We believe it’s safe to say that everyday should be Mother’s Day and in honor of the entity like no other, these are 3 mother characters that we need more of!
If we had a rupee for every single time a mother was portrayed as weak in our Pakistanis dramas, well we’d be flying to the Bahamas in our private jets by now.
Mothers are natures gift to us. The strongest of them all and yet there is a major representational lack of strong mother figures in our Pakistani dramas, ones that don’t faint at the slightest inconvenience.
In a country that majors in oppression of women, the lack of strong lead motherly characters in our drama industry,can be harmful for the society. These are 3 times dramas represented the true essence of a woman, of a mother.
Ayesha khan as ‘Mahagul’ in ‘Khuda Mera Bhi Hai’
In a country where conversations of intersex individuals are taboo, this piece did brilliantly by shedding light on the reality of thousands. ‘Khuda Mera Bhi Hai’ (God is mine too) drew focus on the struggles of an intersex child through the lens of a mother. The role of the mother ‘Mahagul’ that gives birth to an intersex child ‘Noor’ is played with utmost grace by Ayesha Khan. This strong depiction of what a mother can do when she sets her mind to it, is exactly what our dramas lack.
When ‘Mahi’ (Mahagul) decides to keep her child, despite her husband’s contrary persistence, she is seen as standing her ground regardless of the damage it may cause to her married life or her image in society.
Her sure steps are illustrated consistently throughout the drama as she faces a multitude of challenges, including the many obstacles single mothers face in Pakistan. Amid all this she continues to not give ‘society’ the power to dictate who she decides to love, may that be her intersex baby or her daughter who is a street child she adopts, later on in the drama.
What really ties in this powerful character is, her and her mothers own refreshing dynamic. Instead of a weepy mother who is flooded with the sorrow of her daughter’s divorce and societal pressures.Mahagul’s mother ‘Savera’ played by Saba Hameed, is the prime example of ‘behind every strong woman is a strong mother who’s got her child’s back’.
Khuda Mera Bhi Hai was nothing short of a seamless portrayal of a mother’s irrepressible combat against all the taboos deep rooted in our society. ‘Mahi’ puts up a great fight with the exact kind of motherly strength we need more mother roles to impersonate.
Samiya Mumtaz as ‘Sajida Bibi’ in ‘Uddari’.
Uddari was a drama that tackled pedophilia, class system and sexual abuse in a very aristocratic manner. The strength of this piece was its ability to depict the characters with utmost realism, drawing special focus on the female leads. The backbone of the story line,to say the least was the victim’s mother; ‘Sajida Bibi’.
The director created a beautiful character arc for Samiya Mumtaz to play which was indeed played with utmost precision. The role of ‘Sajida Bibi’ was allocated with ‘unconventional’ motherly characteristics.
After discovering her daughter as being a victim of molestation and sexual abuse, instead of giving thought to what society might think, ‘Sajida’ prioritizes her daughter’s safety at the stake of her own and resiliently faces the perils of life, head on.
The character is also shown to be the sole provider for her family despite being a widow, but the portrayal of her real strength is reflected in the way she refuses to let her poverty or situational factors become a state of morbid tragedy, absence of an overdramatic track playing in the background is also sincerely appreciated.
Mother figures in our dramas are constantly depicted as helpless and are capturedas having zero control over the narrative. For now, we definitely could do with some more Sajida Bibis.
Samina Peerzada as ‘Rafia’ in ‘Zindagi Gulzar Hai’
With the majority of mothers in Pakistani dramas being pigeonholed into stereotypical slots, this character particularly stood out for its in-depth narrative. ‘Rafia’, played by the legendary Samina Peerzada, is a mother to 3 who her husband abandons due to her ‘incapability of bearing a son’.
Where Rafia’s role as a wife can be troublesome as it can be seen as promoting settlingfor a toxic relationship for survival sake. Her role as a mother,nonetheless, is one admired by all the viewers.
Rafia throughout the show is seen negating the negative stigma of birthing all girls by refusing to take her husband’s cynical remarks about her daughters. Instead of giving into her situation and letting it control her kids’ future, Rafia is persistent to push her daughter to pursue heights of success for a better life, despite herdaughter’sown pessimistic nature.
This empowering mother had an answer still applicable to all those that frown upon having daughters “Betiyanbojhhotinahihain, unkobanadiyajatahai”(daughters aren’t a burden, they are made to be)
An empowering mother is a rare sight to spot in our dramas. A narrative that needs changing for an emotionally stronger generation to come and for a better tomorrow.
