“Look at me. I am a mother of sons."
The upcoming drama serial Noor Jahan, starring Saba Hamid, has sparked backlash due to its regressive and distressing storyline.
The drama, written by Zanjabeel Asim Shah and directed by Musaddiq Malek, features a powerful cast.
It includes Noor Hassan, Kubra Khan, Hajra Yamin, Zoya Nasir and Ali Rehman Khan.
The story revolves around an authoritative elderly woman who manipulates her sons’ lives, perpetuating harmful gender stereotypes.
A recent trailer featuring Saba Hamid’s monologue has drawn criticism.
It narrates the story of a king who loses respect and stature after the birth of a daughter.
In the drama, her son had a daughter. To him, Saba’s character was narrating the King’s story.
And after that, she said to him: “Look at me. I am a mother of sons. I walk with my head held up high. No one can say no to me.”
The monologue perpetuates the harmful idea that a man must have sons to gain respect.
Social media users have expressed outrage and disappointment, criticising the drama for promoting discriminatory content.
Many have expressed frustration with Saba Hamid for accepting such harmful roles.
One fan commented: “Saba Hamid always does characters like this.”
Another wrote: “Saba Hamid comes after so long and always brings such degrading characters.
“Why do you like the characters in which women are looked down upon Saba? Please don’t do this in the name of acting and craft.”
One social media user wrote: “They will never show an empowered woman in a positive light.”
Viewers have also criticised the drama makers for perpetuating harmful gender stereotypes, stating that they are unwilling to educate society through progressive content.
One user commented: “These actors and drama makers live in the same era where people used to look down upon daughters, and the narration of such stories in these dramas shows they don’t want to change.”
Another user wrote: “Why do they always portray women as weak and submissive? And men demanding unrealistic things as if it is their right?”
One stated:
“Again with the same storyline. The man gets a daughter so he remarries.”
“The world is moving forward while Pakistan is going backwards at twice the speed.”
Another suggested: “ARY please start choosing scripts that are more interesting. We are sick of this typical saas bahu storyline.”
One remarked: “Noor Jahan monologue is so problematic and harmful. It has subconsciously ruined the confidence of many girls.”
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