Dar-e-Nijaat: Did the drama have to show Zaryab feeling uncomfortable in a sleeveless dress?
A girl choosing to wear sleeves or a chadar to cover herself is her choice, and no one should be demeaned for either choice. So why is there an issue if the drama shows the female protagonist choosing full sleeves over a sleeveless dress?
We’ve appreciated how Dar-e-Nijaat shows faith in small, sincere ways, which is why this scene feels out of step.
In a country where women are killed for what they wear or how they dress, it is a dangerous narrative when this is presented as a way of becoming a better human being. Wearing a full-sleeve shirt cannot guarantee that someone is a better person. That judgement belongs to Allah alone. It is deeply personal and should stay that way, and perhaps shouldn’t be discussed in a drama at all.
It would be different if this were the journey of a girl in isolation, moving from point A to point B, with no major sin attached to her past and no suggestion that she was a bad person whose old life represents everything sinful. But that is not what we see, and without intending to, the narrative becomes: if you wear sleeves, you are bad and sinful.
Most importantly, did the drama really have to show this scene? Would the story have been any different without it? So why trigger the debate, and why turn what a woman wears into a discussion? How could the makers not know this would happen?
There is a fine line between representing religion or culture and passing judgement on a particular action. Our dramas cannot become the moral police, especially in a country where women are always the easiest target. This can lead to people calling many other actions non-Islamic or sinful and putting restrictions on women. All that we have fought for could be lost. Tomorrow someone will say working with a male colleague is wrong and sinful, so what then? Should we stop women from working?
In addition, the drama never showed Zaryab reading any books or hearing any lectures about how a woman should dress. She was simply living in a small town for a few days and seeing how the women there dress. Unconsciously, she seems to want approval from Abu Bakar, so her decision becomes highly debatable: who is she really doing it for? The drama didn’t justify her thought process.
Having said this, we would still have been fine if the story showed a girl trying to find her way in life, moving towards religion on her own and choosing to change her lifestyle. That would not be a judgement on any specific lifestyle or action; it would be an overall journey. A woman who is shown to always wear hijab or full clothing and refuses sleeveless would also make sense. But Zaryab’s action was highly problematic and irresponsible to show in a drama watched by millions of people.
Did you watch the latest episode? We’d love to know what you think, share your thoughts with us in the comments below!
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Dar e Nijaat is penned by Umera Ahmed, directed by Saqib Khan and features Nameer Khan, Shehryar Munawar, Dur e Fishan, Saba Hamid, Sania Saeed, Faran Tahir among others.
