Women’s rights or the lack of them in Pakistan are the core of most drama serials, consciously or subconsciously. While most story lines inadvertently reveal the kind of atrocities that women have to go through in our society – as daughters, sisters, wives and mothers (because they are usually only given an identity in relation to a man) – Baaghi has taken the issues head on and in the 7th episode that rolled out yesterday, the focus was on economic empowerment. It was an extremely important message to send out.
Fauzia Batool’s fate, or the way she is continuously jostled around, is determined by the sad reality that she has no money to fend for herself or for her son. When her rogue of a husband barks out a talaaq sentence, she is unwelcome in her parent’s home because ‘how long will her old father have to feed her?’ She returns and while her husband is giving her a stipend to run the kitchen, she almost has to trade in her dignity to ask for more money to clothe her growing son. It’s all about money and the power a man feels he has as the breadwinner or the provider of the household. It is a concept embedded so deeply in our society and mass mindset that a man’s one trait of bringing money home overpowers everything a woman does in her lifetime, even if it is valued at much more.
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It’s also the biggest reason why the typical Pakistani male (as portrayed by Ali Kazmi) is unwilling to let her out of the house to earn and God forbid, find a unique identity for herself. Abid may have promised Fauzia that she could follow her dream after they got married but of course, he turns back on his word when she gets a life-altering call from an ad agency interested in hiring her for an assignment. “It’s not what sharif women do!†he shouts, conveniently forgetting the fact that he’s the one having an extra marital affair with the coquettish Ruby.
We know that Fauzia is the quintessential rebel, the Baaghi, and she will follow her dreams. She will run out in the dark of the night, even if it means leaving her son behind. We also know that she will find fame and fortune, albeit at a high cost. And as the story inches on, we do see it gradually moving towards the most exciting part of Fauzia’s story: her break-out moment. The moment Fauzia becomes Qandeel.
