Drama serial Bewafa is the perfect reflection of the misogynistic mindset among three fools, all of whom believe that everything bad that happens in life is a woman’s fault. Two of these three fools are women, married to the same man.
Pakistan has a culture that struggles with placing men and women at an equal pedestal in terms of giving rights and directing blame. Men seem to have the ultimate free pass to do how so ever they please. They are not only regarded as the stronger gender, but also have been allowed to label their heinous sins as misdemeanors. Apparently, they can easily be manipulated by the evil that is a woman, into transgressing from their righteous paths. Yet, they have also given themselves the authority to be the saviors of said women.
The drama revolves around how one married couple’s life turned upside down when the husband gets married again. The show has narrated the plot in such a way that it shows how men are so naive and peace-loving that they get ‘trapped’ by other women very easily. Hence, wives should not pick fights with them or doubt their intentions. Or else they’ll do exactly what the wives fear most. Cheat.
It’s astonishing how a writer can not only come up with this storyline, but also manage to manipulate reality into putting all the blame on the victims and none of the narcissistic man that is Ahaan (played by Ali Rehman). Throughout the serial, we see Ahaan going back and forth between his two wives when he is disrespected by one of them. At one point he slaps his first wife, Kinza (played by Naveen Waqar) and even kicks her out of his house.
Later in the show, she comes back home by saying that ‘a good wife is one who stands by her husband in his bad times’ (are you for real, woman?). Meanwhile, his second wife Shireen (the apparent master manipulator played by Ushna Shah), transitions from a damsel in distress to the same strong woman Kinza was. This becomes unacceptable by Ahaan and he runs back to Kinza again. However, when Shireen then wants to divorce him in the upcoming episode’s promo, he will run to her house to convince her to stay with him. So Kinza’s attempt towards being great fails.
All of this is not just an opinion but exactly what the writers wanted to portray, according to the show’s official description. Take a look at this:
Bewafa’s official description on YouTube
So, even if a woman is possessive or not, she should eventually accept her fate and not bother her husband. The show implies that Ahaan was developing feelings for Shireen while being married to Kinza, and blames his destiny (or wife infact) for bringing him closer to Shireen.
Just because Ali Rehman is good at playing a narcissistic cheating husband, doesn’t mean he should. This only instills sexist attitude that women are already struggling to fight. Men who are simply looking for assurance for their disloyal actions will find this as nothing less than the miracle that labels them a victim in these situations.
Episodes 1 & 2: ‘Bewafa’ probes into real-life marital issues
When will the writers be more conscious about the content that they chose to put forward? There are too many questions and too little answers. But it’s about time that this kind of mentality leaves the entertainment industry. Men are not the victims of their own actions and women can’t be blamed for everything they do and for everything men do.
Watch the latest episode of Bewafa here:
