5 Pakistani Dramas where Women use Sexual Harassment for Control

Sexual harassment is a fairly common theme in Pakistani TV serials.

Some Pakistani dramas portray women to be weak human beings who find themselves adapting to the way a man wants them to be.

However, as we progress into a more modern world, Pakistani scripts have also become more modern in which viewers see a different side of women.

Many scripts now show women having the upper hand against men and several dramas now show the topic of sexual harassment used loosely against them for women to gain control.

Here are five dramas that have used sexual harassment as a means to blackmail men, giving women a sense of control to get what they want.

Jannat Se Aagay

Jannat Se Aagay highlighted a scene where Jannat (Kubra Khan) asks Tabbasum (Ramsha Khan) if she has asked her driver to deliver groceries to her house.

Tabbasum finds out that the driver had complained to Jannat due to which Tabbasum was confronted about her actions.

An angry Tabbasum lies and tells Jannat that the driver had harassed her and spins a web of lies so that Jannat believes she is innocent.

Mujhe Pyar Hua Tha

Faha (Washma Fatima) is in love with her cousin Areeb (Zaviyar Nauman Ijaz), but he is in love with Maheer (Hania Aamir) who has married Saad (Wahaj Ali).

Areeb tries everything to win back Maheer and a jealous Faha sets out to ruin Maheer’s marriage because of the hold she has on him.

Faha tells Saad that she has compromising photographs of Maheer and Areeb and threatens to make them viral if he does not go to meet her at her house.

A shocked Saad goes to meet Faha and she spikes his drink.

As a result, Saad loses consciousness, leaving Faha to claim she had been assaulted by a drunken Saad.

To make the story more believable, Faha rips the sleeve of her top to make it look as though Saad had grabbed her whilst she tried to get away.

As a consequence, Saad is arrested and pleads his innocence, but the police do not believe him and he is put behind bars.

Laapata

Laapata follows the story of Geeti (Ayeza Khan) who attempts to become a well-known social media star and often uses her fame to get what she wants.

One episode shows Geeti going to a shop and as she is about to walk out with her items, the shopkeeper calls her back and tells her she has not paid.

This angers Geeti and immediately starts recording on her phone, telling her fans that she had gone to buy some things and the shopkeeper had subjected her to sexual harassment.

As a result of her video, the shopkeeper finds himself losing business as the residents believe Geeti.

Mein

Mein follows the egotistic Mubashira (Ayeza Khan) who believes she is better than everyone around her and tries to use her wealth and status to belittle people.

In one scene, Mubashira is rude to her driver and shouts at him to drive faster.

He explains that he is going as fast as he is allowed to but Mubashira screams at him and says she wants to be home in five minutes.

The driver calmly explains that it is impossible to reach home in five minutes as the journey takes half an hour.

Mubashira then tells him to shut up and reminds him that he is of a lower class and has no right to say anything to her.

Having had enough, the driver stops the car mid-journey and announces that he does not wish to work for her anymore, before handing Mubashira the car keys.

An enraged Mubashira slaps the driver and hearing the commotion two police officers ask what the problem is.

The driver tells the truth and says that Mubashira was hurling abuse at him, to which Mubashira claims that he was harassing her. He is then taken away to the police station and Mubashira is asked to give a statement.

Dobara

Dobara follows the story of Mehrunisa (Hadiqa Kiani) who marries a much younger Maahir (Bilal Abbas Khan).

The marriage causes problems for both their families as they struggle to understand why they married one another despite the huge age difference.

Mehrunisa’s sister-in-law from her first marriage cannot accept that Maahir has taken her deceased brother’s place and sets out to tarnish his image.

She ropes Sehar, Mehrunisa’s daughter-in-law, into her plan and tells her to claim Maahir tried to sexually assault her when they were alone.

Sehar agrees to the plan.

The storyline angered viewers because many believed that Sehar could have refused the plan and supported her mother-in-law’s marriage.

These dramas have been highly appreciated for tackling such sensitive issues so gracefully, but the scripts which falsely accuse others of abuse have not been well received by viewers.

It is the responsibility of the writers and actors to ensure they do not mock such issues and to use their creativity to tackle taboo subjects responsibly and ethically.