creativity left in our television industry and they have to repeat similar narratives – the cheating husband, the domesticated wife, the loveless marriage.

I, for one, wish these dramas would showcase stronger female role models; the kind that would not condone abuse at all, the kind that are not afraid to fight back. It is not at all acceptable to portray women as frail and deserving of such treatment because it allows violence to become acceptable and reinforces gender roles.

Take a look at American television for instance. Scandal features an extremely strong and empowered woman in the realm of politics. People come to her to get their problems fixed. Friends is an amusing story of a group of friends who try to tackle everyday problems, while staying connected to one another. The three main female characters have never had to faint or endure any form of abuse.

Tyrant features a royal middle-eastern family trying to combat a country that is plagued with terrorism and corruption. The women in this show are strong, powerful, and independent. Even Game of Thrones, set in a completely fictional world, where noble families fight for power – features women being just as involved in the fight for power.

The mention of these television series by no means tries to compare the west with Pakistan. Despite how diverse these shows are from one another, they have all been successful at some point, if not always, even in our country, without having to succumb to projecting women as weak figures or being subjected to domestic abuse.

A show’s success doesn’t demand women at the forefront all the time. But, it doesn’t mean that they need to be victims of abuse either.

What we need is a strong script, an explosive cast and an excellent storyline to keep us glued to the screen. Instead, it’s all about women falling to the ground or being screamed and shouted at, or damsels in distress that need to be rescued by a rich man in his Corolla. There is still much work to be done to improve on our dramas and if they are being outsourced to foreign countries, then they need to start radically depicting our women as human instead of fodder for abuse.